Chapter Three
Reese
“See, was that so bad?” I look at my sister with an all-knowing grin that I’m sure pisses her off, but I can’t help myself. In fact, I think it might be part of my duty as her little sister.
Brianna lets out a hard sigh. “Let’s not make a habit of this, okay? Next time, we might not get so lucky.”
“Deal… if you promise to tell me all the secret things going on back home. Your nerves seem a little more frayed than usual. Is something going on?”
She pulls the Jeep onto the side of the hiking trail entrance before rolling her eyes and hopping out to grab her pack from the trunk.
Okay… did I say something wrong?
Following her to the back, I watch as she slings her pack into place and hands me mine, before pressing the button on the key ring to close the trunk to the Jeep. It’s a beautiful summer day with green and sunshine everywhere. There’re even patches of black-eyed Susans popping up across the hill.
In silence, we crunch over fallen leaves and broken branches onto the trail, following the worn path through tall lodgepole pines. Birds sing in the far distance, and squirrels dash in front of us in pursuit of food they’ve buried at the base of a tree. I’m not sure what to say. Maybe she’s really upset that we picked up Hank. Or maybe something crazy is going on at home and she isn’t ready to talk about it yet.
“Do you remember that story about the fairies Dad told us when we were young?” She finally speaks after what I guess is at least an hour. “It’s the one where the fairies all work together to help the trolls build a bridge over this huge waterfall toward a mushroom field, but when the fairies needed help rebuilding their shelter after a bad winter storm, the trolls couldn’t be bothered.”
My forehead wrinkles. “Yeah… I can’t remember what happened, though. Sounds like it was a real downer.”
She smiles toward me. “That spring, the trolls realized that they’d eaten all the mushrooms and they were hungry. So, they went looking for food. Turns out, the only food available in the forest was cherries, but they were in the fairies’ part of the forest. You know how much trolls love cherries.”
“So, what did they do?”
“They didn’t have to do anything, because the fairies were kind enough to bring cherry jam, cherry biscuits, and cherry pie to the trolls before they’d even asked. The following winter, the fairies lost a roof to their home, and again, the trolls were nowhere to be found.”
“This story is awful! I don’t remember it ending this way.”
“You don’t remember how it ended at all.”
“Yeah, but why didn’t the trolls help the fairies with their house? The fairies went out of their way to give them what little they had.”
“They did. And at the end of the story, the fairies were happy, dancing, and enjoying their bounty. Do you know why?”
“No!” I shake my head vehemently. “I don’t. They got totally screwed!”
“They didn’t, though. They wanted to help the trolls, so they did. Helping others made them happy. They didn’t need it to be reciprocated.”
“And why are you reminding me of this traumatic story?”
“I’m the troll, Reese.” Her eyes widen as she looks toward me, her cheeks pink and round as she bites into her bottom lip.
“What? You’re not a troll! You help people all the time. You stayed home to help Mom and Dad. If anything, I’m the troll.”
“No! You’re the fairy. You’re out here dancing, enjoying your life, and helping strangers. I’m the mean old troll who stays under her bridge and complains about everything.”
“Not wanting to pick up a strange man on the side of the road is a reasonable response. You realize that, right? I’m crazy.”
She sighs and looks further into the woods as though hidden in the branches were the answers to all her questions.
“I’m sorry, Brianna. I know you’re struggling right now. I wish there was something—”
She stares blankly into the forest and blurts out the words, “I’m pregnant.”
My throat dries and a cough works its way up. “You’re what?”
She stays silent for a long moment before making eye contact with me again. “Four months. Mom and Dad are going to lose it.”