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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.