‘Ah,’ Briar said, not surprised. This was an old fight, one that Harper had had with her parents many times. ‘So what?’
‘So,’ she said, ‘is it too much to ask that my parents support me on my wedding day?’ At Briar’s confused look, she added, reluctantly, ‘They’re refusing to pay for the venue.’
‘What?’ Briar said. ‘But they offered you the money when you booked it!’
Harper nodded grimly. ‘I know, but we had this massive fight a few weeks ago and all this shit came up again. How if I hadn’t started dating Noah, I wouldn’t have switched from pre-med to nursing. That I’d be nearly done with my residency now.’
Harper’s shoulders shook with anger, and Briar reached out to soothe her. She knew that particular comment hurt Harper the most. What her parents didn’t know was that Harper’s pre-med courses had driven her into a depressive episode so intense that Noah and Briar had slept in her dorm room for three weeks to make sure she didn’t fail out or do something much worse.
It had taken years of therapy for Harper to stop seeing her nursing career as a consolation prize. Her parents just weren’t there yet.
‘You save people’s lives every day,’ Briar said seriously. ‘Andyou’re not an asshole. So you’re already better than them.’ She paused. ‘Are you going to tell Noah?’
Harper shook her head. ‘It would just upset him. There’s nothing he can do.’
Briar shrugged. ‘Maybe not, but you know he’d be there for you, if you let him.’
Harper reached out and squeezed her hand. ‘I’ll think about it.’
Chapter 22
Briar
Briar found Alice in their bedroom donning a bright blue bandana and smirked.
‘So I’ve been sleeping with a river rat this whole time?’ she asked, grabbing the face paint she’d left out and wiping two green streaks under her eyes to mark her as a member of the opposing team. It was the day of the traditional game of Capture the Flag which divided the camp into teams: the River Nymphs and the Forest Elves.
Alice smiled wryly. ‘Who knows what secrets I’ve tricked out of you in your sleep.’ She slipped a finger up Briar’s arm suggestively. Briar shrugged her off, refusing to be drawn in. Since the last session’s game had gotten rained out, there was even more pressure to win.
‘Joke’s on you,’ Briar said, pulling her hair into two short braids. ‘Freddie won’t tell me where he hid the flag.’
Alice laughed. ‘You’re not in the inner circle?’
The blue of Alice’s tank top matched her eyes, making them look impossibly big. Briar glanced down at the rest of the outfit, which included jean shorts perfectly molded to Alice’s thighs. She had the urge to grab Alice’s waist, skim her hands up to her ribcage, and take the damned tank top off. She swallowed.
‘He knows I’m the weakest link.’
As soon as they started, Freddie sent Briar to guard their team’s jail, a patch of grass in a clearing with white lines drawn around it. The job was reserved for the youngest campers. Briar tried not to be offended.
An hour into the game, they’d jailed fifteen of the blue team.
‘Guys,’ Briar called out to the campers guarding the jail. ‘Remember, you gotta give them at least five feet.’
Her teammates grumbled but moved away from the line.
There was a cry in the distance, and suddenly Freddie came running through the clearing. His shirt was drenched in sweat, his eyes wild. ‘Keep an eye out. There’s a plot afoot,’ he yelled as he darted back into the trees.
‘Be normal,’ Briar called after him. The campers around her giggled. ‘Everyone get ready! They must be trying for a jailbreak.’
She scanned the trees for movement, her heart quickening with adrenaline. She heard a stick crack nearby and whipped her head around to see a flash of blue. Without thinking, she took off, racing into the woods after her opponent. She would recognize that shiny ponytail anywhere.
Alice tried to cut left but stumbled over a root and Briar crashed into her. They fell together, sprawled on the forest floor.
‘Okay, ouch,’ Alice said breathlessly, shifting so that Briar slid off of her. ‘It’s two-touch, not tackle.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Briar said, giggling at the state of Alice’s hair, which was tangled with twigs. She reached up to pull a few out. Alice was trying her best to look stern, but the glint in her eyes was overwhelmingly fond as she swiped her thumb across Briar’s lips, the pad of it coming back pink with blood. Briar blinked in surprise and ran her tongue over her bottom lip, tasting metal.
‘Ow.’
