Awry

51

“Scarlet did what?” Gabriel could hardly believe his ears as Heather explained how Scarlet had left to find Tristan. Running out the back door, Gabriel started calling Scarlet’s name.

Clouds covered the moon, making it impossible to see anything in the dark night.

Gabriel ran back inside the cabin to get a flashlight.

Heather met him at the door and bounced up and down nervously. “Don’t be mad, don’t be mad. I didn’t know what to do.”

“So you just left her?” Gabriel charged into the kitchen, throwing open cabinets in search of a flashlight.

“Only for a minute. To find you.”

“You shouldn’t have left her, Heather!” Gabriel walked down the hallway, to the office. Where the hell did they keep their flashlights?

Heather’s face was red and flustered as she stopped in front of him. “Well, if you hadn’t been sleeping like a comatose rock, maybe we would have made it back down to the basement before little Miss Escapes-A-Lot got away!”

Nate’s voice tumbled from the stairs above them. “What’s a gamer gotta do to get some sleep around here?”

Gabriel turned his face to Nate. “Heather lost Scarlet.”

“I did not!” Heather balled her fists at her side.

“What?” Nate’s sleepy eyes rolled. “Ah, man. Did she go after Tristan?”

“Yes.” Heather started babbling a million miles a minute. “She just woke up in pain, and then she started rolling around on the floor and crying. Then she was all like, I have to find Tristan because he’s dying. And I was all, No, let me get Gabriel and then Scarlet started groaning and gasping and I totally panicked and ran upstairs. But it was like waking the dead in Gabriel’s room and I had to actually jump on top of him to rouse him from his beauty rest and then, when we finally made it back downstairs, she was just…” Heather took a shaky breath. “Gone.”

Without warning, Heather broke into tears.

Gabriel blinked as he watched her cry. He looked up at Nate and raised a brow. Nate shrugged.

“Heather?” Gabriel said. “Why are you crying?”

Heather hid her face in her hands. “I don’t want her to die. I didn’t know what to do. It was so scary and she…she looked like she was in so much pain….” Heather sniffed and cried harder. “I don’t want her to die. It’s all my fault.”

Feeling like a complete ass for accusing Heather of not watching over Scarlet, Gabriel gently put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey…I’m sorry.” Gabriel pulled her into an awkward hug. “Hey…hey…it’s okay. It’s not your fault. I just freaked out, that’s all.”

Heather sobbed into the cotton shirt he wore and Gabriel moved her blond curls away from her snotty face. “You didn’t do anything wrong and Scarlet’s going to be fine.”

Maybe.

Gabriel looked at Nate for answers.

Nate nodded. “If Scarlet went after Tristan, then I’m sure she’s already found him.” Nate yawned. “She said Tristan was nearby, so he’s probably yelling at her right now for coming after him. And she’s probably yelling right back. You know how they are.”

Yeah. That sounded about right.

Breathing a silent sigh of relief, Gabriel looked back down at the blond mess against his chest. “See? Tristan’s probably lecturing Scarlet about running away as we speak.” Gabriel tried to smile. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

Heather’s tears started to subside and she sniffed as they pulled away from each other.

“Sorry,” Heather muttered, wiping tears from her eyes. “I just…I just… suck at being the B-F-F of a cursed girl.”

Gabriel gave her a crooked smile. “Well, it’s not like Scarlet is making it easy for you.”

Heather breathed out a laugh. “I know, right?”

Gabriel looked up at Nate. “Should we still go look for Scarlet?”

Nate exhaled. “No. Scarlet seemed to know exactly where Tristan was earlier today. She’ll find him. They’ll fight. He’ll bring her back and we can return to our daily fountain drama.” He smiled. “Business as usual.”

Gabriel bit back a sigh. He hated business as usual.