Winter Camp

Chapter 18 - Olly

I couldn't stop the stream of steady, infuriated swear words that escaped my mouth as I paced my cabin, kicking anything in my path with the full force of my strength. I could feel dampness against my cheeks, but refused to admit that I was crying. I didn't cry. I don't remember ever crying.

It was a while before I felt calm enough to slide into bed, my fist involuntarily pounding the pillow. I lay awake, listening to the wind howl. It sounded like a small storm might be starting up.

I got out my phone, tapping my fingers against it thoughtfully. I hadn't even got Liana's mobile number. Good radiance, part of me thought. But the other part wanted to kill something until it hurt as much as me.

I should have just stuck with Georgia. She was likable and friendly enough, someone that would be bearable to live with, why did I go for the interesting girl who was an obvious choice to make me hurt beyond repair? I'd never felt anything like this before. 

A sharp wrap on the door knocked me to my senses. At first I wondered if Liana was stupid enough to come crawling back, because it would be hard not to take my frustration out on her.

As I opened the door, a ginger haired girl peered up me, her face creased with worry.

"Jenny?" I frowned in surprise, running a hand through my hair. "What the hell are you doing out of bed?"

"Olly, we need to talk," she said urgently, not even waiting for my reply before she pushed her way into my cabin.

"I shouldn't have let this happen, she was hurt, I should have told Mr Morris..."

"Jenny!" I shook her shoulder. "What are you talking about? Have you gone crazy?!"

“The last time she was hurt she… look, it doesn’t matter okay, we just need to find her… now.” Jenny said firmly, attempting to drag me out of the cabin, but I snatched my hand out of her grasp.

"Jenny, who are you talking about?" I asked quickly. "Speak English!"

jenny took a deep breath. "Okay, so I woke up in the night to go to the bathroom and then I looked over at Liana, she'd been sad all evening..." Her gaze narrowed suddenly as she looked at me. "As I'm sure you'll know. Anyway, when I looked over, her bed was empty, and loads of her stuff was gone and her backpack and her warm clothes and her money and her-"

“Woah!” I grabbed Jenny, turning her to face me as she paced in panic. “Why don’t we just let Mr Morris deal with it, okay? She’s a stroppy teenager, that’s Mr Morris’ speciality, not mine.”

“Olly, you don’t fucking understand!” Jenny yelled, making my breath catch in my throat. “You don’t fucking understand what Liana can do when she’s hurt!”

I could feel my pulse quickening, and I gripped Jenny’s arm desperately. “Jenny, you need to explain what’s going on.”

Jenny looked away, until I shook her shoulder urgently. "Jenny!” I exploded. “Tell me now!”

“Liana didn’t want to tell you, she didn’t want you to sympathise…”

“Jenny!” I begged urgently. “The short story!”

“Liana’s run away when she’s been hurt before… she’s sometimes not been found for weeks, one time a whole month. She struggles to cope at home because…”

“Because,” I urged desperately.

Jenny let out a sob. “Because she’s a carer, she has to constantly look after her mom… her mom has…” Jenny gasped for air. “Her mom has cancer.”