Betrayed

Will grinned happily, crouched over the campfire.

“Soup’s ready!” He chirped, cheery as ever. “Can you go tell Karee and Stephen for me?” Marigold looked up from the string bracelets she was making, and nodded.  Nimbly, she sprang to her feet and skipped in the direction their companions had gone. She followed the trail their feet had made in the grass, and paused on the edge of a small clearing.

She spotted her two friends, standing side by side, looking at the stars. Marigold took one step forward, and froze. They were holding hands. She was grinning, and he was whispering too softly to be heard from where Mari stood. Slowly, Karee turned and faced Stephen, and lifted a hand to ruffle his orange hair. He placed his hand on her cheek, slightly caressing it with his fingers.

Then, as the dog girl watched, her master began to lean forward, closer and closer to Karee’s face. And he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he put his free hand on the small of her back.

Marigold stood frozen in shock. She thought he- but he’d never said so- but she thought he knew- maybe he didn’t care? Her mind swirled in pain and sorrow .Her eyes started to fill. She was petrified, watching the boy she loved most kissing someone else.

Finally she couldn’t stand it anymore. She turned and started to run away, but tripped over a fallen branch. She landed heavily on her side, startling the lovers out of their kiss. Stephen whipped his head around to stare at her, and the tear she had been holding in slid down her cheek, clearly reflected in the moonlight.

She wiped her eyes on her over-long sleeves, and scrambled to her feet. She motioned shakily towards the campsite, and turned away. Stephen called out to her, but she ran, barely watching her feet, in the direction she’d pointed. She emerged into the campsite, and although he saw the tear stains, the look on Mari’s face told her to leave her alone. She curled up in her sleeping bag, and pulled it over her head. She had cried herself to sleep by the time the others came back.