Page 3 of Last Summer

Chapter two

THE RING

SARAH

Saturday Evening

I pick uncomfortably at the hem of my skirt, pulling at a loose thread that’s desperate to unravel.

I feel the same way .

I don’t know why I came here. This was a terrible idea. A mistake. Everyone else here is attractive and charismatic and fun. I’m so… not .

We’re all situated around the fire. The sky is getting darker with each moment.

I don’t like the dark. I desperately want to go inside my tent, but maybe that’d be rude?

I don’t want them to think I’m rude. I’m just not like them.

They’re all comparing follower counts for their OnlyFans accounts. I don’t even know what OnlyFans is.

Why am I here?

The invite said this was a retreat for those wanting to make more of a social media presence in marketing themselves for career and technical opportunities.

I thought this would be for other recent college graduates, like me.

Not whoever these people are. They seem wild and uneducated and so unlike the people I’m used to spending time with.

Part of me wants to just grab my stuff and go, but it’s getting dark.

I really don’t want to be on the road when it gets dark.

That’s when most car accidents occur.

The fire burns brightly against the encroaching nightfall. I stare at the dancing flames while the others ramble on.

“Listen, when guys get weird with me, then domme mommy comes out and shuts them the fuck up,” the one with piercings all over her face, I think her name is Lucy maybe, is saying.

She seems scary. She has two piercings on both the top and bottom of her lips and she’s covered in tattoos.

One side of her head is shaved. I chance another glance up at her and this time our gazes connect.

She looks at me across the fire with mischief in her eyes.

The look she gives me makes me very uncomfortable.

She seems like someone who cares very little for rules and authority.

“You think guys are bad?” the sole man of the group quips back before grabbing the neck of a bottle of cinnamon whisky and shooting back a long swig. I barely restrain a look of disgust from pulling at my face. “Some of these chicks are fucking wild!”

Giggling draws my attention to the blonde one—Abby, maybe?

She reeks of desperation with her breasts practically spilling from her shirt and shorts that barely cover anything.

She’s wearing a pair of winter sheepskin boots with her barely there ensemble.

Is she planning for both a blizzard and heat wave?

Her fake blond hair is stringy and her makeup is overdone.

I’ve been around her type before, they’re mean girls.

Each person here is worse than the last.

“Chris, you’re terrible,” she coos as she stands, flashing us all an eye full, and walking over to him.

She shimmies right up to him and turns her face up to his.

He takes a swig from the bottle again before placing his hands on her cheeks and squeezing, forcing her mouth open.

Then he leans over her and spits the amber liquid into her mouth.

Something about watching their interaction makes my insides roll.

I shift uncomfortably on the log beneath me and avert my eyes.

Unfortunately, my gaze lands back on Lucy.

She smirks at me and brings her hand up to her face.

She makes a V around her mouth with her fingers, sticks out her tongue, and writhes it seductively.

I quickly divert my gaze, choosing instead to stare at the ground.

Heat flares across my flesh, and I’m sure I’m blushing. I hope no one notices in the low light.

“Behave, Abby.” I keep my eyes on the ground but it sounds like that was the brunette—Danica.

She seems like the most reasonable of the group.

Her and the last girl, Julie, both seem somewhat normal.

But I’ve been watching throughout the night as Danica has smoked more and more, drinking rapidly as well.

She’s either very good at hiding her intoxication or she has a very high tolerance.

She’s probably a degenerate like the rest of them.

“We will have plenty of time to play once we get all set up tomorrow. The note said the WIFI should be up and running, so once there’s better lighting tomorrow we should be good to go. ”

Blonde Bimbo Barbie plops back down on her log with a sour look on her face.

I keep my eyes trained on the dirt, refusing to look back up in case one of them does something vulgar again.

I continue to worry the hem of my skirt.

I know I shouldn’t, this is a nice skirt, but I’m anxious and uncomfortable.

I don’t belong here. The log shifts beneath me as someone comes and sits next to me.

I chance a glance out of the side of my eye and see jeans and tennis shoes.

My eyes slowly graze up the figure next to me to the kind face of Julie.

“It's a little wild here, huh?” she asks in a sincere tone that lets me know she’s not just making fun of me.

Instantly, I let my guard down a little. She seems genuinely sweet. She has long dark hair and beautiful green eyes. She’s gorgeous and I’m sure guys fawn over her. But she also seems nice. She offers me a warm smile that sets me at ease.

“Yeah, this is different than I thought it’d be,” I admit to her.

Suddenly, the sound of a twig snapping draws my attention behind us.

I prick my ears to listen. The others are playing some shit song so it’s hard to hear but I know I heard something.

Shit, what if there’s bears or something out here?

Julie’s hand swiftly lands on my knee and brings my focus back to her.

“It’s okay to be a little uncomfortable,” Julie says as she gently rubs my knee. “This is kinda a weird situation, being stuck out alone in the woods together. I don’t even get service out this far.” She chuckles and removes her hand, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

More sticks snapping. Something rolling. I swear there’s something out here.

“Did you hear that?” I ask as I look around, but it’s so dark now that I can barely make out anything besides the six of us around the fire pit.

“Not a thing,” Julie says as she stands and brushes her hands off on her jeans. “You stay here, I’ll get us a drink.” She smiles at me before walking towards Chris, who’s now standing and grinding on Lucy while the group plays more ridiculous music.

They’re all crowded around one end of the fire pit while I sit alone at the other end.

They laugh and dance while sharing a bottle between them.

Part of me longs to join and be that carefree.

But that’s not me. I have to be diligent.

I can’t slip up and make a stupid mistake that could ruin someone’s life… not again.

“Sarah look out!” Danica shouts pointing behind me.

The sound of gravel and twigs snapping is so loud now.

Something is rumbling and crashing behind me.

Fuck! I don’t even think, I just run. Shooting to my feet, I dart towards the group.

I stumble slightly over a rock in my haste but I manage to catch myself.

A flash of something huge and metallic flies through my periphery as I scurry across the dirt. My heart riots in my chest.

I manage to make it to the group and spin just in time to see the giant truck Julie drove here in careen past our campsite.

It’s going so fast. It would have run me over and killed me.

We don’t even have phone service. If I didn’t die instantly, it would have been a slow and painful death.

Holy shit . The pickup crashes into a tree with such impact that the front end lifts from the ground.

The back gate crunches and caves inward on impact.

We all take a moment to look between each other, everyone’s eyes wide with fear. The music still plays in the background but I can barely hear it over the blood pounding in my ears.

“That was close,” Abby finally whispers

We all nod in agreement, too overwhelmed to say much more than that. Danica is so pale, her large brown eyes staring into the fire as though she’s just seen a ghost. Her arms are wrapped protectively around herself.

“My parking brake was on. I know it was,” Julie finally states. “Someone must have released it.”

We all stare, our eyes flicking between each other. No one says another word.

I need to get out of here .