The Gathering Darkness by Lisa Collicutt

help.
    “Brooke got lost. By the time I found her, it was so dark we couldn’t see to get back, so we waited till morning.” Marcus’ voice was steady, as if his line had been well rehearsed.
    “How convenient.”
    I stiffened at the sound of Evan’s voice. He appeared behind Sammy, stopped beside her and looked at me accusingly.
    “I’ll bet he took real good care of you, too.”
    Marcus took a step out in front of me, almost protectively. He opened his mouth to say something, but I had other ideas.
    I came up beside Marcus again, and passed him by a step. This was my chance to break off whatever little thing there was between Evan and me, so cutting Marcus off before he began, I blurted, “As a matter of fact, he did take good care of me!”
    I looked at Evan, daring him to defy me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Marcus wince ever-so-slightly.
    “Well lucky for you,” Evan shot back.
    “At least he came to look for me.”
    I felt my face redden with anger, and despite my sore, abused ankle, I left Marcus’ side and stomped past Evan and Sammy, who stared open mouthed, and hurried the rest of the way out of the woods to the beach, which I could now see between the trees.



Chapter Ten
    B rooke, wait up!” Sammy yelled after me, but I was too mad to stop and wait for her. I needed to get out of the woods—it was getting crowded.
    Finally, I reached the beach. When I passed the last tree, making my entrance back into society, all eyes were on me. The first person I saw was Megan. She was shaking the sand out of a blanket. I didn’t turn my head in her direction, but I felt the hatred radiate from her as I walked past.
    A few obscenities were called out as I walked across the beach toward the wharf. I didn’t stop to acknowledge anyone. I just wanted to bury myself in the sand. By the time I’d reached the wharf my ankle throbbed, but I couldn’t baby it yet. I jumped down onto the deck of the cruiser, twisting it, hurting it further.
    I glanced over my shoulder. Evan and Sammy came out of the woods followed by Marcus, who received a round of applause when he emerged. The brothers were having a heated discussion. I saw Evan jab his finger into Marcus’ chest several times before Marcus shoved him. Someone grabbed them and pulled them apart, just as they were about to go at each other. Overwhelmed with a medley of emotions, I turned away and went inside the cabin.
    Someone had pulled the little curtains across the portholes inside. The darkness was welcoming. I sat heavily on the unmade bed and let my head drop into my hands allowing a few tears to escape down my cheeks.
    “Ohhh.”
    An ungodly moan came from deep within the blankets. I jumped and wiped my tear-stained face with the backs of my hands. A head covered in messy, dark, curls emerged from under the covers.
    Robyn sat up, moaning, holding on to her head, as if to keep it from exploding. She looked at me under heavy lids, her hand shielding her eyes from the thin shaft of light coming from the slightly open cabin door. It cut across the bed on an angle, nowhere near her.
    “Are you just getting up?” she moaned.
    “No. Ah, I’ve been up for a while.” Obviously she hadn’t remembered or even noticed I’d gone missing the previous night. “Can I get you something? You look awful.”
    “A gallon of ice water would be nice.” With both hands she scratched her entire head, messing her hair up further.
    A quick search of the compact cabin, led me back to the door where a short counter with a tiny sink was built onto the wall. Below it, a small fridge fit snuggly under the counter. The fridge was stocked with hangover elixirs—bottled water and soda. I grabbed us each a bottle of water.
    “Here.” I unscrewed the cap off the bottle and handed it to Robyn. She audibly gulped down half without stopping and then handed it back to me. Her eyes fell shut before her head of dark curls hit the pillow again. She stayed silent, so I left her to