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Sabbath rose and swung, hitting Sol across the face and nearly knocking him over. He then pointed at Solomon as Willie helped him up. “You ever fucking touch her again, and I’ll fucking kill you myself!”

“Hey!” Willie blew his whistle. “Cool it, boys! That’s enough!” Willie looked at the two men. “Now is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on?” He glanced back and forth. “Huh?”

Sabbath wiped his mouth and spat at the ground. “Your boy Solomon here got all pissy ‘cause Foster shot a stray arrow. Pathetic really.”

Sol tried to shoot forward, but Willie restrained him. “He was aiming for me!”

“Hey!” Willie held Sol back. “Take a walk, Sol!” The counselor eyed Willie.

“Now. And be glad I’m not reprimanding you for hitting Aster.

” Sol scoffed and walked back towards camp in a hurry.

Willie approached me, but Sabbath stopped him.

The two eyed one another, as if having some silent conversation.

“No one touches her, except Thisbe,” Sabbath growled.

Willie made a face. “What about Foster?”

“What about him?” Sabbath tilted his head.

Willie sucked his teeth. “Was it an accident?”

Sabbath grinned. “You tell me.”

I wasn’t sure if it was my injury or seeing the two together, but something felt off. No, everything felt off. Hell, I felt off!

“First full day of camp and we already have an injury?” Nurse B suddenly appeared and rushed towards us.

The two men straightened as she approached me.

“Oh, Aster, you poor thing.” She sat down next to me and examined my head.

“This might hurt.” She delicately rotated my head around and took a closer look at the wound.

I winced and groaned at her soft touch. “Just as I thought.” The woman looked up at the boys.

“I’ll need someone to carry her back to the nursing station. ”

Willie tried to step forward, but Sabbath stopped him with a dark expression across his face. “I’ll do it.” He stepped forward and locked eyes with Nurse B. They didn’t speak, but I could feel the tension between them. It was dark and ominous.

“No,” I whined as he crouched next to me.

He shook his head and smiled. “Would you rather ol’ Willie carry you?

” I thought about it for a second and then rolled my eyes.

“That’s what I thought.” Sabbath gently picked me up and cradled me close.

His skin was hot to the touch, and I caught myself staring at his tattooed chest and pierced nipples.

As did he. “Sisters shouldn’t look at their brothers like that,” he teased.

I peeled my eyes away, hoping no one heard him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My cheeks blushed.

Sabbath laughed softly to himself as Nurse B led the way. “Admit it. You like what you see.” He grinned down at me, but I scowled. “Fine. I’ll let it slide. This time.” He carefully held me closer while he stepped over a fallen branch. He was so careful with me. It was so strange.

Has he really cared for me this whole time? No. Stop it. You’re letting him into your mind. You’re injured. That’s all. Nothing has changed, and that includes him. I tried to glance up at him without being obvious. Right?

“You’re doing it again.”

I snapped my eyes back. “Was not.”

Sabbath smiled and bit his lower lip. “Whatever you say, Rosie.”

I kept my eyes low and held on as he carried me the rest of the way to the administrative cabin.

The sun was shining high, and the trees were swaying as birds sang from their branches.

You could hear the campers all over camp laughing and having an amazing summer.

It was peaceful. Oddly, yet comfortingly, peaceful.

“What’re you thinking about?” Sabbath asked me in a low, gentle voice.

I closed my eyes and leaned into him. “How much I miss this.”

“Me?”

I shook my head. “Peace.”

He sighed. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt it.

” I could feel his whole body tense as we neared the administrative building.

“I would give anything to experience even a moment of peace.” Imagining someone like Sabbath not knowing what peace felt like was odd.

I almost felt sorry for him, but knowing how he’d stolen mine for so long, well, I didn’t.

Sabbath followed Nurse B inside the cabin and down to the nursing station. He carefully sat me down on a cot she pulled out. She then tossed him his camp t-shirt with a disgruntled look. “Some modesty, Sabbath.” He scoffed at her as he pulled it over his head.

Nurse B took a good hour to clean my wound and stitch it up.

It wasn’t bad or deep, but it was enough to throw me off for a bit.

She gave me some painkillers and then tucked a few odd looking pills into my hand.

“For the pain later,” she whispered. It was weird, but I stuffed them in my pocket and shrugged it off.

Foster had found us and sat next to me on the cot as Nurse B and Sabbath talked.

He faced the opposite direction and was staring out the cabin window.

I couldn’t help but to look him over and gawk at how similar he and Ozzy looked.

I even wondered if this is how Sabbath looked as a child.

But Foster wasn’t just any kid. He was… different.

He talked in a way no kid would and just acted more like an overly educated adult.

Even the way he sat, with such straight and formal posture, was odd. He was a weird kid.

“Aster?” I turned and looked at him. God, he looked so much like Ozzy. “Are you going to be okay?”

His gentle voice and concern were a bit surprising to me. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

He just kept staring out through the window, and I followed his gaze. Solomon was just off in the redwoods, smoking. Foster raised his finger and pointed directly at him. “He shouldn’t have done that. He shouldn’t have hurt you.”

I blinked. “It was an accident, Foster. He didn’t mean to hurt me. Accidents happen, just like how you didn’t mean to almost shoot him with your arrow.”

Foster smiled and looked straight at me. “But that wasn’t an accident. I only missed because he moved.” My face drained of color. “It won’t happen again.” His smile fell with his voice. “He made a mistake when he hurt you. Accident or not, Sabbath will never forgive him.”

I had to swallow my fear and steady my voice. “And why is that?” I asked.

Foster looked back out the window and at Solomon. “Because he loves you, big sis.”

My heart ached at hearing him call me that name. I didn’t like it. “Foster, I know Sabbath is your brother, and my stepbrother, but you know we’re not actually related, right? I’m not your sister.”

“Not by blood.” Foster pointed to my back where my scar hid beneath my shirt.

“But by that.” My arm reached back, and I quietly touched the scar.

“Sabbath gave it to you the day you became one. You cannot break its bond. He is my brother, so you are my sister.” He then smiled.

“We are a family. And family must always stick together. That’s what my mother always says. ” His mother?

Foster stood and walked towards the cabin window.

He placed his hand against the glass while he spoke.

“Solomon hurt you, and now he’s hurting The Redwood.

” I carefully stood from the cot and walked to his side to understand what he was saying.

Solomon was putting his cigarette out on one of the redwood trees.

It seemed harmless, but to Foster, it was as if Sol was truly hurting the tree. “The Redwood doesn’t like that.”

The Redwood? Nurse B spoke in a similar way. What is it about these damn trees?

Foster grabbed my hand and held it. “My brother really loves you, Aster.”

My jaw clenched at his words. I wanted to tell him who his brother really was, but I couldn’t. “I’m not sure your brother knows what love is, Foster. Or you, for that matter. You shouldn’t worry about such grown-up things.” I tried to brush past the topic, but he wouldn’t let it go.

Foster’s lips curled. “I know exactly what love is. It’s sacrificing everything to save the person you care about most.” He turned to look up at me.

“Like Sabbath did with you and your family.” I couldn’t speak.

“He did it to save you.” What the hell? “But I know he regrets it. Just like how our mother regrets him.”

“Y-your mother regrets him?” I was shocked to hear him say such a thing.

Foster nodded. “That’s why she had me. A son to take his place on the right path.

One who wouldn’t stray.” He made no sense, but all I could grasp from this conversation was the fact that Sabbath was apparently replaced.

Despite all my hatred for him, my heart broke for Sabbath.

It was one thing to have your father leave you, but to have your mother reject you? The pain that must haunt him.

Foster tugged my hand. “Aster?” I bent down to his level as he whispered to me, “Why don’t you like your name? Your real name?” This kid seemed to know everything.

“It’s a long story.” I tried to force a smile. “Just call me Aster. Aster Sequoya.”

Foster blinked. “Did you pick your new name?” I nodded. He looked as if he was pondering a deep thought for a moment. “Well, I like your real name more than your fake one. I wish you’d use it more. I know Sabbath does. He’s always singing about your name, you know?”

“He is?”

Foster nodded. “Ring around the Rosie. A pocket full of posies.” My eyes began to water as flashes of that night struck my brain. “Ashes. Ashes. We all fall down.”

The crystal clear image of Sabbath standing all alone as smoke filled the air appeared behind my eyes. Flames burned behind him, and I listened as he sang the very same song to me. The day this all began and my life ended.

Ashes. Ashes. We all fall down.