I was munching on my cereal slowly, deep in thought, when a fork tapped my bowl loudly to get my attention. "Hello? Did you hear anything I said?"

I looked up at Rowen who was leaning over his plate of eggs and staring at me, chin resting on the back of his hand. I looked back down at my cereal and continued to eat. "No," I said. "Sorry, I was thinking..."

It had been a whole day that I'd been at Rowen's cabin. I already missed my own bed and my mom and even my school. Honestly, it sucked being stuck up here on a lumpy couch with a freaky roommate. Any flat mate would have been better than Rowen, but he was the one I got stuck with.

"I was thinking of getting some floats down at the store in town. I asked what kind you preferred," he said.

"Floats? You mean for swimming?" I asked.

"Yeah," Rowen replied. "There's a lake nearby, so I thought maybe you'd have fun with that."

I frowned. "I don't even have a change of clothes, let alone a swimsuit. How am I supposed to go swimming?"

Rowen genuinely contemplated this fact for a minute. "We can check and see if they sell swimsuits at the general store." He grinned. "If not, you can always go skinny dipping."

I almost threw my spoon at him. "If they don't sell swimsuits, then you can swim by yourself," I said.

He chuckled and I stood up, taking my unfinished bowl of cereal to the sink. I wasn't hungry anymore. I washed my bowl and went into the living room. I thought about watching TV, but I wasn't really in the mood for that. What I really wanted was to take a shower. Unfortunately, I didn't have anything to wear and I didn't particularly want to put my dirty clothes back on after I finished. The thought made me scrunch my nose in disgust. By the time I was dressed again, there would have been no point in having showered in the first place.

"What's with the face?" Rowen asked, joining me in the living room.

"I feel gross," I said.

He frowned clearly not understanding my meaning.

"I want to shower. I haven't been able to wash in like, two days," I explained. I gestured to myself and repeated my initial statment. "I feel gross."

This was enough to jump-start whatever brain Rowen may have had, and he replied, "You can borrow some of my clothes if you want."

"I doubt they'll fit me," I said.

"Better than wearing dirty clothes, right?" Rowen countered.

He was right, so we walked into the bedroom to find something for me to wear. Rowen pulled out his suitcase and set it on the bed. "You can pick out anything you like," he offered. "I'm not sentimental."

I almost made a comment about his sentimentality being displayed in the heads he hung from the ceiling in his house, but thought better of it after I realized he may not know that Zane had told me about that. I'd rather keep that information to myself just in case.

I scanned the contents of the suitcase and the corners of my lips turned down in a frown. They were definitely too big, and Rowen knew this as well as I. That was probably why he was snickering over my shoulder. To avoid looking the fool, I grabbed a pair of pants and a t-shirt that look generally alright and went into the bathroom. I made sure the door was securely locked before I slipped out of my clothes and took a quick shower. After drying off, I pulled on the too-big sweater and the oversized jeans that only fit the way they did because Rowen was a naturally lanky guy like me. Even so, I looked like a homeless person.

My mood dipped even more knowing Rowen would surely laugh when he saw me, but I mustered up my courage and left the bathroom. Rowen was sitting on the bed like he'd been waiting for me to get out, his legs crossed, hands on his knees, an expectant smile on his face.

As soon as he saw me his face lit up. "Well, look at that," he said tauntingly. He left the bed to get a closer look. "You know, this look isn't half bad." 

I shrugged off his advances, trying to get out while I could. "Quit it," I mumbled.

I tried to walk around him, but he wrapped his arms tightly around my neck. "Aw... Don't be like that," he said in my ear. "Seeing your boyfriend wear your clothes is a real turn on, you know?"

I untangled myself from him with silent, panicky desperation. "I'm not your boyfriend," I said, my words coming out far more tense than I had intended.

"You wish you were," he called as I left the room.

I threw a glance over my shoulder. "You're annoying and crude. Who'd ever want to go out with you?"

There was an image of drama projected from the bedroom doorway as Rowen leaned on the wood, one arm thrown over his face like some 40's actor. "You wound me. I've had many a relationship in my day."

"Then get a knew one and leave me alone," I said. "I'm going to get some air. I won't go far. Find me when you're ready to leave."

The mountain air was slightly chilly from the rain, but it felt nice compared to the stuffy interior of the cabin. I felt like I would suffocate if I spent another second near Rowen and his toxic masculinity. It was a mystery how Cliff managed to grow up with him as a mentor and still turn out half-decent.

I wondered how far I could go and still be found, but I knew I could at least leave the clearing around the house. Considering Rowen's side profession, he would be able to find me. I could see just a little bit down the road before it turned and the trees covered the rest. Despite the lack of sunshine, it was quite beautiful.

It wasn't all bad being trapped up here, I theorized. At least it was pretty.

As I stood there, deciding where I would venture off to, I noticed an off-shooting path leading away from the house. I glanced back at the front door. I had time to explore; Rowen was probably going to take forever anyways.

I started down the path, looking around me contently to survey the already blossomed summer trees. It was quiet and serene. There were a few woodland animals that ran through the trees near me, probably a squirrel or a bunny.

A short walk turned into a slightly longer walk, and before I knew it, I couldn't see the cabin through the trees anymore. I hesitated when I came to a bend in the road. The continuing path looked enticing, but I was anxious about getting lost. If I had been able to use my phone, I wouldn't have thought twice about it, but without any signal, my phone, and by default my way of navigation, was useless.

Too bad, I thought. Maybe I could explore it another time. I turned and was about to walk back when there was a splashing noise somewhere off in the trees. "Hello?" I called.

There was no reply. Every horror movie I'd seen in my life had said not to go towards the noise. It could be anything, a bear, a wolf, a serial killer. The last option was unlikely, since the odds of two in one forest was scarce to none, but one never knew. However, like every stereotypical horror movie character, I stepped towards the sound. It probably wasn't any of those things, I reasoned.

It was abnormally bright around the bend in the path, and I put a hand over my eyes as I stepped around the trees, entering an open clearing. In the center of the clearing was a beautiful lake, the water so clear you could see every fish swimming around, every plant swaying in the moving current. The trees surrounding the lake were full and healthy. There was no sign of human tampering at all. It was just a big, beautiful picture of Mother Nature's perfection right out of a book.

Fascinated with the sight, I completely forgot about my previous intention of going back to the cabin and started exploring the area around the lake. The air was moist, but not enough to be humid. The wind was blowing at a perfect breeze. The sound I had heard had probably been the fish moving about near the lake's surface.

Though I knew I needed to get back, I decided I had enough time to be leisurely. I sat down, looking out at the lake. As I gazed about, lying on my back to relax, my eyelids began to grow heavy. I blinked several times as the warmth of the sun fell on my face making me begin to feel sleepy. Maybe even a short nap would be okay.

*******

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