Rowena Eric seemed to tense up at my question, an unreadable expression flickering across his face. For a long moment he was silent, almost like he was debating something internally. “The scar on my shoulder?” he asked finally, an odd amount of hesitance lacing his tone. “Why do you want to see that old thing?” 

Rowena “Take it easy.” Eric’s strong arm easily looped around my waist, steadying me before I could stumble from our sudden impact. He smirked down at me, his blue eyes catching the warm sunlight streaming in from overhead. “What are you doing out here?” he asked, glancing past me. “Visiting the combat manager’s office?” 

Eric I stared in shock as Rowena leaped over the barrier and practically sprinted across the gymnasium, her steps sure and steady and utterly unhindered despite the ankle injury that had previously required her to use crutches. How was she walking like that all of a sudden? The gymnasium fell silent as Rowena tended t

RowenaThe cheer competition finally came to its climax as Heather’s squad executed a flawless final routine, the petite blonde sailing through the air in a series of dizzying twists and turns before being caught by her teammates in a perfect cradle catch. The crowd roared with excitement, and I found myself slowly clapping along, torn between my obligation to show support for our camp and the nagging distaste I felt towards Heather herself.As the cheers died down, the announcer’s voice boomed through the loudspeaker once again. “What an incredible display from both camps! But as you all know, only one squad can claim victory. The judges have made their decision…”He paused for dramatic effect, clearly relishing the tension in the air. I rolled my eyes—the pageantry of it all was so ridiculous.Still, I couldn’t deny the tiniest swell of pride I felt as he finally announced, “...And the winner is Camp Laurel!”Our side of the bleachers exploded into thunderous applause and victorious

RowenaA few days had passed since the unsettling incident in my office with Eric, and I found myself actively avoiding him whenever possible. Just being in his presence made my skin prickle with a confusing swirl of emotions I didn’t even want to begin to acknowledge—shame, longing, disgust, and so much more.“It was a prank,” he had said, that telltale smirk of his ghosting the corners of his lips. “Nothing more.”I couldn’t decide what hurt more: the fact that my own brother would pull yet another disgusting prank on me, or… the fact that part of me, even the tiniest part, wished it had been real.No. This wasn’t right. And I refused to let myself think that it was.That week, I tried to push the whole night out of my mind, throwing myself into my work instead. But seeing the influx of new patients come to my clinic certainly helped get my mind off of things.One afternoon, I found myself passing by the bulletin board in the main hall. I stopped to take a peek at the ballots, altho