Nail Biter

2

"Gwen," David followed her back into the clearing after sending the children off to their tents. She paused with one hand on the knob of her cabin door and braced herself. She let out a lungful of air before turning around.

"Yes, David?" Gwen put extra effort into sounding as unenthusiastic as ever, turning around and leaning against the wall behind her. David's expression was tight, his mouth drawn back. Gwen looked back at him, forcing herself to stay tense. She crossed her arms over her torso and slightly lowered her gaze.

"Your hands," David pointed towards her folded arms and she looked away. "I mean, your nails," he quickly corrected himself, stumbling over his words in a way that seemed very unlike him. His usual confidence had all but disappeared. Gwen's expression softened with the realization. David seemed to mimic her body language, his shoulders relaxing slightly along with hers. Gwen quickly broke eye contact, staring off into the woods at the left side of the clearing.

"Yeah?" Gwen let out another exasperated breath. "What about them?"

"Gwen, have you been biting your nails?" David asked. Normally, it wouldn't have been such a big deal, but Gwen had been avoiding that question for a reason. There was no way she could cover this up. Well, there probably was a way, but she just hadn't thought of it yet.

"Yes." She said reluctantly. Her voice was coarse, lower in pitch than usual. She held her crossed arms tightly and continued to avoid David's gaze, though it left a bitter taste in her mouth. She could tell from the corner of her eye that he was saddened by her sharp response.

"Please, let me see your hands," David asked in his usual sweet voice, though it was soft. Gwen groaned in annoyance, rolling her eyes and turning her body to the side. Maybe if she turned away from him, he wouldn't see how embarrassed she really was.

"No, David, it's fine." She would have waved him away, but she kept her arms tight to her chest, trapping her hands.

"Gwen I could-"

"Go to bed, David." Gwen unfolded her arms and opened the door to her cabin, closing it behind her and leaving David behind in the dark outside.

The sudden chill of guilt was unexpected. Gwen paused for a moment at the entrance to her side of the shared cabin, staring at nothing in particular as she ran her bandaged thumb over her index finger. It wasn't like she had locked him out of the cabin entirely. They were each contained to one side of the building, a wall separating their rooms. There were two doors at the front of the cabin, one for each room. Gwen could hear David creak open his door and walk into his room through the thin wall separating them. Her guilt lessened, but not by much.

Falling back onto her bed, Gwen stared at the ceiling in silence. There was a distinct ache in both her hands and her chest. Sitting up again, she ran her hands through her hair, letting it fall out of her elastic and over her shoulders. She rolled her shoulders back with the release of tension. It had been a long day. Gwen slipped out of her uniform and into her pyjamas.

Throwing back the scratchy covers, Gwen settled into bed as best as she could. Cameron never cared too much about comfort, everything was about spending as little as possible. The counsellors were given small beds in rough condition with mattresses harder than rock and sheets that could be mistaken for thrown out rags based on how comfortable they were. Granted, they didn't need to sleep in tents like the campers, which was a plus. Besides, after working at a place like Camp Campbell, you'd be desperate enough for rest that the setup would seem passable.

Gwen rolled over in bed and stared out her window for a moment before closing her eyes. She held her hands under her pillow, pulling it closer to her head. The silence was almost deafening but eventually lulled her to sleep.