“Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Gavin’s voice, low and slurred.
Like this was a game? I gripped my flashlight. If they touched the zipper on the tent, if they moved an inch closer, I was going to smash their hands with it.
“We’re trying to sleep,” Dani said loudly. “We’ll party tomorrow, okay?”
“We want to party now.” Brian’s voice.
Courtney whispered, “Maybe we should have one beer with them, then they’ll leave us alone.”
“I don’t think that will do it,” Dani said.
“Just go away,” I yelled. “You’re assholes!”
Dani jabbed me in the ribs. “Shut up, Jess.”
Outside we could hear the boys moving around like they were setting something up, a couple of thuds, dragging sounds, the hiss of a beer can opening.
“Come on, girls. We just want to say we’re sorry about earlier. We were being jerks. We brought some weed to make it up to you.”
A brief flare of light, then flickering flames. They’d built a fire.
“We have to work in the morning,” Dani said.
“We’re the bosses. You can sleep in.”
“We need the money.”
“If you come out, I’ll put in some extra hours tomorrow night after work—might be able to fix the water pump faster.”
“I don’t trust them,” I whispered.
“None of us do,” Dani whispered back. “But they’re not going away.” She turned toward the front of the tent. “Just one beer, okay?” she called out.
“One beer. That’s all we want.”
“Come on.” Dani unzipped the tent, bent low, and climbed out, her feet bare. Courtney followed. I lingered for a minute, zipping my hoodie up to my throat, hoping to hide that I wasn’t wearing a bra. I debated staying in the tent, but I wanted to be near my sisters. The fire glowed through the side of the tent. I saw a glint of metal next to me. Courtney’s knife. I put the knife in my pocket and climbed out.
“There she is,” Brian said. “Hey, little sister.” He was sitting on an old log. They’d moved a couple around the fire for seats.
I forced a smile. He patted the log near him, but I moved to the other side of the fire and sat on the log close to Dani.
He grabbed a bottle out of the case, offered it to me. I shook my head.
Courtney took one, leaning across to get it. Brian stared at her waist where her shirt rode up. I wanted to reach out and tug it back down.
He smiled brightly. “See, this is fun, right?”
Courtney and Dani nodded but they were quiet, staring at the fire the boys had built, a rock circle surrounding it, some tree limbs dragged close.
“What’s wrong with you all?” Gavin said. He was sitting on an old stump, poking the fire with a stick.
“We’re just tired,” Courtney said.
Her voice sounded just like it had apologizing to Dad whenever he would drag us out late at night to play card games, our eyes blurring with fatigue, fetching him beers until he finally passed out on the table.
Gavin drained his beer, opened another one.
“Thought we weren’t supposed to have a fire,” I said.
“S’okay. Parents are away for the night. No one will see it out here.”
I caught my breath. No one will see it out here.
No one would see us.
“So you girls have a boyfriend waiting back home?” Gavin said, his mouth moving slowly like he was trying not to slur.
“Yeah,” Dani said. “We all do.”
He looked annoyed. “Where are your parents?”
“Back home,” she answered.
I didn’t like the questions, wondered why they wanted to know.
“Our aunt, she’s waiting for us,” I said.
The boys exchanged a look. “She must be worried, you already being late and all,” Brian said, his voice cold.
“We called her when you guys were buying beer,” I said.
“Oh, yeah. Where’d you call her from?” Brian said, not sounding drunk at all anymore. Had he been faking? I tried to remember if I’d seen a pay phone near that store, but I couldn’t think.
“Don’t worry about it, little sister.” Brian’s smile told me he knew I’d lied. “You’ll be home in no time.”
“No time,” Gavin echoed.
“That’s it for us, boys,” Dani said, draining the last of her beer.
“Yeah, party’s over,” Courtney said.
“Fire’s almost out anyway,” Gavin said. “Getting cold.” He rubbed at his arms. “Might have to climb into bed with you. Been drinking too much to drive.”
“No way,” Dani said. “You guys are going to have to sleep in your truck.”
She started toward the tent. Gavin grabbed her arm, his hands digging in.
I got up off the log. “Let her go!”
Dani tried to yank her arm free. “Cut it out!”
He pulled her down onto his lap, his arms wrapped tight around her body, one hand reaching up and gripping her throat.