Where Fires Dare to Burn

Chapter 12 - Out in the Cold

Anger didn't come easily to Luke. He prided himself on being a pretty live-and-let-live individual most of the time. But whenever he saw Oaklynn with Kasper that little kernel in his gut burned just a bit brighter.

Ever since he'd told Kasper the story of what he'd seen in the woods, Oaklynn had effectively abandoned him. In the flip of a coin they'd gone from being good friends to almost never seeing each other. Instead she now filled her time on campus with Kasper and his friends, having apparently been galvanised into accepting her so-called family by Luke's revelations. Two weeks had passed since then and Luke still felt like he was suffering from whiplash.

A whole melting pot of different factors made him furious. He'd taken an extreme dislike to Kasper ever since the other student had started harassing Oaklynn around the campus. He'd been willing to get into a fight to protect her from him. Now everything seemed to have flipped on its head. Outside of class he barely got a glimpse of her, and when he did, she was with Kasper and his cronies.

Why?

In class she was tight-lipped, refusing to be drawn on what had changed which only compounded matters. Luke didn't feel like he'd done anything wrong. In fact, he knew he hadn't done anything wrong. Hell, this whole thing had gone sideways because he'd done what she asked: done her a favour, and betrayed the trust of Sheriff Nalen in the process. And his reward was to be excised from her life.

Jealousy covered part of it – Luke could admit that to himself. He hated seeing them together. Not that they seemed to be a couple or anything close to it, but she still chose to be around Kasper, not him. The other part of it was just bafflement. None of this made sense. What did a murdered girl in the woods with a hole in her head have to do with Oaklynn, Kasper and Luke? Why did knowing that information suddenly turn her entire attitude upside down?

Why, why, why?!

Pulling back harder on the bowstring in frustration, Luke let fly. The arrow ripped vengefully from the bow and rocketed down the range. In terms of aim, the shot wasn't that impressive, but it crunched a full inch deeper into the target than normal when it struck.

"Jeez," Gabi murmured as she moved up beside him, craning her neck to get a better look. "Is there someone in particular you wish was on the other end of that arrow?"

Luke shook his head. "No."

"But you're not okay, are you?"

Another shake of the head. "Not really."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't."

"It's Oaklynn, isn't it?" She leaned around, forcing him to look her in the eye. "C'mon, Luke. You can't keep moping around like this."

"Try me," he muttered, knocking another arrow to his bow. He heaved this one back even further than the last and buried it into the target with all the force he could muster, not even trying to hit the bullseye.

"No points for stress-testing the equipment, Arbor!" Coach Gore barked irately from down the line. "We're looking for aim."

Luke bristled, not trusting himself to respond. Instead he waited for the call to retrieve, stomped down the range, wrenched his arrows free and stomped right back. He knew how petulant he probably looked, but right now he just didn't care. He passed Gabi as she took up her position, but the sad expression on her face only made him more angry. He didn't want anyone's pity.

He wanted to understand.

With a sullen huff, he slumped down into a sitting position on the bench as Gabi and the others began firing their arrows. His eyes followed the shots without thinking. Gabi's arrows neatly clustered around the bullseye, a testament to what a cool temperament could accomplish.