Page 1 of The Wild Man
one
Everlee
“Are you sure this is smart, Ever? I mean, you aren’t exactly the outdoorsy type.”
I peek my head around my closet door frame and look at Lyrika, my best friend since middle school. With bright-red, waist-length hair, exotic aqua-colored eyes surrounded by thick eyelashes, and a killer body with curves in all the right places, I’ve always felt lacking when standing next to her. Not that I’m not pretty, but my shit-brown hair, with my shittier brown eyes, and the extra twenty pounds I can’t seem to diet or exercise off can’t compare to her perfectly gorgeous model features. But hey, bright side, at least the extra weight is evenly distributed and not all in one place.
She’s sitting with her legs crossed in the middle of my bed, eyeing the small pile of clothes I’ve tossed on the end like they’ve personally offended her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I love nature and being outdoors.” Grabbing a flannel shirt that I haven’t worn in years, I throw it at her. “You remember all those camping trips my dad and brothers took me on in middle and high school? You even went once.”
She pinches the shoulders of the shirt, her eyes meeting mine over the printed material as she expertly folds it. “I remember you hating it.”
I scoff and roll my eyes, even though I’ve already moved back into the closet and she can’t see it. She knows me well enough to hear the action in my voice. “I did not. You were the one who hated it.” Bending, I pick up a pair of old hiking boots and toss them between my legs through the doorway and into the room. They clunk against the footboard. “Which is why Dad made Ethan take you home early and wouldn’t let me invite you again.”
“Girls were not designed to squat in the woods, Ever.”
“They are if they do it right.”
“And do you have any idea how itchy poison ivy is when it gets in your butt crack?” she continues, ignoring my statement. I can practically see the shuddered look on her face in my mind.
It wasn’t funny at the time—or rather, it kind of was, but to keep my friend from slaughtering me, I kept my mirth to myself—but thinking back, I can’t help the laugh that slips out.
“That shit was not funny,” Rika grumbles, her bitterness from that experience still alive and kicking. “I must have looked like a whore with herpes, with all my squirming and scratching at my crotch.” Another spurt of laughter comes out before I can stop it. “I blame that one experience on why Mad and I never married and had two-point-five kids.”
Rika has had a lady boner for my oldest brother for years. Despite the eight-year age difference, she used to swear she was going to marry Maddox one day and they’d live happily ever after with the perfect life. Much to her displeasure, he’s never shown any interest in her, and over the years, that crush has faded.
“Do David and the guys know what you’re doing?” she asks, folding another shirt I tossed on the bed.
“Not yet,” I admit reluctantly. “I’m calling Dad on the way out. He’ll pass along the information to my brothers.”
I avoid Rika’s eyes when I leave the closet and move to my dresser. I know what she’s thinking. And she knows that I know.
“You’ve had this planned for weeks, so there’s only one reason why you’re waiting until now to tell them.” She pauses, and I can feel her eyes on the back of my head as I dig through my panties drawer, searching for the most utilitarian undies I have. Silk, lace, and satin would be wasted where I’m going. “You know they would stop you from going if they knew ahead of time.”
I snort, even though she’s right. Dad is going to go ballistic when he finds out what I plan to do. And my brothers, they’d tie me to the metal pipes in the basement to keep me from going. I love my dad and brothers, but they can be hella overprotective.
“You’re delusional. I didn’t tell them because I’ve been busy and it slipped my mind,” I reply, playing dumb.
“Oh, get real, Ever. We both know that’s bull. What you’re doing is dangerous and, quite frankly, stupid. There’s no way the Horde would let you step a foot out of the house if they had any clue what you were up to.”
The Horde.
That’s what Rika calls my dad and brothers.
I flippantly lift a shoulder. “Maybe, maybe not. Either way, they won’t have the chance.”
I carry a stack of plain cotton panties and a couple of sports bras to the duffle bag on the bed, carelessly stuffing them inside. I go back to the dresser for some socks, feeling Rika’s concerned gaze on the side of my face the whole time.
“You have no idea how dangerous this man could be, if he even exists,” she continues in her pursuit to try to talk me out of going. Nothing short of an apocalypse could stop me. “He could be a psycho killer who waits for hikers to wander his way. You remember that guy who disappeared last year, right?”
“Yes. He was found weeks later.” I stop and face Rika. “He died from a broken neck after he fell from that cliff.”
“That’s what the papers say,” she says, one of her brows lifting in question. “They claim he fell, but he could have been pushed.”
I let out an exaggerated puff of air. “You watch too many true crime shows.” I leave her and go to the bathroom for some toiletries.
“That may be so, but it’s still very plausible that man could have been pushed. There’s no way to know for sure.”