Tempting Trouble

Chapter 45

Claire

I had absolutely no desire to go camping, it was going to be muddy, cold and boring. We only get two weeks off for Easter break and my parents were stealing one from me. This is cruelty, forcing your children to give up their precious holiday time to dump them in a bug infested tent for a week and expecting them to be happy about it is just mean. I don't care that it's some family tradition that my mother and aunty did when they were teenagers because I'm willing to bet that they hated it back then too. 

I'll admit, I never really cared about having to go camping before but this year I have a very good reason for wanting to not go and my mother was being completely unreasonable in ignoring my request to stay home. Doesn't she realise that an entire week away from Andy was going to kill me? Not to mention that there will be no way to contact him either because the stupid camping site was out in the middle of east Jesus nowhere. I don't understand how anyone can survive without mobile reception, as if this is 1999. 

One silver lining, on my very dark cloud of depression was that Andy had stayed over last night. He was so incredibly sweet, rubbing my back and making me feel like a princess, even though I was bloated from the monthly murder party that my uterus was having. He even held me all night and it was magical, being able to wake up in his arms and spend time with him before I go. That memory will hopefully get me through the next week. 

When we sat down to eat breakfast with my family I felt a pang of sadness because I knew that once we were done eating, Andy would go home. I angrily stabbed at my bacon, imagining it was the camping ground and I was destroying it. 

"Do I have to sit next to Claire in the car? She's got PMS and I'm fearful for my life." Heath whines to mum as he watches me tear apart the bacon on my plate. 

"You don't even know what PMS stands for so how can you claim I have it?" I ask him, pointing my knife in. his direction. 

"It stands for problematic monster syndrome." Heath answers me confidently. "It comes from the demon that takes over your body each month, making us all have suffer through your bitchy mood swings." 

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I pity the girl who has to date you one day." I sneer at him from across the table. I swear health class is wasted on him because he hasn't learnt a damn thing. 

"Claire, did you pack mosquito repellent?" Dad asks me as a way of trying to defuse the fight that's brewing between Heath and I. 

"No but I will." I promise him, mentally adding it to my list of items that I'm yet to pack. 

"Mosquitos love sucking blood Claire." Heath teases me, making a slurping sound to emphasise his jeer. 

"Heath you better have packed a fresh set of batteries because I'm not driving you an hour into the city, just so you can buy more for your game device when the old ones go flat." Mum warns Heath which makes him run from the table so fast to check if he did pack them. 

"I'm happy to collect your mail while you're away." Andy offers to mum and dad.

"Thanks Andrew, I'll leave you the key for the house too, if you don't mind, just in case anything goes wrong." Dad says, taking his keys out of his pocket and separating the house key from the rest, he then passes it down to Andy. 

"You know, I could just stay here and keep an eye on the house." I suggest, but mum shakes her head. 

"Claire, you may not think so now but one day, when you're older, you'll look back on these family trips and realise how precious the time spent together was." She says sadly.