String of Fate

Chapter Forty Two

I grabbed my backpack, checking that it had Sadie's lead and bowls in before heading downstairs. In the kitchen, I grabbed five bottles of water from the fridge along with the sandwich that I had just made and a bunch of cooked meat that I had got on sale the evening before. All that went in my backpack, making it weigh a little bit more. Sadie heard me grabbing a bag of crisps from the cupboard and came back into the kitchen from where she had been lying in the shade in the back garden. My mother followed her in with an empty washing basket, shutting the back door behind them. She must have been pegging stuff on the line. "Morning, mum. Hey, Sadie, ready to go walkies?"

"Morning, darling." My mother replied as Sadie barked in reply. I rubbed the top of the head as I walked over to my camera, pulling the battery out of the charger in the wall and sticking it back in the camera. I rushed into the downstairs bathroom and grabbed wet wipes to add to my backpack just in case, placing my camera on top and zipping it up. I put it on my back and checked that I had my phone in my pocket to call if need be. Then, I pulled my hiking boots on, nudging Sadie with my shoulder so I had enough room to tie them tightly because she liked to stick to me like glue. "See you later, mum!"

"Gwen, that boy is there again, so, you better be careful. Try not to punch him this time, dear." My mum called back, folding the clothes out of the tumble dryer. It saved a lot of ironing. Then again, my mother didn't like ironing.

"I didn't punch him yesterday." I explained, thinking over my actions from the previous day. That idiotic child had been bugging me before my daily hike for the past week, when I had finished school and actually started hiking. I needed to walk Sadie anyway. Every day, the guy at the end of my string had appeared and annoyed the hell out of me. He was rich and spoilt and got everything his own way. I'd got that immediately when I'd seen his reaction to my 'no'. Yesterday, he had tried to go with me. He was forcing me to spend time with him – and I did not like that. He'd been extremely close to me, too, so, I had slapped him to make him back off so he knew that his actions were wrong. "I'd only slapped him. Besides, it was his own fault because he shouldn't have been touching me in the first place."

"You turned his cheek red." My mother laughed as she finished the clothes. "I know he shouldn't have been touching you but he is at the end of your string, so, you should give him a chance. I mean, the string thinks that he is your destined one so you must be able to get along with him. Who knows, you might even fall in love with him."

"I doubt it." I scoffed as I headed out, Sadie running past me and to Marcus. He smiled happily and bent down to fuss her. I honestly did think that she would trust anyone with two legs. Especially considering it was Marcus.

"Good morning, Gwen. May I join you on your hike? I have the right clothing on today." He told me, standing up from fussing Sadie and holding his arms up wide as she jumped on him for more fusses. He laughed and fussed her again, crouching down again so he wasn't bent over trying to reach it.

It was then I looked at what Marcus was wearing. He had on hiking boots, khaki trousers and a t-shirt. Actual things that he could wear hiking with me. I almost groaned aloud. He had taken what I had said yesterday seriously. I had really thought that he would give up if I told him that he couldn't hike in a suit since he had always worn them. Obviously, that would not be the case. Did he really want to spend time with me that much? How had he even managed to get all that stuff so quickly?

"Fine. Just for today. Come on." I replied, finally giving up. After three months, I had run out of ways to say 'no' to him. I was surprised that it had taken me that long but what else could I do? I started heading to the path that I usually took, without even waiting for him, and Sadie immediately started following me as soon as she realised that I was going. Marcus came, too, happily bouncing along behind me.