RECKLESS: A Young Adult Dystopian Romance (THE HERETICS SAGA) by Campbell C. A

Author:Campbell, C. A. [Campbell, C. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-06T00:00:00+00:00

34

I find her hand in the water, or she finds mine. I’m not sure, but either way, we stumble out of the shallow waters and onto the embankment together. The chill of the water penetrates to my bone, but the place where our fingers lace together is unnaturally warm, like a fire has lit in my palm.

We collapse onto the ground, but she doesn’t release my hand as she sputters. “Froqing endsphere on a stubborn donkey. I must really like you. I froqing hate the lake in spring.”

I must really like you.

Must really like you.

Like.

You.

I pretend I didn’t hear those words because they cannot be true. Because it isn’t possible, at least not how I wish for her to mean them.

It hurts to hear the words. It hurts to see her, drenched to the bone. Her red hair plasters to her face; water streams like liquid diamond down her cheeks. Her shirt clings to her, revealing the line of her bra, the imprint of lace. And I snap my gaze away, pulling my fingers from her.

Even soaking wet, she is so beautiful it hurts.

Even when I try to hate her, I still want her so badly.

And I am something she befriended because she pities me. I am the mangy, stray dog she took in because she thought it too pitiful to care for itself.

“Are you okay?” Stefani asks.

No.

“Yes.”

She snorts. “Honestly, how do your pants still manage to be on fire when you’re soaking wet?”

I am not in the mood for games. I stand. The canoe is floating away, still capsized, and I have a feeling I will be the only one getting a citation for destroying school property. I don’t have to look behind me to know that between the trees is a place where the bushes part, a trail worn by feet, and beyond that is the chapel. I never thought I’d be here again.

“Val, it’s not true,” Stefani says, standing softly.

“What isn’t?”

“Whatever you’re thinking.”

I growl a note of frustration and turn toward the path, pushing through the brush. My clothes cling to my skin. My hair has turned even wilder now that it’s wet, clinging to my face in tangled curls. Her shoes squeak as she follows after me.

“Val, talk to me.”

Fine. Fine!

I stop so quickly she nearly slams into my back. I twist around. “I think that this is worse than I feared. I thought that it was some cosmic joke that you wanted to be my friend. But it wasn’t. You’re still looking at me like I am that poor, pitiful Haven girl in need of saving.” My voice grows thick, but I press on. “But I am not any of those things. I have survived more than you can possibly imagine. I have lost more than you can ever know. And I do not need you to save me . I don’t need saving because I am not broken.”

Cracked. Tarnished. But not broken.

“Do you understand?” I say between my teeth. “They did not break me. I am not broken .

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