Holy gram crackers you guys are on fire I must say. Thank you so much, We've reached 1k reads which was my original goal for this book and we reached it and it's only been eight chapters! I'm so proud of us (tear rolls down) also the votes have gone up quite a bit since this screenshot^^Well because of this I threw everything aside to write this chapter! Next goal is 2k and then 3k and well so on you feel me😂. Onwards! For Narnia (0_0)

I woke up earlier than expected of me so I just stayed under the covers scrolling through memes.

Emilia was snoring lightly in the bed adjacent to mine and Avery had woken up an hour ago by her phone ringing and disappeared to the bathroom. After ten more minutes of waiting I decided to check on her.

"Avery are you okay?"I say knocking on the door and I hear sniffing. Now I was really concerned.

"Avery open the door, I can hear you!" I whisper yelled incase Emilia woke up and I don't think Avery wanted anyone to see her in this state.

"I'm fine!" Her voice was hoarse and being strangled by her chokes of crying.

"I know you're not I'm coming in!" I violently turn the knob and push my way through. That bubbly kind girl that I met a few days ago was nowhere to be seen but instead I was greeted by a broken version of her. Avery's hair was matted and her face was stained by tears. Shock was evident on her face when her eyes met mine and she quickly scrambled of the bathroom floor and thats when I saw it.

Blood splattered everywhere.

My heart broke when I realized what actually went on this morning. Whoever phoned her must have really upset her to the state that she self harmed. Instead of telling her that she's stupid for harming herself I grabbed her petite figure and gave her a reassuring hug. That's exactly what I needed when I myself did the very same thing and it was effective.

"I-I'm sorry I-" she starts saying but I shushed her.

"Don't you ever apologize, I know that there are other ways to cope but I understand why you do it. I'm not going to judge you okay? I'm here for you."

She merely shook her head and grabbed onto me tightly. We spent the next few minutes like that, occasionally rubbing soothing circles on her arm and shoulder or playing with her hair. After her breathing had come to a normal rate I lifted her chin up and wiped the remaining tears.

"Such a beautiful face, it shouldn't be stained with tears. Now come here let's get you cleaned up." I say locking fingers with her. She obliged and turned the tap on. The silence was filled with the splashes and trickling of water that cascaded down Avery's raw skin, turning a sickly shade of red. I watched it swirl down the sink out of habit but quickly shifted my focus back to Avery.

"You must think I'm so weak." She mumbled looking at her feet in a guilty manner.

"No I don't think you're weak love, I think you're a survivor. You're still here in this world aren't you ? You may be a little lost but that's okay aren't we all?"

That's the thing everyone in this world was lost in their own way and with that, there are different ways of coping with everything. You know why we cut? It's a distraction because in that moment you don't feel all the pain, all you feel is the cold razor to your skin followed by the blood trickling down your hand, stomach and thighs. You forget about how complicated and unfair your life is and when it's done, the blood dries and the sadness comes creeping back. Only to make you cut deeper next time so that the numbness will last longer. An endless addictive cycle that's bound to kill us. Avery was the only other person in my life currently that understood this. Which is why I had no issue sliding my pants halfway down my thighs, showing her the long horizontal scars running across each thigh, my burn marks were placed next to them, it darkened and bubbled up giving it a prune texture. I looked horrific.

"You're not alone in this."

She gasped and instantly her hand cupped my face. I shivered under her touch, it felt as if I had just shown her a part of my soul but I pushed back the negative thoughts, Avery needed to know she wasn't by herself on this, she needed to know she wasn't crazy or selfish. It was just human nature but I was in no place to tell her that she should stop. The thing is we both know it's bad and that we should stop but how?

"Thank you for sharing that with me." Avery was rather close to me as her cupped hand on my face shifted to a piece of loose hair around my face.  She tucked it behind my ear and her fingers lingered by my face. Her brown eyes were diluted and I tried to maintain the eye contact but I kept on getting distracted by her pink lips.

I wanted to kiss her so badly but I didn't want to take advantage of her while in this state. I didn't care if she was straight or not, if you want something you should go ahead and try.

"Can I try something? I know this is crazy but I can't help it." I say shyly. I wasn't planning to kiss her on the lips, I try to stay true to my word.

"Anything." She breathes out and cracks a small smile. I let out a shaky breath, it was now or never.

I closed in the tiny distance between us wrapping my arms around her neck. She didn't push me away but instead put her hands on my waist.

"You're an amazing woman Avery, you're gifted in both the brains as well as looks department and I'm utterly infatuated with your existence."

Avery was breathing heavily and it fanned my neck. I was aroused by such a small action that I knew I was in a lot of trouble.

Turning my neck to reach the side of her face, I planted a gentle kiss on her cheek. Avery let out a small squeal and my heart dropped. I was so stupid for putting myself out there. What was I thinking? I could never get a girl like Avery. I loosened my grip on her trying to back away hopefully shaking of the clear embarrassment on my face.

Avery stood there shocked with her mouth opened slightly and I frantically started to apologize for taking it too far, she stood in that same spot listening to me ramble on until she couldn't take it. She grabbed me by my shoulders and closed the distance between us. Her tender lips brushed against my own and I moaned. I couldn't believe this was happening. I deepened the kiss with all the passion I had been harboring since the day I met her. In reality it was just a few days ago but it felt so much longer. I definitely had some feelings for this girl and I hoped it was the same on her side. It wasn't all fireworks but it made my insides churn in happiness.

I pulled away not wanting to turn this into a make out session. Avery jutted her bottom lip outwards and I sighed, why was she such a tease? I leaned in one last time to peck her lips and she smiled.

"I'm going to be honest with you, I've never been with a girl before. I must say though, it feels right." Avery says shyly and my heart was in my throat. I felt special being Avery's first girl experience, the thought of her lips on anyone else angered me but I shook it off and smiled at her.

"It's okay, I do have feelings for you but I'm not going to rush you into anything love." I grab her hand and kiss her knuckles. She looked at me giddily.

"I like you too, we can discuss things later. Let's get ready for the day. I think we're going hiking!" She says excitedly bringing a smile to my face, now there was the bubbly girl I knew.

We both scrambled to our belongings  to start our morning routines before waking up Emilia, she was completely knocked out which I was thankful for. Avery and I were both done and ready for the day but Emilia was still in the bathroom. Avery and I looked at each other realizing this would be the last time for a while that we would be alone. Her lips brushed against mine and we stayed like that for a while, eventually deepening the kiss. I won't go into detail but holy fuck that girl is so sexy.

The bathroom door twisted and the both of us jumped apart pretending to do different things. You ever heard the saying act natural? Yeah we both suck at that.

Emilia thought nothing of it and we all left the cabin to join everyone else. It was indeed a hike that we had to endure with our set partners. The messed up thing is you were literally hooked onto your partner.

"Baby I missed you so much!" Jordan says grabbing me by my sides and lifting me into the air. His arms were tightly fit around me and I gave him a genuine laugh.

"I missed you too! I didn't even get to see you fail miserably on that course yesterday." I say ruffling his dirty blond hair. Jordan scoffed and put me back on the ground.

"Don't disrespect me woman! I annihilated that course, ask Avery!" He pouted and crossed his arms across his chest in an angry manner. It had only been one day apart and It felt like years.

"He got stuck in the snake pit." Avery says snickering and my eyes lit up excitedly.

"Boy me too! Even when we're not together, we fail together!" I shout and high five him. Avery stood there shaking her head at us with a giant smile on her face.

We were disrupted by Lieutenant who handed us these belts that we had to attach to our waists. Each team would have a short piece of cable that would hook onto both belts effectively attaching each other together. I would have to do that with Cole but I guess it wouldn't be that bad considering there would be a distance between us the entire time.

Cole came up to us with a beanie over his head but the green hair stuck out a bit in the front. I had to say I shot myself in the foot because it actually suited him. He wore a tank top exposing his toned arms and I smirked. It was really hot out today.

"Sky, is that your definition of payback because it didn't turn out that well." Jordan says with his arms folded and I sighed in agreement.

Although the picture he sent of himself covered in cool aid and dye were spread around it sunk to the bottom of the rumor mill after how excited everyone was during the course. If Cole was embarrassed he didn't show it.

"Just wait I'm hoping plan B works out." I say squishing Jordan's cheeks together. He swats my hands away and then pushes me onto Avery causing me to blush. Jordan smirked and grabbed a belt from Lieutenant. Avery and I did the same.

After I put on my belt, Cole comes in from behind and hooks the cable onto the belt. This asshole could have just given it to me to do but no always wanting to be in control.

Our names were called out in order for the way we would walk up, so they could make sure everyone was back without scurrying around to find a certain group. It sucked because it meant it would be another event without Jordan and Avery by my side.

The trail was beautiful with the scenery of different populations of flora and fauna. There were a variety of birds flying around the area, making little nests and feeding their young. In that moment I was glad that I came onto this trip.

I walked in front of Cole and every now and again he would tug on the cable pulling me backwards yelling "No doggy! Don't get off to far." After the first five times I turned around and told him if there were any dogs around here it would be him since he's such a bitch. He didn't react as I wanted him too but instead there was a spark of amusement in his eye.

The sun was striking down on us at full force and I looked at Cole to see if my plan was working. I fist pumped when I saw his skin turning an awful orange color. He had no idea that I switched his sunblock with tanning lotion. With his green hair and orange skin he honestly looked like a carrot.

I burst out laughing in his face and he looked at me confused until he saw the shade of orange on his arm. He yelled out a bunch of profanities and while I was enjoying the moment I didn't realize where I was stepping. I tripped on a piece of log bringing Cole down with me. A sharp pain shot through my ankle and I screamed. I noticed a thick long serpent slithering away and I almost fainted.

That snake was almost definitely poisonous and I was pretty sure I had sprained my ankle on the way down. Cole had landed next to me but seemed to be fine. He started panicking when he saw the snake bite.

I was loosing conscience, my eyes started to close but I could see Cole between my eyelashes. He hesitated while kneeling before me. He actually hesitated to save my life.

I was such a goner but then I felt lips attached to my leg. My eyes opened and I saw Cole sucking out the venom and spitting it out on the side.

After a while of repeating that same action he scooped me up carefully supporting the sprained ankle and started walking back to camp. The other team members that were behind us gasped when they saw me and started whispering to themselves.

Being in Coles arms yet again really was a shot to me ego but I could feel his muscles hiding under his shirt.

You just got bitten by a snake and sprained your ankle and you're still a horny bitch.

Not now conscience I'm trying not to die.

The walk back to the camp was shorter since Cole basically power walked. Jordan and Avery were still there and they dashed forward to check up on me. They demanded to know what happened as Cole set me down and Ms Humble pushed her way through them.

Cole explained to her what happened and she started panicking.

"Get her to the hospital! Come on people move." I couldn't bring myself to say anything because I wasn't fine. My entire body was numb with pain. Cole picked me back up and made way to the camp van. He set me inside and Mr Stroker handed Cole an ice pack to set on my leg.

"Hold this down on it for her on the way okay?" He instructed Cole and as much as I wanted to protest I couldn't in my state.

"No sir! He will not take her, let me go instead please!" Jordan roars and knowing him, he was a second away from jumping into the van.

"I'm sorry Mr Lee you need to stay here, Mr Braxton has it covered and that's his partner anyway." Mr Stroker says calmly and Jordan protested.

"You're wasting time! Please just start driving already." Ms Humble says through gritted teeth.

Cole picked up my legs slowly causing me to hiss in pain and sat down. He then put it back down on his lap, applying the ice pack.

The rest of the ride was more of a blank. The pain has simmered and I had blacked out only to wake up in a hospital bed.

"You're awake, a nurse will be with you soon." Cole was sitting on one of those uncomfortable hospital chairs with his eyes focused on his phone. From the looks of it he was playing a game and I scoffed.

A nurse came in explaining my vitals and checking up on me. She then said I was good to go home as long as I try to stay off my foot for a few days. I fist pumped and got ready to change back into my normal clothes. Cole excused himself from the room as I did so. It was damn hard with a crutch in my hand but soon I had gathered my belongings and left the room to find Cole.

He was standing outside with a bored expression on his face.

"We can leave now we just need to check out." I say and he was about to respond when we heard shouting to move out of the way. A man soaked in blood clutching his chest rolled in on a hospital bed and I turned my attention away back to Cole. He stood there shocked and my face twisted in a confused manner.

"Hello Braxton? Are you okay?" I wave my hands in front of his face but his eyes follow the hospital bed.

"D-dad?" He whispers and then rushed off to follow the man. My heart dropped when I realized that he had a high chance of loosing a parent. If anyone knew that horrible feeling it was myself.

I was in no place to go and check if things were going okay but Cole had proved himself to be helpful in my situation so I followed him and stayed outside.

Cole was screaming for his father to wake up but the nurses had escorted him back outside. He roughly ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and sat down. He buried his face into his knees and I stood there looking at him uncomfortably. What do I do?

Hello my favorite human beings! I cut this chapter short because it's a lot to take in. On the brighter side you're finally going to see why Cole hates her and then the story can finally kick off nicely. I actually enjoyed writing this chapter even though it lacked humor, it touched on some serious issues. Anybody dealing with anything similar is most welcome to speak to me about it. I'm always here to listen and help❤️

Also holy shit how cute are Sky and Avery. I want an Avery (0_0) and a Jordan. Man fuck reality when your dreams can come true through wattpad. (I know I swear a lot I'm fucking sorry okay.)

That's all for now folks!

Much love ❤️