Chapter Eight

"No human has any business looking cute while they sleep. It just goes against the laws of nature."—August Wellington

Hazel

I didn't even realize I'd fallen asleep until I woke up with a sore neck, a weird-looking red plaid blanket across my lap, and a Jeep still running but missing its driver.

I rubbed my eyes and looked over at the empty black leather seat August had been sitting in before personal abandonment. August was missing. I hadn't even heard him leave the car let alone shut the door.

The keys were still in the ignition, and we were in front of an Albertsons grocery store in the mountains.

It was pretty. I mean, Portland was already technically in a mountainous area, but this place was closer to Seaside and Tillamook. Nestled right on the Oregon coast, it had rocky cliffs that dropped directly into tumultuous waters. On top of that, it had this beautiful fog that made you think you were in a fairy tale, being both on the beach and in the trees.

I shivered and turned on the heat. How was it so much colder two hours away from the city?

I didn't have to wait long. In his tight, white long-sleeve shirt and jeans, August was already rushing toward the Jeep with two bags in his hands. Please, let those be snacks. I was starving.

He opened the back and shoved the bags in, then returned to the front and opened his door, looking at me. "Good nap?"

My eyes narrowed. "Your smile feels judgmental."

"That's because it is. Oh, and you had some drool earlier, so I just ended up grabbing an empty coffee cup and holding it under your jaw with one hand. Too bad you can't recycle spit. You'd have a good thing going."

I yawned. "Not even your sarcasm or insults can ruin my good mood right now." I stretched my arms over my head. "That was probably the best nap I've had in years."

"Naps. I wonder what that's actually like. You know, resting one's eyes, not waking up with severe panic attacks and anxiety over everything you have to do that day or what might come tomorrow and—" He stopped talking. "Sorry, when I'm tired, my censor just dies a slow death in my mouth, and all the words come out."

I was a bit stunned he'd said all of that, so I just shrugged. "It happens to the best of us. What did you get?"

Good, solid subject change.

"Beans. I figure if I eat enough, I can drive you out of your tent as prey for the wild animals."

"I think your scent would be enough to keep them far, far away from our campsite. And you know you shouldn't talk about farting if you want to look marginally attractive to any sex."

He put the SUV into drive. "Oh, don't worry. The idea is to repel, not attract."

"Animals?"

"You." He grinned. "Now, let's go set up. I have a spot right near Canon Beach that lets you have tents on the outskirts near the woods. It's nice, and bonus, I've never been mauled by any wild creatures."

"Yay." I did a sad fist pump in the air. "Let's just get this over with, bury the hatchet, give the parents some alone time, and then go back home. How long are we camping again?"

"Dad said three days." August's voice cracked, and then he cleared his throat and went extremely silent—the tense sort of silence you knew was necessary without even knowing the reasons why.

I didn't say anything for the next twenty minutes. The view was pretty enough, and I was still groggy from my nearly two-hour nap. It was already starting to get dark by the time we made it to the campsite, or at least what I assumed was the campsite. There were two RVs, a tent, and a fire going, but that was basically it. I could hear the waves crashing before we got out of the Jeep. August remained silent as he killed the engine and slammed his door. There were no bathrooms that I could see, which meant I had a date with nature and a very embarrassing talk with August about where to go to the bathroom to look forward to. Fingers crossed there'd be no curious bears.

I left my purse and phone in the Jeep so I could help, then pulled my black hoodie over my head and shivered. I was glad I'd packed more than one sweatshirt and a big jacket just in case it rained.

August was pulling stuff out of the back of the SUV: two blue folding chairs, some dry firewood that he moved to the side, some food, and finally, the tent. He left the blankets inside just in case. Wait, why was there only one tent?

I stared, then stared harder. "That looks small."

"What?" He swatted away my pointed finger. "There aren't any spiders or bugs. What's your deal?" I pointed again, and he swatted again, then cursed. "Seriously, what's your issue? Have you really never seen a tent before?"

First off, it was yellow—bright yellow. NASA would have no trouble finding us, just like every other creature, Bigfoot included. "Why is it so small-looking?"

He stared at it, then back at me, then back at it. "Because it's for one person. Maybe two total if you spoon the hell out of each other. But don't worry, princess. You'll be in your tent. Everything's fine."

In that moment, I didn't think I would ever be able to adequately describe the actual panic that stripped my soul and humanity. "Um, my tent?"

You know when you know you're completely screwed, and your body kind of goes numb, but your hands manage to prickle all over while a cold chill rests on your skin? And then you get those bad goose bumps, not the good ones that tell you you're about to be kissed or pressed against a wall with your hair pulled in a really good way? That. That was this feeling.

"Yes." He rolled his eyes. "Your tent. It was right next to the third chair on the ground and the extra sleeping bag your dad left for you."

"Ha ha." It wasn't funny. "The extra sleeping bag?"

His green eyes furrowed. "Yes, to sleep in, unless you planned on wrapping yourself up in a blanket and sleeping on the sand under the stars."

"I didn't bring it," I blurted.

His yellow, bundled-up tent dropped to the ground. "I'm sorry, what? Because it sounded like you just said you didn't bring it. Define it. I need to know what it is."

I gulped and hugged my body. "It would be more like a plural word in this scenario?"

"How plural? And why is that a question? It should be a statement, like…oh, I forgot my bug spray, or my phone. My charger. I forgot my favorite bag of chips. What did you not bring, Hazel?"

"I was distracted." I sidestepped the question. "And may have forgotten to put my tent and the extra sleeping bag in the Jeep."

Had he yelled, I would have felt much better. Instead, he just stared at me like he was about to throw the tent and leave me to fend for myself. "So, you're saying you forgot what you needed for the camping trip?"

"Look." I spread my arms wide. "It's not a big deal. I can sleep in the Jeep."

He burst out laughing. "You're going to sleep in the SUV and freeze to death at night? Do you realize how cold it gets? And we aren't keeping the Jeep on all night. The tent holds body heat, and we put it in front of a fire. Do you even know how nature works, or is it just a guess from reading at this point?"

I rolled my eyes. "I know what you mean, but how cold is it actually supposed to get tonight?"

Rain started to come down as the wind picked up.

I was already shivering.

He grabbed his tent. "Come on, help me put this up, and we'll figure the rest out. Don't grab the firewood yet, and leave the dry blankets."

I huffed and followed him toward the edge of the tree line. He pointed up at the large trees. "If we camp here, it shouldn't get too windy, and we can at least have a fire. The farther we get toward the ocean, the windier it gets. Normally, this area is calmer, but early summer storms can be a thing here, especially with the rain."

I nodded like I knew exactly what he was talking about. He dropped the tent to the ground and started pulling pieces out of the bag. "Just tell me how I can help."

He snorted out a laugh. "I would tell you to read the instructions, but it would just take longer. Why don't you start setting up the chairs and build a place for the fire, as in put rocks in a small circle, dig out a dry hole, and put in the firewood? Then grab the poop shovel and—"

"The what shovel?" I asked.

He sighed like I was the most annoying person on the planet and turned, hands on his narrow hips. Why did jeans have to look so good on him? And why did his stupid thighs match the tree trunks next to him? "For the bathroom."

"A bathroom shovel? But you called it a poop shovel."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I"ll use better words. The poo or potty shovel. Grab it from the back so if you have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, you already have a hole dug out so you can bury your surprise in nature."

His grin was menacing, all straight, white teeth mocking me.

"But…" I sniffled. "I mean, I've camped before, but there were always bathrooms close by. So, you're telling me I have to pre-dig a hole for…things?"

He took a deep breath. "Yes, you need a pre-dug hole, so you aren't digging at night. It gets really dark. It's not like you have to go far into the woods. I'll put the TP by the small table I brought to set up along with the disposable bags we'll throw away in the trash bag later. No big. What were you going to do? Just hold it and explode?"

"If I must," I said a bit too loudly.

He held his hands up. "Everyone pees, Hazel."

"Well, I mean, I know that."

"So?" He shrugged. "Grab the damn shovel."

"Yes, sir, right away, sir. Gonna just go grab the poo shovel and put it by the food, sounds awesome." I stomped off and grabbed the shovel from the back of the Jeep. It was a small, black thing, maybe two feet long, and it looked brand-new. I had this sudden horror that I'd been riding in the Jeep with human feces covering metal just waiting to be looked at.

I put it near the campsite then grabbed the small table and started unloading the food. After I was done doing that, I found a few rocks nearby and made a campfire circle by the tent—not too close since we didn't want to burn down the only shelter we had.

I was actually proud of myself when I finished up. It was already getting pretty dark when I grabbed the firewood and started setting it in the pit.

August came over by me and stared down at my handiwork. "Are you making nature Jenga?"

"Huh?" I looked up. "I read somewhere about making a campfire where you stack it back and forth, then shove the kindling and everything else underneath and blow."

His smile was full-blown beautiful, reaching his eyes in a way that made me look down to not feel its effects. "Well, you have the blow part right."

Before I realized what I was saying, I answered, "I blow just fine, thank you."

"Sure, you do," he said under his breath. "I'll grab the rest of our supplies so we can start dinner. You good with hotdogs and chips?"

I nodded, even though he couldn't fully see me. "Yeah, I'm starving. I'll grab the small grill from the back. Or are you wanting to cook it on one of the griddles?"

He suddenly clapped a hand over my mouth and pulled me against him. "Don't move."

Heart thudding against my chest, I waited for more instructions. Everyone was already in their tents or RVs, and they weren't that close to our campsite. The rustling didn't sound like a large animal, but I was still freaked out.

August pulled me closer against his chest and looked around. Slowly, he tugged his phone out of his pocket and turned on the flashlight, pointing it at the woods.

A small squirrel stared up at us as if we were the crazy ones, but behind the squirrel, a raccoon.

"Shhhh," August whispered in my ear. "I'll scare it away, but you can't be too careful. A lot of them have rabies, and our trash attracts them. We'll have to dig the bathroom closer to camp."

Lovely.

He got up and grabbed a stick from the firepit, then smacked it against a tree. "Hey."

The raccoon scurried off into the woods, but the squirrel stood strong. Ah, brave little one, who would likely steal our food later. We should probably keep all the food in the ice chest and put it away at night in the Jeep.

I made a mental note and looked at the shovel beside the table. "No time better than the present."

August turned around as I saluted him with the shovel. "Where am I digging?"

He grinned. "There."

He pointed at a tree behind the tent. It was maybe six feet away. "And don't forget to bury."

I squeezed my eyes shut. "I can't believe our dads are making us do this."

"They have their reasons," August said quietly. "I'll start dinner."