Facsimile

Chapter Twenty

Wringing her hands, which swung lifelessly between her legs, Tess watched as her feet were digging themselves further into the gravel beneath her. Every now and then, her eyes would shift, nervously watching the group on the outskirts of the forest, packing up various items within their backpacks. She could hear Gwen and Emily laughing together, which bought a small smile to her lips. Shutting her eyes, one of her hands reached into the confines of her jacket, exhaling when her finger came into contact with the cylindrical shape of a cigarette. 

Withdrawing it, for a few seconds, she did nothing but stare it, twisting it between her fingers. She rose her head swiftly, when she heard the indistinct and distant voices of both Luke and Grizz, hearing his voice caused her hands to writhe continuously, wrinkling the cigarette paper. A thin stream of fear began to trickle through her mind, draining all other thought. She could feel the worry begin to grasp at her throat, lacerating it with her teeth. Bringing a hand to caress the skin at the base of her neck, she coughed lightly, to rid the blockage from her airway. Then ironically, she bought the cigarette to her lips and with her other lit the tip, inhaling deeply. Whirls and whisps of smoke unfurled in front of her, her eyes peering through the smoke so that she could peer at Grizz, the one that was consuming her thoughts; she thought that after her chat with her brother, she would have mustered up enough courage to approach him, but no - here she sat, within walking distance, just watching him, like a love struck puppy. 

Caught within her own stifling, jarring thoughts, coming to destructive conclusions, she didn't hear the footsteps working their way toward her. Until a shadow fell behind her, hands and fingers pinching at her sides, causing her to jolt.

"No, no, no," fingers latched onto the cigarette between hers, pinched it and flicked it away from her, "none of that,"

She watched in confusion as the cigarette somersaulted in front of her, falling to the pavement and she watched helplessly as the ashes spilled outwards, the last embers burning out. As if hypnotised her eyes lay transfixed, then a pair of shoes invaded her trail of sight. Following the length of the figure upward, she groaned throwing her head backwards, as her bother appeared in front of her, smirking, with his arms folded.

"What are you doing over here?" he mocked, "when you should be over there?" tilting his head towards the intrepid explorers, who were now preparing to leave, his eyebrows rose scoldingly. Rolling her head forward, Tess fixated her gaze moodily at her brother, crossing her arms childishly.

"I was just about to make my way over there," Tess retorted, mimicking her brother's facial features.

"Mmmhmmm"

Before she could come up with a sarcastic remark, she let out a wail as Clark had lunged forward and threw her over his shoulder, marching towards the small crowd, whose attention had now been drawn by the squealing commotion. Punching lightly at her brother's shoulder blades, Tess gripped tightly to her brother's jacket, preventing her fall.

"Clark, I swear to God," Tess whispered haughtily, her hands coming upward to shield her vision, embarrassed by her current position atop her brother's shoulders, as he paraded her further down the street, ever so often adjusting his grip. In front of him, Clark watched as Luke had lifted his head, smiling widely at the siblings, before nudging Grizz with his shoulder, indicating with his head to look in their direction.

Raising his head, eyebrows furrowed at his friend, Grizz's eyes widened in panic at the ever lessening proximity of the person that he was trying to avoid, albeit forcefully and against her will, hastily, he began to turn in the other direction, attempting to make a quick and agile escape. However, his plan was thwarted by Luke's hand on his shoulder, stilling his movements.