Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I 'm sitting cross-legged on the forest floor, staring into the glowing coals in the grill tray. Dry needles are pricking my thighs, and I keep having to flick ants off of my shins and back to their trail. What a great vacation !

We haven't even been here three hours and I already feel totally inept. After I broke the middle tent pole as I was putting it together and then accidentally tore the outside of Ethan's sleeping bag with the sharp end, he released me of all further duties. So that I wouldn't do any more damage.

I really was making an effort, though. I want to give this vacation a chance, like I promised Avery I would yesterday. Maybe it won't be as terrible as I'm expecting.

Our car and our tent are nestled within a ring of boulders and ancient sequoias, with wild hawthorn and massive branches filling the gaps in between, so we're fairly well isolated from our camping neighbors.

Earlier, as we were driving from the visitors' center to our campsite, I spotted a sparkling green mountain stream. With a warning sign about bears right next to it. Obviously, nobody told me that there are black bears here. Either my brothers didn't want to upset me, or they assumed that it was just common knowledge. At any rate, I'm going out first thing tomorrow to get myself some bear spray, just in case. The thought of black bears slinking around here makes me kind of nervous. I keep checking into the bushes, but all I see are the outlines of other people's tents and a couple of chipmunks.

I whirl around in terror when I hear a muted rustling behind me, but it's only Liam, setting up a camping table beside a picnic bench anchored into the ground. The few rays of sunshine piercing the canopy overhead cast a net of shimmering light around us, with ghostly shadows dancing among them like tiny insects. It'll be dark in about an hour, so we have to get the tent up and dinner ready by then. I could help Liam, of course, but Ethan did tell me not to touch anything else until dinner.

Out of boredom, I grab a stick and start poking the coals.

"Hey, Lou, quit it!" I hear Ethan call. "You'll make the embers go out!"

Even from inside that crooked tent, he seems to be keeping an eye on me.

I make a face at him behind his back. He always manages to make me feel like a toddler. Spitefully, I start jabbing the stick around the edge of the coals even more. Acrid smoke promptly billows into my face, and my eyes begin to water. Liam laughs. I throw the branch aside with a scowl. Ava and Madison are off hooking up with super-hot guys at model camp while I'm stuck here with my brothers. The one highlight of my entire vacation will probably be a couple of unshaven nature freaks in hiking boots that look like survivalist street vendors with all their gear. Psst, hey, kid, wanna buy some bear spray?

Thanks a lot, Ethan! I've barely spoken to him since that horrible night. Only during our tutoring sessions, and only when absolutely necessary. After a couple of days, I wanted to ask him to take away at least part of the punishment, but at the last minute my pride got in the way. Weirdly, apologizing to Mr. Smith was easier than any of the rest, especially since he got to keep his job and my little prank didn't have any other serious consequences.

Once that was certain, I asked Liam to talk to Ethan again for me. But Liam's opinion doesn't count in Ethan's eyes, so then Jayden was up. Ethan values Jayden's opinion quite a bit, but this time my youngest brother's pleas fell on deaf ears. And the day before yesterday, Avery sat me down for a chat.

So I'm going to try to make the best of the situation, for Avery's sake, Liam's, and Jayden's.

Which is why I clamber to my feet now and help Liam with the camping table after all. After that, I go to the car, pull the plastic tablecloth out of my backpack, and spread it over the table.

"Lou!" I hear Ethan call.

I ignore him and go back to fetch the dishes from the transport case. Despite everything, he still acts like everything is fine between us. Well, sure, he got his way, so as far as he's concerned, everything is fine! The fact that he's derailing my whole life doesn't seem to interest him in the slightest. On my last Facebook post, I wrote that I had to leave Facebook for a while. I didn't explain why—telling everyone that my own brother is punishing me with that would be way, way too embarrassing. Instead, I posted our travel route. Ethan, obviously, used it as yet another reason to get all furious at me. I don't know why, but I just needed to do it. If the rest of the world isn't going to hear anything from me, they ought to at least know where I am. Otherwise it's almost like I don't exist, strange as that sounds.

"Louisa!" It's Ethan again, more annoyed this time.

I act like I'm engrossed in my work.

"You can go ahead and grab the camping lanterns. It gets dark fast out here!"

I remember the promise I made to Avery. "Where are they?"

"How would I know? You were the one who was supposed to pack them. I specifically put them in your room."

"Dammit." Hopefully Ethan didn't hear me say that under my breath. I open the trunk and start rummaging around in my backpack, even though I know I'm not going to find them in there. They're still sitting next to my bedroom door.

"I think I forgot them," I call to Ethan, just as Avery returns from the visitors' center with a sack of firewood, a bag of potatoes, and a six-pack of beer. He heaves the wood and the potatoes onto a bench, sets the beer beside them, and then flops down himself.

"You're kidding!" Ethan is beside me within seconds. He tears my bag away from me and starts yanking my clothes out. Shorts, lace tops, and ruffled T-shirts land on the dirty cargo liner.

"Watch out!" I grab a white blouse out of his hand.

"Don't tell me these are the only clothes you brought." He stares, baffled, at the particularly tight T-shirt he's holding, which has a brightly colored necklace caught on the hem.

I cross my arms. "That's all. So what?"

"No long pants? No sweaters? Where are your hiking boots?"

"I can hike in my Chucks."

"Or in those things, which you still haven't paid me back for," Ethan sneers, gesturing at my flowered sandals. He continues searching my bag, and curses to himself when he sees my arsenal of cosmetics and bracelets. "Where, exactly, did you think we were camping at? A spa hotel?"

"If I have to come, I'm going to wear what I want to wear."

"And where are the camping lanterns?" Ethan glowers at me.

"I forgot them, like I just said." I cringe inwardly, bracing myself to get chewed out.

Ethan takes a deep breath. "You really are completely useless." He says it loud enough for anyone within a hundred feet to hear. "It's not like I asked you to remember a hundred things. Just the two lanterns and the tablecloth. That's it. Three things. That shouldn't be too hard, even for you."

"Sorry," I snap, trying to mask how much that hurt.

"Maybe you left them behind on purpose," he sighs in resignation.

"I did not! I just forgot them!" My face heats up in rage.

"Like you forgot your math stuff?" Ethan pushes me away from the trunk and slams it shut. Then he reaches into his pants pocket and slaps a few dollar bills into my hand. "Go to the visitors' center and buy two new ones. Now."

He says it like I'm a total idiot, and it's completely demeaning. We really do need lanterns, though, and it's totally my fault that we don't have them.

"Can I get some bear spray too, then?" I ask, making every effort to sound friendly.

Ethan stares at me like I've officially lost my mind. "I wouldn't give you bear spray if there were a grizzly right in front of our tent. You would somehow manage to spray us all and leave us totally defenseless. Anyway, you wouldn't have the guts to use it in an emergency."

"But I'm scared of bears!" I insist stubbornly.

He gives me a look of pure contempt. "Just the lanterns. That's it. Got it?"

"Maybe I'll just get in the next bus I see and go home, then." The words are tumbling out before I can stop them. "Or somewhere else!" My voice sounds whiny, and I hate myself for it. I hate myself for letting Ethan provoke me into acting like a small child, instead of a sixteen-year-old, almost seventeen-year-old.

"Yeah, yeah, sure." He waves dismissively. "Make sure you don't get in the wrong bus." His grin is cruel. And patronizing. It makes me completely forget my promise to Avery.

"And you think you can replace Dad for me," I shout. "But Dad would never have been so mean to me. He would have never told me that I'm useless. Never! I hate you!" I turn around and stalk off.

I hope a sequoia branch falls on his head and kills him!

As I trot down the gravel road toward the visitors' center, I try to push the whole conversation with Ethan out of my mind, but his words keep circling around me like the blades of a windmill. Shouldn't be hard, even for you. You really are completely useless.

I do feel like jumping onto the next bus I see, just to get back at Ethan. I know it would be childish of me, but he'd be getting what he deserved for talking down to me like that. Then I count the bills crumpled in my fist and realize that thirty bucks isn't going to get me home anyway. Scowling, I shove the money into my shorts pocket, and then stick my hands under my armpits because I'm suddenly freezing, like the temperature just dropped twenty degrees from one minute to the next. It's gotten darker, too. And quieter. I hadn't realized just how loudly the gravel was crunching under the soles of my sandals.

I glance around. A couple of gigantic crows are sitting near the big Dumpster, picking at crumbs left behind by other campers. Uneasily, I peer into the thick trees looking for black bears, but all I see are green and brown tents, campfires, people in outdoor gear... and trees, hundreds and hundreds of trees. Everything else looks so tiny next to them, like a bunch of toys. The shadows around their bare trunks are beginning to swallow the flickering sunlight, as if they're strangling it with their evil claws... or maybe getting ready to leap at me from the darkness.

There. Wasn't something moving back there, between those two trees? Something dark, like a cross between a man and a bear? I freeze in place for a second and then retreat back to the center of the gravel road. I squint into the forest, but then shake my head at my own ridiculousness. Why wouldn't there be things moving in there? This place is full of people, even if there aren't technically any tents in the part I'm walking through right now. Maybe the public toilets they mentioned earlier are back there? I set off down the road again. The visitors' center isn't far now, maybe a quarter mile away, on the other side of the main road running through the park. I can already see the brightly lit entrance from here.

But I still can't shake the sense that someone or something is walking along beside me, and keeps slipping behind the nearest tree every time I look in that direction.

Heart racing, I tug my paper-thin blouse up to cover my shoulders. Quit showing so much skin, Louisa, I hear Ethan say. Don't tell me you've never heard anyone say, "If she didn't want it she wouldn't have been dressed like that."

I glance into the trees again, and this time I'm sure I saw it. Something long, wild, scurrying into a shadow as though it were part of the forest itself.

I start walking faster now, keeping my eyes straight ahead. It's not far at all now—I'm already in the RV park. To get there faster, I veer off onto a narrow path winding past the individual campsites. In my anxiety, I run smack into a clothesline spanned between two trees, and curse loudly as I break into a near-jog.

A branch snaps somewhere nearby. I glance toward it and feel a hand on my shoulder. I want to scream, but everything happens too fast. The hand jerks me around.

"Lou! Wait up already!"

I smack the hand away reflexively. "Jay," I wheeze. "You scared me to death. What are you doing sneaking up behind me?"

"I wasn't sneaking, I just took a shortcut." He grins, and for a moment I wonder whether this is some kind of test he's running for one of his stories. How would a teenaged girl react to a mysterious threat in the forest? But no—Jay may be ambitious, but he wouldn't go that far.

"Don't you ever do that again!" I snap. My heart is still hammering in my chest. "I thought you were a... oh, never mind." Suddenly, it dawns on me. "Ethan sent you to make sure I didn't run away."

Jay shakes his head. "He doesn't mean it like that. He just wants to protect you."

"Is that what you came out here to tell me?"

"I came out here to make sure everything was okay."

"Ethan hates me! He thinks I'm worthless!" I'm almost shocked at myself for saying it aloud. This is the first time I'm realizing that I genuinely believe it. There's a dull pressure in my chest. Anger goes away eventually, so does disappointment. But contempt is more intense, it runs deeper. It's harder to fight.

"Bullshit!" Jayden retorts energetically. "Ethan loves you. If he hates anyone, it's himself, because he can't help being so hard on you."

You really are completely useless. I'm not sure what to think anymore. I'm pretty sure I've just disappointed Ethan once too often, and at some point, his disappointment turned into contempt. Which is why he doesn't even care anymore if I say hurtful things to him.

I turn away. "Just leave me alone so I can buy the stupid lanterns in peace," I mutter. Maybe I can do this one thing right.

"Are you sure?" Jay sounds wary.

I turn back around and force myself to smile at him, so that he'll leave me alone. "I'm sure!" With that, I leave him standing there.

The visitors' center is warm and brightly lit, with wood paneling on the walls and ceiling that gives it a cozy feel. The whole room smells like the French fries and fresh-brewed coffee at the kiosk in the far corner. I wish I could just spend the night in here instead of shivering in the cold, listening to my brothers snore. Bringing me along was so dumb of Ethan, especially because now there'll be five of us squished into a four-person tent.

Thinking about Ethan brings back that funny feeling in my stomach. Knowing someone's mad at me is bad enough, but I totally can't deal with people looking down on me. Maybe I should use this vacation as a chance to show Ethan that I'm not as irresponsible as he thinks. If I'm on my very best behavior all summer, maybe he'll even change his mind about letting me be in Hades in Love this fall. Anyway, I did promise Avery I would make nice.

I rub my arms, still shivering a little, as I look around the visitors' center. It's a one-story building divided into two sections. One side is full of tourist brochures; the other is where they make money off of campers who forgot stuff at home. Out through the other exit is where the park ranger said they have proper toilets and showers—thank God!

I saunter up and down the aisles, searching for the lanterns. The sales area is like a mini-grocery store, except obscenely overpriced. Eight ounces of Starbucks iced coffee for ten dollars. Sandwiches for eleven. Seriously? I thought camping was supposed to be cheap?

Eventually, I drift over to a rack of hoodies. A grey one with a green hood says Sequoia National Park in big letters across the front. Maybe I should buy that instead of the lanterns? I really didn't bring anything long-sleeved, and it's already freezing outside. I slide it over to look at the one behind it. Keep calm and camp on , it says underneath a picture of a grizzly bear. Very funny. I wander off again, and soon find myself in the alcove with the camping equipment. The bear spray is the first thing that catches my eye.

I reach for the can. Animal repellent spray. Works up to 30 feet away. $50.

Well, great. I wouldn't have fifty bucks if I asked Ethan for a month's allowance in advance. Plus I still owe him for the clothes. With a sigh, I put the can back, and my gaze drifts to the entrance, just as a guy in dark clothing walks in through the open glass doors. I stare at him as though hypnotized. Black cargo pants, black hoodie. It's not his outfit I'm fascinated by, though. It's something in his expression. I can't place it. I just know it's got my attention.

I take a deep breath and look away. If Madison were here, she'd say he was hot like fire and call dibs on him. Ava would probably be squeezing my wrist to death. Dammit, if Ethan hadn't taken my phone away I could have taken a sneaky picture of him.

In an effort to look busy, I pick up the bear spray again and act like I'm studying the ingredients, though in reality I'm watching Hoodie Guy from across the lid of the can. His dark hair is slightly too long to be neat, but it doesn't seem unkempt. More like... rakish. He looks like a guy who's not afraid to take risks.

With one quick motion, I slide the ponytail holder out of my hair and smooth it down. Maybe he'll notice me yet. You never know!

He's standing in front of the freezer case now, reaching for... are those fish sticks? Lord, I wouldn't have pegged him as a fish sticks kind of guy. He looks like a steak guy. Rare, I bet. As if in a trance, I watch him pull out iced coffee—not the Starbucks one—and a couple of frozen donuts. All things I love!

Suddenly, as if sensing me sneaking glances at him behind the bear spray, he turns around and looks at me from across the room. He has a questioning look on his face, almost like he's wondering if he's done something wrong. Or like he's astonished that I'm looking at him. Like he can't believe he's caught my attention.

I can't even move. I just go right on staring at him like a complete psychopath . Goddammit, Lou, get your shit together already!

Before I can make myself smile, I realize that he's already turned away and gone to the cash register. He pays with a bill he fishes out of his pocket and then turns to leave. But he's heading for the alcove, not the glass doors.

Help! He's coming this way! Maybe he wants to know why I'm gawking at him. Or he forgot something. Or he just wants to chat.

I grip the bear spray in both hands, gazing at it like I'm in spiritual communion with the ingredients list, wondering if he's actually walking in my direction. Half of me desperately hopes he is; the other half has basically shut down, and taken whatever's left of my rational mind with it.

I really, seriously think he's coming over here.

Quickly, I spin around and run my thumbnail between my front teeth to make sure there's nothing stuck in there if he does talk to me. What am I wearing again? Oh, right, the white blouse with the billowy lace sleeves, the long chain with a bunch of multi-colored pendants, and my jean shorts. No hiking boots, fortunately. Then again, maybe he's into that kind of thing.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see him step into the alcove and position himself in front of the shelf holding flashlights, lanterns, and batteries. He's using one forearm to hold the frozen foods neatly against his stomach—his slender, toned stomach, at least from what I can tell from his baggy clothes. He seems pretty athletic in general, based on the way he moves. Like a panther, whose deadly strength you barely notice beneath its elegant grace.

I could ask him whether he knows about camping stuff, and it wouldn't even be a pretense, because I don't have the first clue about camping lanterns. But I just stand there tongue-tied, feeling my cheeks starting to burn. Hoodie Guy looks like he's out of high school already. Twenty-two, maybe? Older? Way too old for you, Ethan would say.

Perfect , Ava whispers seductively in my head. I don't remember the last time a boy threw me this far off my game. Well, not a boy. Definitely not a boy.

"The bear spray is useless," he says out of the blue, without turning around. "Total scam." His voice is dark, gravelly, confident. It only amplifies my insecurity. I stare at his back, wracking my brain feverishly, trying to come up with a reply before he thinks I'm deaf or dumb or both.

"Or at least I don't know anyone that's successfully taken out a bear with it." He turns and gives me a brief smile.

I can feel my heart pounding in my throat, and all I can do is pray that he doesn't notice how nervous I am. He's even better-looking up close. His eyes are dark, nearly black, framed by long, thick lashes. Bedroom eyes, Ava whispers. My gaze travels around his face: thin, well-defined lips; a nose that isn't too big or too small. His cheekbones are unusual—they stand out so much that they actually have thin shadows underneath them. The shadows give him an unapproachable air. Unapproachable, but vulnerable. Which is probably the thing about him that got my attention so fast.

He gestures casually to the can in my hand. "All that stuff is going to do is provoke them. In fact, if you're super unlucky, it'll make them want to attack you. Especially if your aim is off." He takes a step toward me. He smells like firewood, salt, and woods, but there's another sweet, pungent smell mixed in that I can't identify. Some kind of chemical. Cleaning fluid, maybe.

I still can't get a smile out. He seems so perfectly controlled, so experienced. He's probably talked to hundreds of girls. Anything that comes out of my mouth is going to be totally stupid. If I ever manage to say another word again.

"You must not go camping much," he says, as if to help me get over my shyness. Which of course he knows how to do, because I'm sure this isn't the first time that a girl has gone speechless at the sight of him.

"But what if there's suddenly one in front of me?" I blurt out. "Um, a... a bear, I mean...?" I could seriously smack myself for stammering like this. Soooo embarrassing.

Hoodie Guy either didn't hear it or is very smooth about ignoring it. "Stand still. Keep calm." He smiles again, this time with a strange gleam in his eyes. Maybe he's happy to discover that I know how to talk after all. "Just wait until it goes away. If it keeps coming closer, you should sing or clap your hands—loud noises will scare most black bears off."

"Okay," I say in a near-whisper, setting the can back on the shelf. "I'm supposed to buy a camping lantern," I quickly add, not wanting him to leave. "Do you know anything about them?"

"To hang, or to put on the table?" He looks at me. His pupils are gigantic—nearly to the outer edge of his irises. I heard somewhere that people's pupils get bigger when they like the person they're talking to. The thought of him thinking I'm pretty gives me a tiny bit more courage. Maybe I really am pretty. Even Ethan says that.

"To put on the table." I clear my throat a little so that my voice will sound more confident, and toy nervously with my pendant. "I forgot our lanterns at home, and my brother sent me to buy new ones."

He nods like he already knows, and I wonder whether he heard our argument. Ethan was pretty loud. If he did hear anything, though, he doesn't say so. Instead, he plucks a lantern from one of the upper shelves that I wouldn't have been able to reach on my own. Wow, he's tall. At least as tall as Avery. Six-one, maybe six-two. I barely come up to his chin, if that. "Solarez are the best. They give off plenty of light without blinding you."

I act like I'm looking more closely at the lantern, but all I can really see are his long, slim fingers wrapped around it. There's a faint scar across the back of his left hand. For some reason, I like it.

"I'm Louisa," I suddenly tell him.

"Bren." His pupils have swallowed his entire iris now. Is he on drugs or something? I'm not sure how to tell. He seems too lucid to be high, though. His gaze seems to penetrate straight into my core, almost like he's trying to tell me something. Like there's something I need to understand. But what?

"Just Bren?" I hear myself ask from a million miles away.

He blinks, and the moment passes. "Brendan." Now he's the one speaking softly, as if his name's a secret he's only revealing to me. He glances over his shoulder, toward the cash register. The cashier's back is to us; he's organizing a rack next to the counter. Bren sweeps his gaze across the shelves.

My optimism shrivels to approximately walnut size. Probably searching for his girlfriend. What was I thinking? Of course a guy who looks like Brendan is going to have a girlfriend.

"I've gotta go," he says abruptly and presses the lantern into my hand. "Maybe I'll see you around."

I smile to hide my disappointment. "Are you staying a while?" I ask anyway.

His gaze drifts through the room again. "Couple more days."

"Same here."

"Yeah." He gives me a goodbye nod. "Later."

"Later." I watch him exit through the glass doors, still holding the frozen foods and the iced coffee against his stomach.

I stay standing there for a minute or two longer, feeling like I'm in some kind of dream. Finally, I look down at the lantern in my hand. It's fourteen dollars, practically the same as the iced coffee. Crazy. I ask the cashier to get me a second one from the shelf, but my mind is still on Brendan. I should have told him about model camp. I bet that would have impressed him, and then he wouldn't have taken off so soon. Although maybe he would have just thought it was me being a dumb, naive teenaged girl. Yeah, probably better I didn't mention it. He didn't look like the easily impressed type. What type did he look like? As I pay for the lanterns, I try to play the three-word description game on Brendan. Confident... daring... and...

Hm. Too many choices. Hot? Exciting? Wild? Vulnerable? Intense?

If there was one thing he had going for him, it was that he didn't talk or act like I was completely useless. He actually managed to distract me from Ethan.

Lost in thought, I walk back out into the visitors' center parking lot. It's already dusk; reddish-gold rays of sunlight are fanning out through the gathering blue-grey clouds. It'll be dark soon. The thought of having to walk the whole way back to our campsite makes me shiver—partly from cold, partly because the forest looks more sinister than ever. I wish I hadn't sent Jay away. I fumble with the switch on one of the camping lanterns, and then the other, but they stay dark. Ethan probably would have thought I was stupid for even trying, but sometimes batteries are included, right? Not this time, though.

With one lantern in each hand, I set off across the parking lot. From a distance, I see a dark figure approaching. His determined stride reminds me of Ethan's, but when he gets closer, I recognize Bren.

He seems to have put the stuff he bought away already.

"Hey, Louisa."

I stop in my tracks, surprised that he's talking directly to me. His expression is serious, almost contemplative. "Bad news," he says in a clipped tone and gives me a once-over, as though assessing me somehow.

"What?" Involuntarily, I grip the lanterns more tightly. Hopefully it's not about my brothers. Then again, how would he know about them?

"There's a mama black bear with her cubs right by the Dumpsters."

I feel the blood drain from my face. "That's exactly the direction I'm going."

"You'd better wait until they leave. Mother bears always get crazy aggressive if they think someone's threatening their cubs. Some idiot forgot to lock one of the Dumpsters. Same thing happens every year. It may be hours before they finish eating."

My thoughts begin to race. If I don't show up back at camp soon, they'll come searching for me, and then they'll run straight into the arms of that mama bear. "I have to get back."

Bren shakes his head, pursing his thin lips. "You can't get past there."

"But my brothers..." I glance over my shoulder toward the visitors' center. "They'll be looking for me. We should tell the rangers. I've gotta?—"

Bren raises a placating hand. "Louisa, the rangers are already there, making sure everyone's safe. They're not going to let anyone get anywhere near the bears."

"Really?"

He nods.

"And they'll be on both sides of the Dumpsters?"

"Um, of course, why wouldn't they be?"

I breathe a sigh of relief. Rangers have guns, and they're allowed to shoot bears in emergency situations. And when my brothers see them, they'll realize that I'm waiting on the other side.

"There's always some idiot trying to take pictures," Bren explains now. "This one tourist in Canada even tried to get his daughter to ride on a grizzly's back."

"No way!"

"I swear to God! But nothing happened."

I have to laugh, and he joins in with a brief, loud "ha ha." It's barely a laugh at all, but it changes his face for a moment, softens those rough, unapproachable shadows, makes him look younger.

"I was headed back to the visitors' center." Bren takes the lanterns out of my hands. Why, I don't know, but somehow it feels natural. "Forgot tomatoes. But if you want to get back to your brothers, I can drive you around the long way to your campsite."

"There's another road?" I blink, baffled. "The ranger didn't mention that." Unless he did and I just wasn't paying attention. Again.

"There's three, actually, but the third will be blocked off, too, because it's too close to the Dumpsters. People don't take the other route much, because it goes a few miles through the forest, and it's got a million potholes." His eyes shift to my bare shoulder. The blouse has slipped down again, nearly to my elbow. Automatically, I pull it up a little. He looks up, directly into my eyes. The intensity of his gaze hits me again. "You shouldn't walk that whole way by yourself. Really."

For half a second, I think about all the things Ethan is always warning me about, but then the sun emerges from behind a grey mountain of clouds and the entire sky seems to drown in the blood red of the setting sun. Everything is glowing, radiant. The towering sequoias behind Bren look like they're about to burst into flame.

"What about your tomatoes? Don't you want to go grab them first?"

He waves the question away. "I'm right over there, a little ways down the road." The sunlight flickers in his eyes, tiny pinpoints of red dancing across his black irises, or pupils, I'm not sure. And there's that feeling again, the one I got in the visitors' center. The feeling that he wants to tell me something. Or is it a question he's only asking me in his mind?

Do you want this?

A faint tingling sensation pulses through my veins. It could mean anything.

Do you want to come with me?

Do you want to sleep with me?

Do you want something to happen?

The key ring jingles in his hand like an invitation. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a man hoisting a backpack from the trunk of his car. Bren glances over at him, and I follow his gaze. The man shoulders the bag and heads straight for the visitors' center. Otherwise, the lot is completely empty.

Bren turns away from the man to look at me again. "It's not far."

I nod, and he moves around to walk beside me, between me and the center.

Ethan would kill me if he knew I was getting into a stranger's car. But he doesn't know the situation. Besides, Bren is too hot to turn down. I guess there's also a chance he's hoping something will happen if he drives me. Maybe he wants to get to know me. Or more than that. Which is what makes this so exciting.

Do you want this?

My heart is racing as I walk next to him. I take a deep breath. I feel like I'm sensing everything around me at once: the rhythmic rustling of the treetops, the scent of pine needles and smoke, the wind on my skin, Bren's keys jingling, the sound of the camping lanterns clacking together in his other hand.

"You're shivering," he says suddenly.

"I'm fine."

He gives me a sidelong look, and then smiles like he knows better. We leave the parking lot and continue down the main street. Within minutes, the sky changes from reddish gold to grey. "We're almost there." Bren points straight ahead. I can barely make out a camper bus parked in a pull-off area a short distance from the road.

My stomach knots. Is he traveling with his wife and kids? Maybe he's older than I thought, and he's just being nice to me because he saw me holding the bear spray so he knows I'm scared of bears. Maybe he only offered to drive me because he's a responsible guy who doesn't want a girl walking around in the woods alone.

"So you're here with your family?" I can't stop myself from asking.

His face darkens for a second, but he smiles the shadows away as soon as I see them. "Just me."

"I pictured you with a car and a tent."

He raises an eyebrow. "Is there a difference between tent guys and RV guys?"

Is he making fun of me? I shrug uncertainly. "Um. You just... looked like a tent guy, I dunno." I hope he's not mad. "I guess I thought maybe because you know so much about... bears and stuff."

He smiles. Thank God. "The bus gives me more flexibility." His keys clink against his cargo pants.

"It's huge," I realize. "You could fit a family of five in there."

"I need space. Sometimes I spend the whole summer on the road."

"So what do you do in winter?" The question is out before I can bite it back. I'm too damn nosy.

"Work."

"Oh." Now I feel dumb. Like, obviously, if you spend the whole summer traveling around, you have to earn money sometime.

We've reached the camper. Travel America , it says in red-and-blue striped letters across the side. I wonder what it's like going on vacation all by yourself in this gigantic RV. Is Bren a loner? He doesn't look like one. But you can't tell that Jayden's a loner at first glance, either.

Bren walks to the passenger-side door, unlocks it, and pulls on the handle, but the door doesn't open. "Ah, fuck," he groans. "Stuck again." He yanks on the door grip as hard as he can, but nothing happens. He turns to me with a sheepish grin and shrugs. "Sorry. You mind getting in the back and then climbing up front?"

"No problem," I say, but all at once I'm starting to get a bad feeling. I don't know why, though. I mean, I'm standing here with the single most attractive human being in California. Ava would probably walk across broken glass for a chance to sleep with him. Everything's fine. The passenger-side door sticks, no big deal.

Bren opens the back door on the side, which leads into the living area. Over his shoulder, I see a small yellow kitchen island and a table with benches. It's pretty dark in here, though. When he steps aside to let me through, I hesitate, peering into the camper again. There's a dark jacket tossed carelessly across one bench, and a two-liter of Coke and a glass sitting on the table. A small dishtowel hanging on the fridge door handle. The tiny counter is cluttered with stuff.

Organized chaos. Exactly what I'd expect from a guy like him.

I look up at him.

He smiles, but it's different somehow. Maybe it's just that weird feeling in my stomach that I totally have no idea why I'm getting.

He seems to notice my anxiety. "Hey," he says, taking a step back. "I'm Bren, not Jack."

"Jack?"

He raises his hands as if to show he's not armed. My camping lanterns swing into the air with them. "The Ripper." Grinning, he lowers his hands and stuffs his keys into his pocket.

I let out a laugh. "Okay." But that weird feeling stays with me. Maybe I'm scared of my own courage. Maybe he wants to get right to it, like he'll offer me a Coke and then make his move. I wonder how I would react to that. Or will react. My stomach is still doing flip-flops, but I'm not sure anymore if I'm feeling excited or threatened.

"We could walk if you'd rather," Bren suddenly says. "It's kind of far, but I understand if you?—"

"No, it's fine," I say, cutting him off, and take the stairs up. He wouldn't offer to walk with me if he was actually trying to do something bad. So I don't understand why now, of all times, Ethan's warnings come flooding back into my head again. Like that stuff he was saying about guys seeing my clothes and thinking maybe no means yes with me .

But Bren wouldn't have to force girls to do anything , I reason with myself. With those eyes and that smile, he can get any girl he wants.

Once I'm in the RV, I look to either side. The curtains are all drawn, I notice for the first time. Bren gets in behind me and jerks the door shut roughly.

Why didn't he go around to the front?

That weird feeling flickers to life again. He's behind me, close enough that I can feel the warmth of his body, although he isn't touching me.

He doesn't say anything. Doesn't go to the fridge to offer me something to drink.

Where did he put the stuff he bought earlier? He was coming from a totally different direction. He can't have walked the whole way to the camper and back in that short of a time. Something is off here. A wave of fear washes over me. The sweet scent I smelled back at the visitors' center is suddenly really intense. I'm too scared to turn around and look at him. I open my mouth, not sure whether I want to talk to him or scream or just run to the driver's side door.

At the exact moment that I decide to run, there's a loud crash, and glass splinters fly in every direction. A lantern rolls past my foot. Before I can react, Bren's arm shoots out. He presses my elbows against my body, squeezing me. At first I'm frozen in shock; then I start trying to wrench my arms free, but I can't, he's too strong.

I scream again and again, so loudly that it hurts my throat. "Help!" "No!" "Please!" but then his hand is on my face. He's pressing something soft against my mouth and nose, holding it down tight.

The sweet smell burns my lips, makes my eyes water. Immediately, the room starts to spin. I can't breathe this stuff in. Don't breathe, don't . Still holding my breath, I dig my nails into his thigh, but Bren's grip is like iron, like the bars of a cage. Blind panic fills me. I can't get away. Oh, God, I can't get out of here. I understand what's happening to me and yet I don't.

"Hold still, I'm not going to hurt you." He sounds perfectly calm, even as his arm is winding tighter and tighter around my body.

All I can see now is the white cloth. All I can think about is how I'm going to die. My pulse is throbbing in my ears. The pressure in my chest is unbearable. I have to breathe. Aimlessly, I kick out at him, land a couple of blows, but then he crushes me more tightly against him, lifting me so my feet are dangling in the air. My eyes start to water. My lungs are exploding. I can't hold my breath any longer. The sweet stuff flows into my mouth, scratches my throat. Neon-colored spirals dance before my eyes against a black background. I try to wriggle free, but my muscles have other plans.

"I won't hurt you, don't worry." Bren's voice pierces the thick, dark fog circling inside my head. I feel myself slump in his grip, tip forward. I know that I'm blacking out. And that it means I'm going to die.

Wild patterns envelop me. At the end, all that's left are words.

Hold still, I'm not going to hurt you.

You really are completely useless.

Do you want this?