Revolting

Chapter Twenty Nine - Big Brothers Hannah

I picked my way carefully into camp in the pre-dawn hours. It's a good thing I was not an enemy, because Heath and William were both sound asleep and snoring softly. I stopped and watched them, a little wistfully. How strange to see my brother being cradled in someone's arms, as though he were something vulnerable that needed protection and comfort. Williams arms rested around him almost possessively.

I wasn't ashamed to look at them, even though they were naked. They made a beautiful picture together. I pulled the quilt from the lean-to and carefully draped it over them. William murmured and shifted a bit in his sleep, clutching closer to Heath, as though he were afraid Heath had slipped away during the night. I won't pretend it didn't sting a little, but obviously William was never meant for me. I huffed a little. I wasn't even the right gender. And what better man to pair with my brother? I knew William would be good to Heath.

But what about me? Maybe it was selfish for me to be thinking in those terms, but I couldn't help it. I started laying out a fire, shredding birch bark under a small pile of kindling. With the lighter that Daisy had given me, starting the fire was easy work, much easier than using Heath's flint. I sat back on my heels and watched the flames leap up over the kindling. In no time at all it was crackling merrily and I started the work of making the breakfast that Daisy had sent me with this morning.

Bacon was sizzling, eggs were frying, buttered zucchini bread was toasting, and I was slicing up oranges to go with it. I'm sure that it was the smell of the bacon that probably woke up my brother. He has that man-metabolism that is never satisfied, no matter how much he eats. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes like a little kid, his hair sticking up in clumps all over. He glanced back down at William, and I saw his ears turn rosy-red. Oh, so cute, I couldn't help smiling to myself. It might be too soon to tell, but I think my brother might already be falling in love.

"Ah hell, my clothes--"

I picked up the clothes, which I had kindly retrieved from the clearing on my way, and threw them at his head. He caught them mid-air and grinned at me. "Daisy sent clothes for William too," I informed him. William pushed up on one elbow and yawned. "You ladies think of everything don't you?"

I snorted and flipped the eggs in their pan. "Well, someone has to, don't they?"

I politely averted my eyes while they dressed, even though I had already seen it all. Heath yanked on his sweat pants and dug around until he found the sack of clothes that Daisy had packed. He brought William the bag, and then went off to relieve himself. I felt a little weird being left alone with William. I absently ran my fingers down the ridges and ripples of my scar. It had been there for so long that I rarely thought about it, until these last few weeks. Suddenly I was too conscious of the way I looked.

"How did it happen?" William asked, coming to sit near me at the fire.

I pulled my hand away from the scar and focused my attention on the bacon. "There was this winter that was really bad. The snow was so deep, game was scarce, and we were starving," I used a fork to slide the meat around. "Heath must have been about 15, and I was ten, I think. He said we had to find a pack, or we would die."

"It was hard, nobody wanted to take on a couple of orphaned kids. But Heath finally found this one pack... The Luna said we could stay if we worked as servants in the house." I shivered against the memory. "They were not very kind to us." That was an understatement, but William didn't need to know every detail, did he? "The Luna had twin daughters, and they hated me with a passion. One day we were alone in the kitchen, and one of them screamed that I had burned her on purpose... and then she threw a pot of boiling water in my face."

I checked the direction that Heath had gone, but I still didn't see him. I lowered my voice. "That's why Heath hates packs so much," I offered. "Because of me. He took me and we ran away after that, and we never, ever tried to join up with a pack again."

William looked at me with a sad and sympathetic expression. "That's terrible. You guys were so young."

I shrugged and slipped the food onto plates. "We survived."

But at what cost? I thought silently to myself. I arranged the food neatly, adding the orange slices like a decoration before I handed William the first plate.

No one would want me for a mate, not with my hideous face. But maybe Heath finally had a chance to be happy. After everything he had sacrificed to raise me, he deserved it. He deserved everything good and nice that life had to offer.

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Heath came back, looking almost human. He had scrubbed his face and brushed his hair back. He sat down cross-legged next to William and took the plate I offered him. He dug into his eggs with gusto. I poured everyone a cup of the instant hot cocoa that Daisy had insisted I take. "It's William's favorite," she told me with a wink.

"Wow," Heath's eyes widened. "I can't remember the last time we had hot chocolate. Remember the kind that had the little marshmallows in it?"

“Marshmallows are the best, but those little fake ones just melt. You need real marshmallows." William said, clearly the resident expert on all things hot-chocolate. Then he seemed to notice that Heath had left some chocolate on his lower lip, and leaned in to lick it away.

I looked away in embarrassment. Good moon goddess, this was going to take some getting used to.

Heath cleared his throat. "Hannah," he said seriously, setting his plate aside. His tone frightened me, so I didn't meet his eye, but instead stared into the trees behind him. "We haven't worked everything out yet. But I want you to know," he slid a sideways glance at William, "We want you to know, that we aren't leaving you behind."

I shook my head and shoved a piece of bacon around my plate. "Thanks Heath, but you don't have to do that. I'm not going to butt in on what you guys got going on." I shrugged my shoulders. "Don't' worry about me, I'll figure it out." William looked at me sternly. "There's nothing to figure out, Hannah. The three of us are going to be a family. Congratulations, you've just acquired another big brother." He looked kind of smug and proud of himself, and Heath was there beside him, nodding his head in agreement.

"Great," I said sarcastically. "That's just what I needed." But inside, I was really, really relieved.