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She’s quiet as Finn and Hattie enter a competitive stick-finding competition, presenting her with the options. She finds some ivy, uses that to tie the sticks together. Finn tries to catch her gaze as she walks, but she ignores it, losing herself in her design. It’s actually quite soothing. When she’s done, she places the star on Hattie’s head, who grins.
“I love it. I might just wear it instead of a veil.”
“Please, please do,” Finn says. “Bonus points if you can wear a matching outfit made of bark.”
“If you can convince Dylan, then you’re on.”
They pause at a turning—left over a footbridge, or right, deeper into the pine forest. Hattie holds the map upside down, squinting at it, then passes it to Mel.
“I say we wing it,” Hattie says.
“And get lost in the middle of a freezing forest?” Mel asks.
Hattie wrinkles her nose. “This is like extreme scavenger hunting. Dylan should be here. He’s surprisingly good at directions.”
“Why is that surprising?” Finn asks.
“Don’t know. I think maybe he played someone who was always getting lost and I’m conflating the two.”
Mel snorts. “That sounds like a terrible film.”
Hattie purses her lips, nodding. “It does, doesn’t it? There’s a strong chance I’ve completely misremembered it.”
Finn traces a line on the map with his finger, then points into the forest. “It’s this way.”
“I don’t think it is,” Mel says.
“It is,” Finn insists. “Look, it circles back round to the car park, then we can go find Mum.”
“But the footbridge leads us to the loch we started at. It’ll be quicker.”
“I honestly am sure it’s—”
“Of course you are,” Mel snaps. “Of course you think it’s that way, and you couldn’t possibly be wrong, could you? Because you’re never wrong.” She doesn’t quite know why her anger has risen so suddenly and violently again—but, now that it’s here, she’s finding it hard to squish back down.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Finn asks quietly.
“You know perfectly well what it means.”
“I’m not sure I—”
“It’s classic you. Assuming you know best. Making a decision unilaterally and assuming there will be no fallout.”
Finn raises his eyebrows “You’re one to talk—you made decisions without me all the time.”
Mel laughs scathingly. “Oh yeah? Like when?”
“Like your flat.”
“Our flat. I bought it for us.”
“Exactly. You did.”
“You said you wanted it.”
“I said I wanted what you wanted.”
She throws her hands in the air. “Well, that’s the same bloody thing, isn’t it?”
