Lost and Found (Twist of Fate #1)(40)

Aiden pulled his feet from the water and grabbed his shoes and socks. “He’s going to stop fighting at some point. He’s strong, but he’s not made of stone, Xander. He might not be there when you finally decide to man up and figure all this shit out.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said quietly, even as my insides churned. “You guys are leaving in a few days. He has a whole other life. We both do… even just being friends again would be tough.”

“He doesn’t need any more fucking friends,” Aiden bit out as he stood and stomped his feet into the boots without putting his socks on. “He needs you!” He shook his head and angrily said, “Part of me wants you to stay the hell away from him just so you don’t break his heart again. But since it never really healed, I guess it doesn’t matter. Know this, Xander, you hurt him and you’ll answer to me. You might think I’m just some rich prick who doesn’t know his asshole from his elbow, but I assure you, when it comes to protecting Bennett, I do know the difference and I’ll kick your ass if you hurt him any more than you already have.”

And with that, Aiden stalked off, leaving me to deal with the shit storm of emotions he’d left behind. When I finally did move nearly an hour later, it wasn’t my tent I began walking towards.





Chapter 20





Bennett





I was startled awake by Bear’s big tail thumping in my face. At some point after I’d fallen asleep, the dog must have turned around, because when I’d laid down to grab a few minutes of much-needed rest before dinner, the dog’s cold nose had been pressed up against my neck.

“Bennett?”

Xander’s voice had me jerking to an upright position. Holy hell, I’d completely forgotten about leaving him and Aiden alone by the lake.

“What?” I yelled as I jumped to my feet and jerked at the zipper of the tent. “Who’s bleeding?” I asked as I practically fell out of the entrance to the tent.

Xander’s hand shot out to catch me when I tripped on a rock.

“Where is he? I’ll get the first aid kit,” I said as I turned to go back in my tent.

“Relax,” Xander said with a light laugh. “He’s fine. Still breathing.”

I eyed him suspiciously. Why wasn’t he pissed? Last time I’d seen him, he’d been ready to rip me a new one.

“Come take a walk with me.”

“What? Where? Why?”

“You know, Bennett, just because pot’s legal in Colorado now, doesn’t mean you should be trying it again. You remember what happened last time you did?”

I cringed at the memory. It had been the summer before we’d started high school. Our last summer together. A kid at the summer camp my parents had forced me to attend every summer for two weeks had given me a joint as a parting gift the day camp had ended. Xander and I had smoked the thing one night while my parents had been out of town. I’d spent the weekend at Xander’s, and Mr. Reed had been asleep when we’d snuck outside. We’d gone to our special spot by the fish pond to smoke it. After two puffs, I’d been high as a kite and had ended up wading into the water so I could take a piss.

“Shut up,” I groused.

“Come take a walk with me.”

“Why?” I repeated.

“Because I asked you to.”

“Why?”

“Jesus, Bennett, because I want to fucking apologize to you!” he said, throwing up his hands.

“You do?”

He glared at me.

“Okay,” I said. “Fine, let’s… walk.”

I noticed most of the kids were using their free time to explore the water’s shoreline. Aiden was having an in-depth conversation with a couple of the kids about something, but it wasn’t until I heard him mention Batman that I realized he was having the same fight he’d had with me countless times. The man was convinced Batman would win in a fight against Superman. I personally didn’t know the first thing about either character beyond what I’d seen in the movies Aiden had forced me to watch, but I usually picked the opposing character just to mess with him.

I scanned the area for Lucky, but didn’t see him. I knew it was possible he was off getting firewood, since he’d been assigned the task for the evening, but I still felt my concern edge up. Especially when I also couldn’t find Calvin.

“Have you seen Calvin or Lucky?” I asked Xander as we left the clearing.

“Um, yeah, I saw Lucky a minute ago. He was going to get the firewood for the night.”

I nodded absently.

“Bennett,” Xander said, but when he didn’t say anything else, I turned my attention on him, and I realized that was what he’d been waiting for.

“Sorry,” I murmured.

He shook his head and laughed. “You’re kind of stealing my thunder, here.”

“Oh, sorry.”

At his chuckle, I shook my head and smiled. “Just gonna shut up now.”

We kept walking, but this time I kept my attention on him.

“I believe you,” he finally said. “About Aiden. And I’m sorry for not trusting that you were telling me the truth.”

“Thank you,” I said. “Aiden didn’t exactly help things,” I added.