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Out of nowhere, Zoey picked up a handful of snow and, with a mischievous glint in her eye, lobbed it at Mason.
It landed with a soft splat on his shoulder.
He turned, faking outrage. “Oh, it’s on now!”
Before long, the forest was filled with the sounds of our laughter as snowballs flew in every direction. I saw an opportunity and took aim at Mason, putting all my energy into the throw.
But as luck would have it, my aim was a little off, and the snowball hit Liam squarely in the face.
He wiped the snow off with a playful growl, his eyes narrowing in mock challenge. “You’re gonna pay for that!” He scooped up handfuls of snow, rapidly returning fire.
It was a spectacle of snowballs whizzing through the air, surprise ambushes, and shrieks of surprise. Mason, clearly an experienced snowball fighter, hit us again and again. Although he seemed to take it easy on Zoey, and I didn’t blame him.
Finally, after what seemed like hours of snowy warfare, we called a truce and decided to head back. Mason and Liam led the way, engrossed in their conversation, while Zoey and I trailed behind.
As we trudged through the snow, I noticed Zoey glancing at the pristine snow-blanketed trees around us.
“The forest is so different in the winter with so much snow.” Her gaze drifted upward to the overcast sky. “It’s almost magical.”
Mason, overhearing our conversation, added, “Especially when you’re seeing it from an unplanned detour, right?”
Liam shot me a playful glare. “You can thank our wonderful guide for that.”
Mason raised an eyebrow. “Next time, I’m choosing the trail.”
Liam nodded. “Agreed. And no maps for Bodhi.”
Zoey shot me a teasing look. “You’re an artist, so you’re not bad with maps, just directionally creative!”
I grinned, nudging her lightly with my shoulder. “Directionally creative? I like it.”
She must have been getting her jokes from those movies she liked so much, but it was endearing.
Our conversation carried us a fair distance, and before we knew it, Mason and Liam had walked ahead, leaving Zoey and me in our own little world.
“Are you spending Christmas with your family this year?” Zoey asked.
The question was just meant as small talk, and I knew that, so I didn’t blame her for bringing up my family.
“Maybe,” I said. “Things with my family have been tense.” Now was not the time I wanted to talk about this. We were having such a great day.
But the mood had already shifted.
“Sorry. We don’t have to talk about it,” she said, and by the way she focused on the ground, I could tell she felt terrible about my mood change.
I sighed. “It’s not you, Zoey. It’s just... there are things I haven’t shared. Things that are hard to talk about.”
She waited patiently.
Even though I didn’t really want to tell Zoey what my brother had done, another part of me wanted to confide in her, to let her know about my past. And that part won over. If we were really going to pursue something, she deserved to know about something that had affected me so dramatically.
Swallowing hard, I began, “You know I have a brother, right?”
Zoey nodded, her expression attentive.
“We used to be best friends. Inseparable.”
“I remember that,” she said. “He was at all of your high school baseball games and art shows.”
