The Dead, The Living and The Broken

Chapter 17: Sorry

Erin and Kiara stood on the cabin's porch. The brisk spring breeze blew through the girls' knotted hair. Neither girls said anything, they simply stood and silenced to the hum of the wind as it blew through through the tall trees.

"You're overreacting," Kiara stated.

Erin sighed and leaned against the wooden railing. She held her head in her hands. "I know," she said, her voice muffled by her hand. She raised her head and looked out at the forest. "I just, ugh." She ran her hands through her hair.

Kiara placed a hand on Erin's hunched shoulders. "You should go in and apologize to Oliver, you've been holding onto this way to long," Kiara told Erin.

"I know, I know," Erin said. "I just feel like he deserves to have karma bite him on his ass."

Kiara laughed and slowly nodded her head. "I get it."

"I really messed up, didn't I? I'm pretty sure they all hate me now," Erin added.

"They don't hate you. Besides, making stupid mistakes is what being a teenager is all about. You make dumb choices and you learn from them," Kiara said and smiled.

"I guess you're right." Erin looked away and back out at the trees. "The wind is really picking up, isn't it?"

"Are you really going to stand there and talk about the weather with me? "C'mon, I've always wanted to try something." Kiara led Erin towards one of the trees.

She gripped her knife with a steady hand and pulled it back before flicking her wrist and letting the knife fly. The blade soared through the air and hit the tree but fell to the ground.

Kiara turned towards Erin with a large grin plastered onto her face. "Did you see that?"

"It was pretty good, here let me try," Erin said. She grabbed her own knife from the porch railing and positioned herself facing the tree. She reeled her arm backwards and then swung her arm. The knife flew passed the tree and instead lodged itself into the ground. "I never have had good aim."

"It's all in the wrist," Kiara informed her and went to retrieve her knife. She returned and once more took her position and let the knife leave her hand.

Once again, the handle nailed into the center of the tree but the blade refused to stick. Kiara sighed and pushed a strand of her curly, dark hair away from her face.

"Don't worry, you'll get it eventually," Erin told Kiara.

Kiara continued to practice her knife throwing skills. Aim, throw, retrieve and repeat. She continued this cycle as the sun continued to dip below the tree line.

"Do I need to apologize to Oliver?" Erin asked.

"Yes," Kiara replied firmly.

"I think he should be the one apologizing to me, I mean he started all of this," Erin ranted.

Kiara held up her hand to silence Erin. "We've been over this. You're overreacting, it was four years ago. Now go be the bigger person and apologize."

Erin glanced back at the wooden building and bit the inside of her cheek. "I'll tell him tomorrow," she mumbled.

"Sure you will," Kiara said sarcastically and rolled her eyes.

"I will! I promise!" Erin assured.

"Oh, I believe you," Kiara said with a wink.

Suddenly, a large gust of wind blew through the forest and nearly knocked Kiara off her feet. She regained her balanced and looked up at the sky where dark clouds were gathering. "Looks like a pretty bad storm," she commented. "We should probably grab our jackets quickly before it starts to rain."