I'll Take Care of You

Chapter Eight

By the time that we got back to the house, Harry was awake. He was lying on the couch, still looking pale. “How ya doing, Curly?” I asked him.

He shot me and Zayn an annoyed look. “Fine,” he mumbled. I sighed and and began to take the berries out of my pack and put them into four bowls. One for Harry, one for Zayn, one for Louis, and one for Liam. Jason, Niall, and I had gotten enough food to last us for a while on the deer, plus there was so much more in the freezer that we could cook easily. I gave out the berries evenly, then walked over and handed one to each boy, who gratefully accepted it.

“Fooooooddd,” Louis murmured as he took a berry out of his bowl and put it into his mouth. “Oh, God, I’ve missed food so much.”

I rolled my eyes and began to go up the stairs, when I heard Jason call, “Hey, sista! Do you think we should play some Timber tonight?”

“Mhhhm,” I said, still making my way up the stairs. Timber was this game that we had invented a while ago, as kids. If was just for the two of us, and I assumed that it would be a little different with more people, but it would work out. And give those boys something to do. But for now, I had some stuff to take care of myself.

I walked up to my room and looked at the old journals that were torn and battered in the corner of my floor and flinched. They held so many bad memories, I couldn’t bring myself to read them. Or write any new ones, even though I kind of wanted to.

I opened my underwear drawer and rummaged through until I found the knife. I picked it up and found myself staring at myself in the reflection. For a second I thought about doing it again, but I quickly shook my head and blinked. I brought the knife up to my hair and sliced the whole left side. I then did the back, then the right. My hair was getting too long, too much to deal with, and it was about time that I cut it.

I finished and it and it was like I was in the daze again. I found myself bringing the blade down to my arm, maybe even putting a little pressure on it...

Kaylie, what the hell are you doing?!!!!

I yanked the knife up, surprised at myself. I hadn’t done that since I was twelve. Why would I feel the need....?

I threw the blade back into the underwear drawer and ran down the stairs, not trusting myself to be alone. “Hey,” I said breathless. I sat down on the couch next to Niall and put my feet up.

“You cut your hair,” he said.

“Good observation, Sherlock,” I responded.

He just laughed and shook his head. “Okay, okay, don’t go all smart ass teenage girl on me,” Niall said. “Sorry.”

I smirked, glad that I won that little fight. “So, Kaylie,” Jason said. “Would you like to tell the boys bout Timber or do you want me to?”

“You can,” I said, not really in the mood to explain things.

“Okay,” Jason said, sitting up. “So Timber. Me and Kaylie spent a LOT of time alone together, with nothing to do, and so we had to be creative. It was all my idea-”

“Excuse you!” I yelled, “It was all MY idea.”

“Oh, no way it was no-”

“YES IT WAS!”

“Guys!” Liam screamed, “Explain.”

Jason just sighed. “It was both of our ideas. Anyways, the object of the game is to, obviously, win. What you do is it’s kind of like a little..gladiator thing. We both go into the woods, armed of course, and one persons the hunter while the other is the prey. We have to get them, capture them. Then, if they’re smart enough, they can escape the capture. If they get back to their base, which is the creek, they win. It we get an armed weapon to their head, we win.”

“Well how are all seven us of gonna play?” Zayn asked.

“We could do teams,” I suggest. “Me and Jason and-”

“Nuh-uh! Not fair! No way!” Louis screamed, “You can Jason CANNOT BE ON THE SAME TEAM.”

“Why not?” I spat.

“Because you’re both smart.”

Jason nodded, please. “It’s true.”

“And there’s seven of us,” Harry added. “The teams wouldn't be fair no matter what.”

“Okay...” I said, a smirk beginning to grow on my face. “Then how about this? Me and Jason V.S the rest of you?”