Chapter 58

Rowena

“Here we are.”

I stared apprehensively out the window as Eric pulled into the handicap spot at camp, rather than his usual parking space. My stomach twisted into knots at the thought of everyone seeing me hobble around on crutches.

The pitying stares, the snide comments from Heather’s crew—I could already envision it all too vividly.

“I can walk,” I insisted, glancing at Eric in the driver’s seat. “This is unnecessary.”

Eric sighed and just gave me that look he had been giving me all week—that don’t try to say no to me look. And it had worked so far, when we were both at home.

His constant doting on me had been sweet, and I appreciated all of the lengths he had gone to while I was healing. One afternoon, since I had taken the entire week off of camp due to my injuries, he had even surprised me with homemade cookies and my favorite flavor of ice cream for us to share while we watched a movie in my bedroom.

But now, the thought of being treated like a cripple in front of the entire camp, especially when I already knew I would get plenty of stares after my theatrical tumble down the steps, sounded like torture.

“You’ll be fine,” he said, putting the car in park and unbuckling his seatbelt. “Let’s go.”

I shook my head mutely, not meeting his eyes. Maybe if I just stayed in the car all day…

“Rowena, come on.” He reached over and gave my arm a gentle squeeze, a sensation that made my heart flutter, even after all this time. “I’ll be right beside you, okay? We’ll take it slow. And if anyone tries to start anything, all it’ll take is one look from me to shut them up.”

Huffing out a sigh, I finally nodded and allowed him to help me out of the car. Eric went first, grabbing my backpack and anything else I might need for the day, while I maneuvered myself out with the crutches.

My ankle throbbed fiercely with each small movement. Dr. Meyers had done an x-ray and had found that there was, indeed, a small fracture. It should heal soon, but I needed to keep weight off of it for the time being.

Once I was out of the car, Eric fell into step beside me, our shoulders brushing with each shuffle. I found myself leaning into him for support, both physical and moral.

“I hate this,” I grumbled.

“Hey, I’ve got you,” he murmured, leaning close so only I could hear. “There’s no need to be scared.”

I wanted to argue that I wasn’t scared, just… self-conscious. But Eric saw right through me as always. Biting back a retort, I simply nodded again.

The day passed in a blur of classes, hobbling through the hallways, and far too many questioning looks for my liking. By the time lunch rolled around, I was utterly drained, pain radiating up my leg in jagged bursts.

“Need to hit up the nurse for some meds?” Eric asked, noting the pained creases in my brow as we settled at one of the tables in the cafeteria.

I opened my mouth to respond, but another voice cut me off.

“Rowena! You’re back!”

I looked up to see Emma hurrying my way, wearing a dark red flannel and jeans—a style that she had begun wearing since her departure from the cheerleading team, rather than her usual preppy attire.

She looked shocked, clearly not having expected me to return—especially not like this. Over text, I had told her the basics of what had happened, but I hadn’t exactly mentioned the crutches. Nor did I mention the fact that her sister had been part of the reason as to why I fell in the first place.

Emma hurried over, her expression a mask of concern. Despite Eric stiffening beside me, I felt myself relaxing slightly at the genuine care in her voice.

“Hey, Emma,” I greeted with a tired smile. “It’s good to see you.”

“I didn’t know you’d be on crutches,” she said, glancing at my ankle. “That bad, huh?”

I shrugged. “It’s a little better today, but…”

Emma frowned, then placed her tray down on the table. “I can tell you’re lying. Your face looks pale. Here, have my cake; the sugar will give you some energy.”

My eyes widened at the offer, but I quickly shook my head. “No, Emma, it’s okay—”

“Take it, seriously,” she said, pushing her tray a little closer. “It’s the least I can do.”

I felt heat rushing to my cheeks, and with a smile, I stabbed a piece of the cake with my fork and raised it to my lips. As I took the bite, Eric’s eyes seemed to double in size.

“Am I having a stroke?” Eric blurted out, leaning back in his chair. “Are you two friends now, or what?”

Emma and I exchanged a look, our cheeks flushing a bit. We had been spending a lot of time together at camp, but to call each other ‘friends’ after everything…

“Yeah, we are,” I finally said.

Eric blinked owlishly at us before letting out a disbelieving laugh. “How the hell did that happen?”

For a moment, Emma and I exchanged wary looks; I had, after all, promised her that I wouldn’t tell a soul about her miscarriage. And I planned on keeping that promise.

“It just sort of happened,” I said with a casual shrug.

“Rowena has helped me through a lot lately,” Emma said as she sat down across from us. Her expression sobered briefly before she looked over at Eric. “Thanks for getting me kicked off that godforsaken cheerleading team, by the way. Made me realize how toxic that whole scene was.”

Eric blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting gratitude over that incident. I couldn’t contain my small smirk of amusement.

Shaking it off, Eric eyed Emma seriously. “Well, I’m glad Rowena has made a friend. Just don’t try to pull any more tricks, alright?”

“Eric,” I breathed, feeling my face redden.

But much to my relief, Emma shook her head. “It’s alright, Rowena. I don’t blame him.” She turned to me then, and offered me a warm smile. “No more tricks.”

…

The clock on the wall seemed to echo in the silent room as I typed away on my keyboard, working on a paper that I had to make up for a missed class. Stifling a yawn, I glanced at the time; almost eight.

I was sitting in my office, well past the time I was usually here, although I didn’t mind. With Eric having to drive me to and from camp, I was at his mercy when it came to scheduling our trips home. But it just gave me extra time to study, which I would have been doing at home anyway.

As if on cue, my phone buzzed with a text from Eric: “Hey, gonna be a little late picking you up. Got roped into some extra training. Wait for me in your office?”

I quickly typed back: “No problem, I’ll be studying. See you soon.”

Leaning back in my chair, I returned to my work. My fingers flew across the keyboard as I typed out my paper with ease, fully focused on the task.

At least, until a random news notification on my laptop caught my peripheral vision.

Northern Princess Still Missing After Sixteen Years - The Whole Story

My heart stuttered at the headline, although I didn’t know why. The missing princess had still not been found—perhaps she had run away, or maybe something horrible had even happened to her, even though I hated to have thoughts like that—and I had figured it would simply fizzle out eventually.

But something about the case had been intriguing me more than usual lately. So, biting my lip, I clicked on the link.