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been given her own room, and that was either a gift from Summer or a
punishment.
Arabella chose to think of it as a gift. That was, until she’d tossed and
turned for a few hours on the narrow twin-size bed. It wasn’t a comfortable
mattress, and maybe that was why she’d been given it.
Arabella knew it probably wasn’t safe to go out of the cabin and wander
the woods at night, but she didn’t want to sit in the living room and risk
waking anyone up. They would probably be grouchy with her, and she was
already at the top of Summer’s shit list. She cracked the front door, and
when nothing bit her, not even the bugs swarming at the porch light
overhead, she closed it behind her and ventured down the steps.
The yard was bathed in shadow, the darkness absolute beyond the porch.
It wasn’t like the city where a halo of light seemed to surround everything.
For a minute, Arabella held her breath, but then she gulped and took a few
more steps into the shadow. She should have thought to bring her phone to
use the flashlight, but it was back in the cabin.
When her eyes adjusted, she could see a huge tree at the far side of the
yard. Its branches moved sinuously in the slight breeze. It was probably still
at least seventy-five degrees out. The air was warm, but not close and
humid like in the cabin. The night breeze smelled like the trees and the
more pungent scent of the lake, but Arabella found that despite not being an
outdoorsy person, she liked it. She even liked the dark once her nerves had
settled, and the big tree she walked over to felt like a safe spot to sit and just
think. Or not think. Come to think of it, she actually wouldn’t mind if her
relentless thoughts and worries would give it a break.
She leaned against the rough bark of the tree and sighed. After the sigh,
she dragged in a big inhale of the fresh lake air. It felt good, so she did it
again. Sighed. Breathed in. Eventually it turned into a regular exhale, inhale
and she found herself relaxing, her shoulders melting against the tree
through her tank top, even though the bark scratched and bit in.
