Status: Should be back on track in the next few days.
Who Says Love Has to Be Left up to Fate?
Guilt
Nick winced as his foot got caught in a root and he lost his footing and landed sprawled on the ground. He lay on the ground for a couple of seconds feeling his breath finally return to him. He had been running all across the Rox madly and now in the pitch darkness and unrelenting heat his body was protesting against his efforts to continue. Nick felt overwhelmed with pure physical exhaustion and a guilty heart; each making him feel sick to the core. The sting from his scrapped hands and knees making him wince. He looked up from his position on the ground up towards the night sky where the full moon was covered by a storm cloud filled sky, barely any light filtered through and that made navigating through the Rox more difficult.
“Hey! Nick are you alright, can you get up?” screamed Stephen from a few meters back. The two of them were headed for the cave where Olive was apparently. After an extended game to satisfy Stephen wish to settle the score, Nick had started trying to find out what happened to Olive. Last he had heard Frankie had come running saying that she had disappeared, unable to stop and forfeit the game he had given Joe the responsibility of keeping him posted, but no calls came since the game ended. To throw him further in the dark Stephen had decided that for their rematch none of them should use the walkie-talkies and they had left them somewhere. A decision Nick now regrets he had agreed to because now he had no idea what was going on with Olive. It was only when he met his friends by chance at the base of the hill that he found out she was in the cave and being treated by paramedics. They told him that they had just come from there and were headed back to camp, but that Olive wasn’t looking to good and asking for him. His friend Teddy took him aside and had looked directly at him.
“Nick, it’s bad. You’ve got to get to her now! She’s…she’s hurt, badly. This stuff is crazy and I can’t believe who do that to her. Just go. Run! The paramedics are getting to move her by helicopter to a hospital soon, so you might miss her.”
Nick couldn’t find the words at first, Teddy’s shaken attitude making him worry more than before. “What happened did she break something, get a cut, or ate some bad berries? WHAT?” Teddy only sadly shook his head unable to formulate the words and be the bringer of bad news. Instead he ran off after the rest of the group back towards camp.
“Just make sure you get there in time, she’s been calling for you. Why weren’t you there anyway?” Though he asked Teddy didn’t wait for an answer, leaving Nick feeling guilty and all the more shaken up. From there he had started sprinting up the couple miles of the steep hill, his eyes focused on the beacon of light that came out of it. He barely paid attention to Stephen, who had trouble keeping up with his long strides; his weren’t driven by worry like Nick’s were. All that Nick could think about was Olive: Olive laughing, Olive spinning around, Olive looking at the stars, Olive holding his hands. He needed to get to her, she had asked for him and he wasn’t there, and what sort of boyfriend was he. Though every step brought him closer to her, he somehow felt he was losing her. He wanted to tell himself it probably was a minor accident, that she’d be fine. But lying to himself was hard with the look of shock that all his friends had when he had crossed them, they looked devastated and Teddy’s panicked voice made it all the more clear.
“Nick, are you hurt?” Stephen called again. Nick couldn’t find the energy to answer him he just grimaced as he stood up and continued on pounding the ground as he focused on the cave. Now somewhat closer than before. He could make out the shadows of the group of people inside, and if he focused, he could hear their voices above his panting and the cricket’s loud racket. Maybe Olive could hear him.
“OLIVE!” he shouted every few steps, he didn’t get any response but as he continued to get closer he realized that the noise where actually angry shouts and screams and someone was crying. He couldn’t even fathom what was going on. “Is Olive up there? Stephen and I have been looking everywhere,” he tried once more now even closer and only a few hundred meters.
There was a moment of silence and then Gina answered back an angry “Yes!” back down to Nick who sighed in absolute relief, Gina wasn’t Olive but it made him happy to know that at least she had been there when he wasn’t.
“And once you get up here, you and Stephen are both in line for a slap as well,” she continued. “Two each, one from me and one from Demi. Oh wait there is also Dani, so that make three. Hey Olive did you get to slap anyone? No? Then actually Nick when you two get up here you’ll both get four slaps.”
“What?” shouted Nick confused.
“Why are we getting slaps?” said Stephen a bit jittery and awkwardly. “Did we do something?”
Nick ignored Stephen and focused solely on continuing his uphill run only to arrive in the middle of chaos. Nick could hardly comprehend what on earth was happening, Gina was screaming and Jake was up against a wall, and Olive. He scanned the room franticly trying to find her fast.
And then there she was, barely standing up right her mop of hair hanging around her, like a veil it hid her face. A large blanket was wrapped around her though it was a boiling hot night and numerous bandages covered what was exposed of her. “Olive, what happened to you!” he cried, pain filling him when he saw her in such a sorry state. She didn’t answer but only slightly cocked her head in his direction before continuing to wobble on the ball of her heals as the paramedic next to her tried to straighten up. Nick notice Joe, standing facing a wall his cheek resting on the cool stone until he heard Nick speak and he turned around to look at him.
Joe eyed Nick down glaring at him with more anger and fury that he had ever held for his brother. This eye contact only momentarily lasted before it broke as Gina cried out once more. “Olive’s not years older, we’re the same age for goodness’ sake.” And then everything started slowing down. Nick eyes opened wide with absolute shock as he tried to really understand what Gina had just said. “She’s sixteen and your twenty five, you slug.” Gina said venom oozing from her voice. “I mean…oops. Y’all didn’t know that?”
Nick’s heart felt like it had stopped and kept rewinding back to what Gina had said. “She’s Sixteen. Sixteen. Sixteen. Nick couldn’t explain what he had thought when he heard that, what he had felt. Joe couldn’t either, he felt more than just disbelief, he left lied to and wronged, he felt like all that torment he had felt for Olive was replaced with hurt. Everything stopped in the cave, even Frankie’s tears stopped.
Everything stopped but Nick and Olive. Olive who started falling downwards and Nick who dashed across the room tried to catch her before she hid the floor as she passed out. All Nick knew, was that not only was he worried for Olive more than he had been for anything before, but he couldn’t help his heart from soaring as his mind sang again and again, “She’s sixteen,”
“Hey! Nick are you alright, can you get up?” screamed Stephen from a few meters back. The two of them were headed for the cave where Olive was apparently. After an extended game to satisfy Stephen wish to settle the score, Nick had started trying to find out what happened to Olive. Last he had heard Frankie had come running saying that she had disappeared, unable to stop and forfeit the game he had given Joe the responsibility of keeping him posted, but no calls came since the game ended. To throw him further in the dark Stephen had decided that for their rematch none of them should use the walkie-talkies and they had left them somewhere. A decision Nick now regrets he had agreed to because now he had no idea what was going on with Olive. It was only when he met his friends by chance at the base of the hill that he found out she was in the cave and being treated by paramedics. They told him that they had just come from there and were headed back to camp, but that Olive wasn’t looking to good and asking for him. His friend Teddy took him aside and had looked directly at him.
“Nick, it’s bad. You’ve got to get to her now! She’s…she’s hurt, badly. This stuff is crazy and I can’t believe who do that to her. Just go. Run! The paramedics are getting to move her by helicopter to a hospital soon, so you might miss her.”
Nick couldn’t find the words at first, Teddy’s shaken attitude making him worry more than before. “What happened did she break something, get a cut, or ate some bad berries? WHAT?” Teddy only sadly shook his head unable to formulate the words and be the bringer of bad news. Instead he ran off after the rest of the group back towards camp.
“Just make sure you get there in time, she’s been calling for you. Why weren’t you there anyway?” Though he asked Teddy didn’t wait for an answer, leaving Nick feeling guilty and all the more shaken up. From there he had started sprinting up the couple miles of the steep hill, his eyes focused on the beacon of light that came out of it. He barely paid attention to Stephen, who had trouble keeping up with his long strides; his weren’t driven by worry like Nick’s were. All that Nick could think about was Olive: Olive laughing, Olive spinning around, Olive looking at the stars, Olive holding his hands. He needed to get to her, she had asked for him and he wasn’t there, and what sort of boyfriend was he. Though every step brought him closer to her, he somehow felt he was losing her. He wanted to tell himself it probably was a minor accident, that she’d be fine. But lying to himself was hard with the look of shock that all his friends had when he had crossed them, they looked devastated and Teddy’s panicked voice made it all the more clear.
“Nick, are you hurt?” Stephen called again. Nick couldn’t find the energy to answer him he just grimaced as he stood up and continued on pounding the ground as he focused on the cave. Now somewhat closer than before. He could make out the shadows of the group of people inside, and if he focused, he could hear their voices above his panting and the cricket’s loud racket. Maybe Olive could hear him.
“OLIVE!” he shouted every few steps, he didn’t get any response but as he continued to get closer he realized that the noise where actually angry shouts and screams and someone was crying. He couldn’t even fathom what was going on. “Is Olive up there? Stephen and I have been looking everywhere,” he tried once more now even closer and only a few hundred meters.
There was a moment of silence and then Gina answered back an angry “Yes!” back down to Nick who sighed in absolute relief, Gina wasn’t Olive but it made him happy to know that at least she had been there when he wasn’t.
“And once you get up here, you and Stephen are both in line for a slap as well,” she continued. “Two each, one from me and one from Demi. Oh wait there is also Dani, so that make three. Hey Olive did you get to slap anyone? No? Then actually Nick when you two get up here you’ll both get four slaps.”
“What?” shouted Nick confused.
“Why are we getting slaps?” said Stephen a bit jittery and awkwardly. “Did we do something?”
Nick ignored Stephen and focused solely on continuing his uphill run only to arrive in the middle of chaos. Nick could hardly comprehend what on earth was happening, Gina was screaming and Jake was up against a wall, and Olive. He scanned the room franticly trying to find her fast.
And then there she was, barely standing up right her mop of hair hanging around her, like a veil it hid her face. A large blanket was wrapped around her though it was a boiling hot night and numerous bandages covered what was exposed of her. “Olive, what happened to you!” he cried, pain filling him when he saw her in such a sorry state. She didn’t answer but only slightly cocked her head in his direction before continuing to wobble on the ball of her heals as the paramedic next to her tried to straighten up. Nick notice Joe, standing facing a wall his cheek resting on the cool stone until he heard Nick speak and he turned around to look at him.
Joe eyed Nick down glaring at him with more anger and fury that he had ever held for his brother. This eye contact only momentarily lasted before it broke as Gina cried out once more. “Olive’s not years older, we’re the same age for goodness’ sake.” And then everything started slowing down. Nick eyes opened wide with absolute shock as he tried to really understand what Gina had just said. “She’s sixteen and your twenty five, you slug.” Gina said venom oozing from her voice. “I mean…oops. Y’all didn’t know that?”
Nick’s heart felt like it had stopped and kept rewinding back to what Gina had said. “She’s Sixteen. Sixteen. Sixteen. Nick couldn’t explain what he had thought when he heard that, what he had felt. Joe couldn’t either, he felt more than just disbelief, he left lied to and wronged, he felt like all that torment he had felt for Olive was replaced with hurt. Everything stopped in the cave, even Frankie’s tears stopped.
Everything stopped but Nick and Olive. Olive who started falling downwards and Nick who dashed across the room tried to catch her before she hid the floor as she passed out. All Nick knew, was that not only was he worried for Olive more than he had been for anything before, but he couldn’t help his heart from soaring as his mind sang again and again, “She’s sixteen,”
♠ ♠ ♠
Happy Reading!