PIETRA

06

PIETRA

Josh spun around, the light from his flashlight temporarily blinding me.

— Pietra, you scared me.

“I can say the same thing,” I said, suddenly nervous. Not twenty minutes ago, I was snuggled in bed, trying to forget the way Josh smiled at me when I told him how much I love Heinlein's books. I was asleep, imagining what it would be like to kiss his soft lips… but then I realized I didn't have my book with me. Did I leave it in the trailer when I ran away from Josh, or did I leave it somewhere outside on the way to my tent?

Damn it. That was the only book I brought to read. Without it, I would have to resort to talking to people. And, between Ruth's gross and disgusting thinking, Frances' inattentiveness, and Max's general weirdness, I wasn't too keen on that idea.

I sighed and sat down to pull on my socks and boots. I was wide awake now, and the thought of the book soaking in a puddle outside was more than I could bear. It was just like I'd told Josh: my books were precious,