Camp Charlie

3| I'm scared of blood|

Sarah fumbled through the papers on her desk. She was trying to complete some assignments before she and her friends left for the camp on Monday.

Two days to go. She wasn't very excited about the camp as she had planned to spend the whole summer reading novels. But when Alan suggested going camping, Hannah forced all of them to agree. But she could get inspiration for her next book.

Sarah was majoring in English Literature. She had always wanted to be a writer when she grew up and guess what? She was working on her first novel. It was about her friends, and only Hannah knew about it. She had decided to tell all of her friends when she completed the book.

So here she was waiting for the camp to end even before it had started. She packed the manuscript and a notebook so that she could write while camping.

As she was about to pack her manuscript, she heard footsteps and the creaking of her bedroom door. She frowned while remembering that she was alone at her house and had locked the front door. Even without turning around to see who it was, Sarah grabbed a vase and tightened her grip around it. Negative thoughts encircled her mind.

'What if it's a serial killer?' 'Or maybe a burglar?' 'I don't want to die. I am too young. I haven't even gotten my book published. I haven't even seen India.'

She closed her eyes as she felt somebody's presence at her back. She turned around and threw the vase at whoever it was. Alas! She instantly regretted her decision as she saw Ethan holding his nose and crying in agony.

"Ethan! What are you doing here?"

"Ughh! Are you crazy? Why the hell did you hit me? Do I look like a serial killer? I knew you were crazy, but this was a whole new level of craziness."

Seeing Ethan with a bleeding nose was too much to stand, so Sarah ran to get a first aid kit. She came back holding a glass of water and a first aid kit. She gave Ethan the water to drink and asked, "Ethan, did I break your nose? Here's the first aid kit. Can you clean your wound? I would have cleaned it, but you know I am scared of blood."

But poor Ethan took the glass of water and said that he was fine and didn't need any medical treatment. Sarah tried to argue, but he won't hear of it. So Sarah did the most courageous thing that she had ever done and grabbed Ethan's face in one hand and some cotton with antiseptic in the other hand. She started dabbing the tip of Ethan's nose with the cotton. Ethan kept on making weird sounds.

"Ethan stop crying like a five-year-old, can't you see I am trying to concentrate."

"It's not my fault that some maniac hit me with a vase."

"Stop rubbing salt on my wound. I already said sorry. And I am doing a favour by cleaning your wound. I am scared of blood." Sarah said that and started feeling nauseous. A realisation hit her, and she dropped the cotton soaked in blood. She bolted out of the room towards the bathroom and started puking. Ethan ran after her to hold her hair.

After a while, both of them came out of the bathroom. "If you are so scared of blood, then why did you do it? I was fine."

"A simple thank you would have been nice." Sarah was pissed. She sat on the bed and looked out of the window.

A sigh escaped Ethan's mouth as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Look, I am sorry. I was just worried. You looked so pale, and it scared me, okay."

Sarah finally met his gaze and said, "When did you start caring for people around you?"

"Look I might be an A-class A-hole, but I do care about my friends, especially you. I might not know how to show it, but deep within, I care for people I love."

Sarah's heart softened at his words, and a blush crept to her cheeks. She smiled at him and said, "I know you do."

Trying to change the subject, she continued, "So, How did you get inside? I remember locking the door."

While scratching the back of his head, Ethan said, "I might have entered using the spare key."

"You have a spare key to my house? You creep!"

"NO! I found it under your doormat. Most people keep their spare keys under a mat or some pots. I saw it in a movie."

"Well, I would be lying if I said that I regret hitting you. Why did I not break your nose?"

Both of them started laughing. It was always like this. They fought and then made up.

***

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