Unravelling

Chapter 3 - Bonfire

"Wake up, sweetheart, we're here," a soft voice enters my consciousness.

I slowly open my eyes and blink a few times, trying to get my bearings. It doesn't take me long to figure out that I am the only one still in the car. Turning my head to the right, I look straight into Sean's blue eyes. I glance over his shoulder and quickly notice that we are not at our house. We are somewhere...rocky?

"Where are we?" I ask, my voice slightly hoarse and still thick with sleep so I clear my throat noisily and add: "Did something happen? Where is everybody?"

"Everything's peachy," he assures me. "We've just got a little surprise for you."

"A surprise? Why?"

Sean chuckles.

"Isn't it your birthday today?" he asks rhetorically.

"Duh. But you already spoilt me with that trip to Six Flags. Why's there another surprise?"

"Because you're our favourite sister," Sean replies.

"I'm your only sister," I point out.

He looks at me weirdly for a brief moment.

What's his problem?

Since I cannot figure out why my statement would have caused him to react like this, I brush it away as a figment of my overactive imagination.

"I've got orders to put this on you," he then says, waving a bandana in front of my eyes.

"Oh come on, is that really necessary?" I complain.

I haven't been blindfolded in ages. Mostly since any birthday surprises in the past few years haven't been such that they didn't fit in a box. It actually makes me curious about this surprise that they have in store for me. It must be something big if they go to such lengths.

"Yep, it is. So shush."

Sean makes quick work of covering my eyes, reaching around me to tie the bandana at the back of my head.

"Can you see this?" he wants to know.

Nothing happens for a while until I ask: "What are you doing?"

"I take that as a no." I can hear the smile in his voice. "Come on."

He pulls me out of the car and I struggle to keep upright since I cannot see where my feet are supposed to go.

"You think we can do this without you hurting yourself in the process?" he teases me.

"That depends wholly on your qualities as a guide," I sass.

"You're right. Stay put for a sec, please."

He grabs my shoulders and steadies me, which is unnecessary since I am not even moving, but I refrain from telling him that. It is kind of sweet how cautious he is acting. I hear a car door slamming shut. A beep and then the sound of the locks being activated confirm that Sean has just locked up Ben's car. I jump slightly when I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"So much for you not being scared in that haunted house," my brother laughs.

"I wasn't scared," I am quick to defend myself.

"Right. Tell that to the fingernail marks on Sam's hand."

For a second, I grow a bad conscience until it occurs to me that Sam may have ratted me out to the others while they were stuck in the car together. Immediately, I stop feeling bad for him. Yet another traitor to add to the list of treacherous brothers, it seems. This day has been very enlightening.