Paper Houses **N.H**

Chapter 21

Evelyn's POV-

"Who wants a beer?"

I looked up from the bowl of beans I was eating as Mr. Horan reached his arm into the red cooler we had brought.

The night air was once again cool against my skin, but it wasn't unbearable because I was sitting really close to the fire and Niall was sitting right beside me, the side of his legs pressed against mine. He had gotten the blanket we had left in the car and had it over both of our shoulders so that the body heat was contained more. It helped a lot. 

My dad was sitting on the other side of the fire in a foldable chair next to Niall's dad. He'd already finished his food because I guess he'd worked up quite an appetite from our earlier hike.

"I'll take one" Niall held his hand up and his dad tossed one over the fire.

I pulled away a little, trying to get out of the way in case Niall missed the catch, but it made a smacking noise as it hit his hand, directly into his palm in a perfect catch.

"Evelyn?" Mr. Horan looked over at me.

"She wants one, too" Niall replied quickly for me.

"I approve of this relationship" he laughed and tossed another one over, Niall catching it in his other hand.

Smiling, he handed it to me. "Careful, it might spray out from being shaken"

"Thank you" I smiled and pulled the tab on the can.

It did kind of spray me, a little, and some of the fizz came out of the top. I brought the drink to my lips and let the liquid go down my throat. The cold immediately turned warm as it burned on its way down. I didn't drink a lot, and that sensation caught me off guard everytime. My eyes squinted and lips pursed into the bitterness.

"Do you know what's fun to do while drinking and camping?" my dad asked. "Ghost stories"

"Let's do ittttt" Niall grinned.

"I got a great one" his dad sipped his drink.

"Do tell" I smiled, excitedly.

He took one more sip of his beer, then held it between his hands, looking at the three of us intently. "In the 1800's, two men, John and Will, became fur-trapping partners in a Georgia forest who agreed to equally split the money they made from the pelts. A lot of really odd things happened after that, and it was all because of a woman." his eyes flicked to me, but Niall was snickering under his breath. "While trapping near a cabin of a certain man, John fell for the man's daughter, Mollie. Well, Mollie had fallen for him too, and the two quickly planned to marry.

"Thinking he could make more money, John wanted to get half the pelts and sell them himself. After some arguing between the two guys, John ended up stabbing Will. Obviously, word spread fast, so John told Mollie he was going to go find a place, then return to get her. Well, a year went by and John still had not returned, but still Mollie waited for him everyday.

"One day Mollie went outside to milk the cows, but was gone for a really long time, so her dad went to investigate the situation. You know what he found?"

All our eyes were big as we awaited the answer.

"A knife-John's knife, with dried blood on it. Six more months went by and her dad and the townspeople had been thoroughly searching the area. Around that time, a letter came to Mollie's cabin, which read The Devil has a river in Texas that is all his own and it is made only for those who are grown. Yours with love, Mollie. Everyone knew that John was a devil, but they were shocked she had admitted it. John had set up a settlement, but the natives killed everyone. No one knows what method they were killed in, but people who have gone to that area claim they see a naked girl with wolf like features, who runs on all fours running with packs of wolves."