First Degree Burns Read online

  “What’s going on? Where’s Danny and the guys?” Nicole inquired. She did her best not to sound worried because, clearly, something was wrong.

  Her uncle and father sneered, but she wasn’t sure why. The look they gave her, though, made her stomach drop. An uneasy, almost sick feeling rolled around her belly, and she wondered if something had happened to Danny. Beth approached her and took her by the arm, pulling her away. They walked out of earshot, and Beth looked at her with an almost stricken expression.

  “Beth, what’s going on?” Nicole implored. It was too early for a mystery.

  “Nikki, what the hell? Don’t you know how thin a tent is?” Beth frowned at her.

  “Of course, I do. What does that have to do with anything?”

  “It has everything to do with everything. The whole camp heard you and Danny last night.”

  Nicole arched an eyebrow. “Heard us what?” Did they hear us talking? We didn’t say anything horrible about anyone. Well, we called Junior and Spider asses, but they are, and it’s definitely not the first time I’ve said it. I don’t see why Daddy would be upset over that.

  Beth tilted her head and regarded her strangely for a moment, narrowing her gaze on Nicole as if studying her. “What did you and Danny do last night?”

  “Beyond sleep? We stayed up a little and talked. I wanted to know how she was enjoying the trip.”

  “Anything else?”

  Nicole’s brow furrowed as she searched her mind. “I gave her a massage for her leg.”

  Beth nodded and turned her mouth up a little. “Did this massage involve a lot of moaning?”

  What a weird question. “Yeah, why?”

  Beth glanced away for a moment. It was hard to tell with the shade from the trees, but she appeared to be blushing. “Uh…we thought that maybe you were…well, having sex with Danny last night, and it made everyone awkward.”

  “Having sex with Danny? With my father right next to us!” Nicole shrieked in horror. She wouldn’t even be able to get in the mood with her father right there. Danny would never seriously try something like that with her father right there.

  “Well…yeah.”

  “What the fuck, Beth? I’d never do that!” Nicole threw her hands in the air and waved them frantically. “I’d never even think about sex with my father that close! So, now, everyone thinks Danny and I did it in the middle of the Goddamn camp?” Nicole was near hysterical. Daddy thinks he heard me having sex! The very idea made her lightheaded.

  Nicole could only guess that she’d wobbled, because Beth gathered her in her arms and held her up. “Nikki, get a hold of yourself. It’s okay. We made a mistake. We shouldn’t have been listening.”

  “That’s not going to make my father unhear what he thought he heard last night!”

  “But, he didn’t hear what he thought he heard. You can explain that.”

  “Do you honestly think I want to explain to my father that he didn’t hear me having sex with my girlfriend?” Nicole rubbed her forehead, running her hand along a vein popping up in her head. Oh, God, I feel like I’m going to faint.

  Beth patted her in the back. “You might not want to, but you’ll have to. Unless you want to leave your dad thinking Danny’s the dirty lesbian that managed to do what even your most asshole of a boyfriend couldn’t do.”

  Nicole sighed and put her hand over her face. This trip keeps getting worse and worse. First, they treat Danny like dirt and now they’re going to demonize her for something she didn’t even do. Why didn’t we just go camping by ourselves?

  “Fine. Fuck it.” Nicole huffed, standing up straight. She took a deep breath before turning to go back to camp. She practically stormed into the area, only to find her father gone. “Where’d Daddy go?” She bordered on screaming and had to seriously stop herself from stomping her foot.

  Junior and Spider were back and looking oddly red. Danny was still missing. Nicole stormed over to them.

  “Where the hell is Danny?” She glared at them, accusing them off all sorts of hideous things with her eyes.

  “We don’t know,” Spider answered, eyes on the ground and a frown on his lips. He looked a bit troubled, but she didn’t allow that to faze her.

  “Oh, you don’t?” She scoffed through her teeth. “So, it’s a fucking coincidence that you were gone while she was, and she’s still gone after everyone suddenly thinks she and I committed an act of insanity?”

  “Look, we don’t know where she is. We’re trying to look out for you.” Junior had the nerve to glare at her.

  “You say that like I should fucking thank you. You’re not looking out for me! You’re being impossible! God, I wanted to come out here and have a good time with you guys and with Danny, and you’re making it virtually impossible to even enjoy being around you. I wanted to share something special and wonderful with you guys, for you to see how great this woman is that I love and how happy she makes me, and you’re refusing to see that,” Nicole screamed. She was so frustrated that she didn’t know what to do. Part of her wanted to strangle them, another part wanted to pace, another part wanted to rip her hair out, and still another part wanted to tear off in every direction.

  Her uncle had the gall to chime in. “You should’ve known better than to bring that girl around here, Nikki. It’s not like any of us would approve anyway.”

  She growled, even though she knew her uncle spoke the truth. It wasn’t something she wanted to accept. She had hoped they’d finally see how everything worked for her and be happy for her. Maybe she was a fool to think so and her stupid optimism hurt Danny, once again.

  Sighing, Nicole’s shoulders slumped. “You’re right, Uncle Richard. You’re right. I was stupid to bring her around, thinking you’d all enjoy her company. I was stupid to think you’d see her for who she is and see how well she fits with me and how happy she makes me. It was stupid of me to think my family would support me in something so important to me as getting along with the woman I love. I just keep being stupid and hoping.”

  She turned and fled into her tent, not wanting to even look at them anymore. She decided to start packing up. When Danny got back, she’d suggest they leave. She’d talk to her father later…as soon as she figured out how to broach the subject. Thinking about her father and how his opinion of her had to drop caused her to tear up, her throat tightened, and before she knew it, she was sobbing. Sobbing because of that, sobbing because her family couldn’t open up, sobbing because something that was supposed to be beautiful had turned so ugly, so quickly, and sobbing because no matter what she did, she always hurt Danny in the end.

  ***

  Dane retreated to the rocks by the river. Watching the river helped calm her down, but she was still upset. Part of her wished she had never come on this stupid trip, even though she had enjoyed yesterday. It felt like yesterday had been swept down the cold, unforgiving river of gossip.

  “I had a feeling you’d end up here,” she heard Raymond say, but she didn’t turn to see him.

  “Gonna push me in?” Dane wouldn’t blame him. She imagined she’d be able to swim across if he did, provided she didn’t hit her knee on anything on the way over. Yeah, and maybe I could run home, too.

  “The thought has crossed my mind, but I’ve learned all too well from Thanksgiving that jumping to conclusions about you can be painful for you and painful to hear. I’ve calmed down enough to talk about this. So, what really happened last night?”

  “Oh, so you don’t believe I’ve managed to brainwash Nick to get her to debase herself and you, by getting her to do unspeakable things with you in earshot?” Dane snorted, still looking out onto the water. Below her, she could see some fish, going to and fro, with the current and against the current.

  “I think I’m giving you a chance to prove me wrong, so stop acting like a petulant child about it.” He rapped her on the hip with a surprisingly heavy hand.

  She hissed and almost turned to glare at him, but she noticed he was partially smiling. He wasn�
�t hitting her like her father would hit her, or striking her for doing something wrong. He was being almost playful with her, even though he believed this was a serious matter. He just didn’t seem to want to believe it was what he thought it was.

  “What you heard was Nick massaging my sore leg, nothing more.”

  “So, all that moaning?”

  “Was me being an indulged moron. She rubs some stuff on my leg that feels really good and relaxes my leg. So I respond, but sometimes I exaggerate just to be silly.”

  Raymond nodded, but he was quiet for a while. “How does your leg feel? They’ll be doing a lot of walking today.”

  Dane snorted and shook her head. “I doubt I’ll be welcomed on those walks and, honestly, I don’t want to put up with it anymore. Tired of being judged all the time. The only person to never judge me is Nick and…”

  Raymond sighed and turned, looking out into the river. “Don’t let them run you off. Danny, I know you’re honest and honorable. I haven’t seen you do anything to hurt Nikki or lead her into doing something stupid, which is why I believe you when you say what we heard was a massage. I can’t see you pushing Nicole into doing something I know she wouldn’t do.”

  Dane had trouble processing his words and his understanding. It did not make any sense. He believes me? He thinks I’m honest and honorable? Since when?

  “Don’t…don’t understand.” Her words seemed to be drowned out by the sound of the river as she shook her head and ran her hand through her hair.

  “Danny, don’t get me wrong, you have faults and there are things about you that bother me, but you’re not a bad person. You’re not someone who’d pressure Nikki into doing things she wouldn’t usually do, not things like this anyway. You make her a stronger person, Danny.”

  “Then why were you glaring at me earlier?”

  “Well, until I had your word, all I had was what it sounded like, and you now know what it sounded like. After giving it some thought and allowing myself to calm down, I was at least able to get past the anger to come have this talk with you. So, pick yourself up, walk back into that camp with your head held high, and make it through this last full day. By this time tomorrow, we’ll be heading back home and everything can go back to normal.”

  Dane looked at him, and Raymond gave her a half smile. She felt herself mirroring the expression. She had never realized, until now, how much she wanted this man’s approval. She wanted him to know and accept that she was good for his daughter, good enough for his daughter.

  “Come on. Sometimes, people on the outside think they know better, but they’re as biased as the people on the inside,” Raymond said, holding his hand out for her.

  Hesitating for only a moment, she took his hand and he helped her down. “Thank you so much.”

  “No thanks necessary. You’re a good egg,” he laughed.

  “A good egg? Good enough to marry your daughter?”

  “No, I still think you’re jumping the gun there. I told you, you have flaws, Danny. I think you need to fix those before you’re daughter-in-law material. But, I have faith that you’ll work on those. No one Nicole has been with before would’ve asked me that question. They assume and, even though they smile in my face, I know they wouldn’t respect my response if they did ask. These are things that set you apart and, even though I don’t think this needs to be said, I notice the things that set you apart.”

  Dane could only nod, not sure what to say. Thank you seemed odd and woefully understated. He smiled at her, as if assuring the nod was fine. She figured it wouldn’t hurt to smile back. She wanted to ask him about his family bias, if only to find out if she’d nailed it or not, but decided it was unimportant. They returned to the campsite to find breakfast done, but everything was somber and still. Nicole was nowhere to be seen.

  Glancing at the tent, Dane could see her silhouette. Raymond patted her on the shoulder, and she took that as the signal to get going. She entered the tent to find Nicole a mess of tears, curled up on their air mattress. She wasted no time gathering Nicole in her arms and holding her close.

  “Oh, God, Danny!” Nicole threw her arms around Dane and held her tightly.

  “It’s okay, Chem. It’s okay,” Dane whispered, caressing the small of Nicole’s back. What the hell did these yo-yos tell my angel?

  “My dad…” She hiccupped.

  “Don’t worry about him. We spoke. He doesn’t believe it.”

  “He doesn’t?” she whimpered, looking up at Dane with red-rimmed eyes.

  “He does not, angel. He spoke to me. I mean, we had a really good talk. He asked me what happened, and I told him the truth. It’s okay.”

  “I can’t believe…I can’t believe…I mean, this is my family. Why are they doing this to us?”

  Dane would like to know the answer to that question, too. But now wasn’t the time to think about that. She needed to comfort and assure Nicole that everything would be fine.

  “They’re worried about you.” Dane kissed the top of her head.

  “Strange way of showing it.”

  “Well, that’s family for you,” Dane forced out a laugh. Maybe that’s family. She didn’t think that Kathleen’s family would act this way. Of course, she didn’t think any of them would be caught dead camping either. They do think they’re helping. For some reason, her mind chose that moment to flash to a family that wasn’t hers, but that she’d had a chance to pretend was, and how they’d returned her. They probably thought they were helping, too. She shook that away, since now wasn’t the time to get lost in her own trauma.

  Nicole was quiet for a while. “Do you want to go home? I think Daddy would drive us back.”

  “He probably would, but I think he wants us to stick it out. He told me it’s just one more day. Maybe prove that we’re made of sterner stuff than they are, show them we’re in this thing together for the long haul. So, if you’re really upset over things, you don’t need to associate with anyone today. You can show me around. I’d like that.”

  “I’d like that, too…” Despite the words, Nicole didn’t move. Dane didn’t make any attempt to move either. She held Nicole and caressed her back. Eventually, they’d get up.

  Chapter Twelve

  NICOLE WASN’T SURPRISED WHEN she woke up for a second time, even though she didn’t recall falling asleep again. A dull thump beat through her skull, tingling all the way down her spine. But, the minor headache was already being soothed away. She felt Danny’s tender fingers still on her back, softly caressing her, rubbing gentle circles in the middle of her back. She was tucked against Danny, as if trying to burrow into her, which wasn’t uncommon when she had rough days. She inhaled, enjoying Danny’s scent, calming herself and easing the tension in her head.

  “How you doing, Angel?” Danny asked, keeping her voice low.

  “Better.” Feeling Danny’s warmth all around was always something that made her feel better, no matter the circumstances. One of the many reasons I love her, and I will stand by her no matter what the hell my stupid cousins think. She is the one for me.

  “That’s good. So, what do you want to do?”

  “Well, first, I want to eat something.” Her stomach was cramped up. She supposed it was only partially due to hunger.

  Danny’s hand wandered down to Nicole’s stomach and sweetly caressed the area. “I thought you might. I have granola and water. Unless, of course, you’re ready to go out and show me what you guys explore.”

  Nicole smiled, but she didn’t make any attempt to move away from her beloved. “Give me the granola and water, and then we’ll go out and see the woods. We have an awesome place. It’s so beautiful and you won’t believe your eyes.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  Nicole chuckled and Danny kept holding her, even as she stretched out to reach the promised food. She handed Nicole the granola bar and bottle of water. Nicole sat up to eat the snack and Danny followed her, stayed close to her, and kept her calm with caresses. Nicole ate silently, and Danny
seemed more than content to hold her in her time of need.

  “Thank you for being there for me,” Nicole whispered.

  “Always here for you, Chem. I love you,” Danny reminded her with a bright grin.

  “I love you, too.” She leaned in for a kiss, but Danny paused her and wiped the sides of her mouth. She giggled.

  “You got granola crumbs there.”

  “Come here, you!” Nicole gave Danny a passionate kiss, which was deeply returned. When they pulled away, she smiled. She felt like she could take on the world with Danny at her side. “Time to face the family.”

  “Are you sure? We could stay in here all day. Doubt they’d bother us.”

  “You’re probably right, but I don’t want them to think I’m ashamed of you or of us. They’re not going to scare us off, even if I needed some time to cry it out. We’re here and they need to accept that, dammit.”

  Danny smiled as she nodded in agreement. Nicole smiled as well and gave her a light kiss. Danny returned the sweet show of affection and took her hand. They stood and exited the tent. The air was warm and the scent of the woods comforted Nicole. She gave Danny’s hand a squeeze to show her appreciation.

  Surprisingly enough, Nicole’s family was all still at camp. Nicole wasn’t sure what to make of that since usually they’d be off roaming the forest by now. She noticed they weren’t glaring at her and were sitting idly around the camp. Her father was with Beth, looking at pictures on her camera, acting as if everything were normal. Her uncle and his offspring all seemed to be hanging their heads in shame. Lillian was the one who trotted up to her.

  “I’m sorry we were all acting weird earlier,” Lillian said quickly, eyeing the dirt briefly before glancing up at Nicole.

  Nicole smiled at her younger cousin. “It’s fine, Lil. I’m okay now.”

  “That’s good because we were talking about taking a walk to the cave today. You know, hanging out and having fun together.”