Him or Me by Veronica Larsen

Author:Veronica Larsen [Larsen, Veronica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-07-18T21:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOUR

Grace

"HATE TO BREAK THIS to everyone," Jackson says, "but it really does look like Heath is going to live."

We all pretend to be disappointed, but Samantha's groan is loud and suspiciously convincing.

Of course, we already knew Heath was fine. The park ranger came and went, confirming the snake we described wasn't poisonous. But at Jackson's words, Heath pulls his foot away from his brother and puts it onto the ground a bit forcefully, like he's annoyed with the final assessment. Maybe because the rest of us stand around where he sits on one of the folding chairs, fawning over him as if he's just limped in from an epic battle.

He's been milking the snake incident for his own amusement.

"It came out of nowhere," he says, taking the bottle of water Delilah hands him. "But do you know the worst part? Grace refused to suck the poison out of my toe."

Everyone looks to me at once, gazes varying from confusion to silent accusation. The sun moves lower in the sky, causing the campfire to grow brighter. Heath's blue eyes fix on me from where he sits, brightened by the flames in front of us.

I throw up my hands. "There was no poison! And, anyway, who here would just suck Heath's toe before taking the time to explore other viable options?"

"I would," Delilah says.

"Yeah, well, besides you."

Jackson sets a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Sorry to tell you, man, these are the times you figure out who your true friends are."

Samantha chimes in. "Maybe this is a good time to point out…"

"Don't ruin this for me," Jackson mutters to her.

But she ignores him. "…you can't suck poison out. It doesn't work like that."

"This isn't about poison, it's about trust." Jackson points a playfully chastising finger at his girlfriend then promptly drops it when she glares at him.

"Exactly," Heath says. "For all Grace knew, I was at death's doorstep." He pauses to turn his attention back to me. His brows tilt upward like they did on the trail, drawing those adorable lines on his forehead again. My stomach does a weird flip and I shake away the memory of our kiss. His tone drips with disingenuous hurt as he goes on, "I would've sucked your toe, Grace. I wouldn't have asked any questions. I wouldn't have Googled. I would've dropped to my knees right there and had your toe in my mouth from the moment you kicked the snake away."

He's such an ass.

Delilah nods along, her freckled face grave with concern, like she can't believe what a horrible friend I am.

"What if it were one of your first graders who got bit on the toe by a snake?" she asks. "Would you let one of those poor kids die just because of your aversion to toes?"

Probably.

"Oh my God," I say. "I'm done talking about this." I turn from them and take the seat on the other side of the fire. I do this without thinking, but only after I settle into the seat do I notice confusion flashing across Heath's face.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.