Delinquent Camp

Chapter Twelve

Twelve

“Gemma?” Danny shouts, running towards me. “Gemma, are you okay?!”

I roll over on my side, cradling my right wrist. When I had fallen, I put my arms out in front of me to prevent me from smashing my head on the ground and turning out like Mellissa. In the midst of propelling towards the ground, my body somehow turned, landing me mostly on my right side and most likely breaking my wrist.

“I’m fine,” I snap, resting my head on the ground. I close my eyes as Danny reaches me, trying to push back tears. The last thing I want is for him or anyone else to see me cry. However the pain is so sharp that I feel my cheeks go damp in a matter of seconds.

“We have to get you to Michelle. Can you get up?” Danny sighs, agitated.

“Just let me lie here for a minute,” I whisper, scared that if my voice goes any higher I’ll start sobbing. Before we head back I want to collect myself and make sure that I won’t start bawling in front of everyone else at Haven.

“No, let’s go,” he grumbles, grabbing my shoulders. “Sit up and I’ll help you to your feet.”

He doesn’t even bother to ask what hurts so he can actually help me, but honestly, I’m not exactly sure. Other than the sharp pain in my wrist, everything else seems almost numb, like only my nerves in my arm are acting up. For all I know, I can have three broken ribs without even noticing the pain.

“Give me a second.” I open my eyes and shoot Danny a look, only to see that instead of being sympathetic, he’s angry. I guess I ruined his day in more ways than one.

“Gemma, just get the hell up!” He shoves me into a sitting position and proceeds to take my good arm and yank me to my feet.

“What is your problem?” I yell, jerking away from him. “I’m hurt, can you just calm down?”

“Whatever!” He throws his hands up in the air before heading down the island towards the canoe.

I grumble about how boys are so inconsiderate until I’m in the canoe, and even then I continue. It’s a good distraction and since Danny isn’t even trying to help me, I have a lot to complain about.

“Are you going to grab a paddle?”

I turn around in the canoe and narrow my eyes at Danny. “Are you being serious?” He gives me a look that tells me he is. “I have a possibly broken wrist. Do you really think that I’m going to be able to paddle with one hand?”

We make it halfway to Haven without any words being exchanged. Of course, I’m cursing under my breath and Danny is muttering some rude sentences, but other than that, we choose to not talk to each other. A few times I finally broke into tears, but made sure that I was quiet enough that Danny couldn’t hear me and I’m thankful for the fact that I’m sitting in the front of the canoe, facing away from him.

“Why are you stopping?” I ask Danny through clenched teeth, wiping my eyes with my good hand. The canoe is no longer moving forward, but instead being pushed to the side by waves made by the wind. “If we stay here we’re going to tip and I can’t exactly swim right now.”

Neither of us had bothered with life jackets so as they sit in the bottom of the canoe, I wish I had put them on. Now, with only one working arm and enough fear about tipping to not move, it’s a little late for safety.

“What am I to you, Gemma?”

I clench my teeth together, the pain and my anger both getting worse.

“Danny, I really think that there are more important things to-“

“I’m not moving this canoe until you tell me.”