The Boy in the Forest: Awash with Summer Roses, #2

By Kestra Pingree

The haunting trees lead me astray, a liar's tongue that I hear play.

 

Avery has a dangerous secret.

 

He pretends to be this perfect angel, but he regularly sneaks into the town's forbidden forest.

 

I'm the only one who knows, and I paid for it the night I followed him inside. There's a reason the forest is forbidden. Ghost wolf, anyone?

 

Don't worry. I survived. But I'm more confused than ever, and Avery isn't forthcoming.

 

What's it going to take to get him to talk?

 

—

 

This book concludes Awash with Summer Roses. Don't miss the finale.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kestra Pingree
• Release date: Aug 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201455361

Book preview

The Truth About Avery

I REMEMBERED TO TURN off my alarm clock last night and my grandparents let me sleep in today—which is great since I’ve been tossing and turning all night from stupid nightmares about that damn wolf chasing me. Each nightmare made the thing look more and more gruesome. The only image I have left of it is a tattered mess of a wolf covered in blood with a pair of piercing yellow eyes. I don’t know how accurate that is since I never really got a good look at the thing—and apparently, it isn’t even real—but that image certainly describes how that whole fiasco made me feel.

I look over to the analog clock on my nightstand and see that it’s nine in the morning. It’s probably about time to get out of bed. I walk out of my room and down the stairs without much trouble. My foot actually doesn’t hurt at all. As for the scrapes on my palm and the other cuts on my arms, they already don’t hurt much anymore and they’ve scabbed over, so I’m not too worried about using my hands or anything.

I feel gypped when I reach the kitchen. I missed out on breakfast. I settle for eating a blueberry bagel. I’m about to go looking for my grandparents and maybe Avery when my cell phone goes off. I look at the caller ID. It’s Dad. I sigh and then answer.

Morning, Dad.

Morning. How are you feeling?

Can’t complain, I reply.

You didn’t have much to say last night. Your mother’s been worrying. She’s been saying we should have gone to the hospital to see you last night, whether you wanted us to or not. Do you want us to come and get you?

No, I tell him—though I’m surprised he offered. I’m fine. You guys don’t have to worry about me.

You really went into that dangerous forest to prove something to Avery? That’s what your grandparents told us.

Yep, I say, eager to have this call over with.

Dad is silent for a few seconds. Peer pressure often makes people feel like they have to do stupid or dangerous things. I know it’s important to feel included and accepted, but make sure to always look out for yourself, okay? Keep yourself safe, think before you act. Dad sighs. What I really want to say is I’m glad you’re safe, honey.

Dad and Mom really have been worrying about me. I almost feel bad about it, but not enough to stop me from smiling. I’ll be careful, I tell him. I know it was dumb.

I’ll talk to you later, okay?

Yep, you got it.

I hang up after he does.

I get ready for the day, and then I venture outside to see everyone at work in the garden as usual. Avery’s here too. He didn’t get any injuries yesterday, so I’m not sure why I thought he might not come in today.

I’m favoring my foot, but all in all, I feel pretty good—even with those afterimages of nightmares swirling around in my head.

Before I can get to Avery and do my best to get some sort of explanation out of him, I’m intercepted by my grandpa.

You feeling okay, kid? he asks.

Yeah, I reply.

He nods and doesn’t say anything else as he moves on. Guess he’s worried about me too. My grandpa is a man of few words. I don’t mind it, though. I kind of prefer it in a lot of cases, such as right now.

Avery, I say his name coolly as I walk up to him.

He hesitates but replies with, Good morning. Then he turns his attention back to his work.

Aren’t you going to ask me how I’m feeling?

He sighs. How are you feeling, Moriah?

Fine. Thanks for asking.

Avery shakes his head.

So, when are you going to give me that explanation? I deserve one after last night.

I don’t owe you anything. We’ve already been over this. If you had listened to what I said about the forest and stayed away, this never would have happened in the first place.

I groan. Why are you so freaking stubborn?

I need to get back to work. He turns away from me and turns his attention back to the roses in front of him. He feels one out gently, gliding his fingers carefully down its stem, and then trims it off, placing it in a bucket of water at his side.

What’s it going to take to get you to talk? I ask, folding my arms as I watch him.

He ignores me.

I’m going to find out eventually, you know.

You’re certainly going to try your best.

Now he’s just mocking me. What a jerk.

C’mon, Avery, I say, frustrated. What’s it going to take to get you to talk?

He ignores me again as he picks up the bucket at his side and walks over to another rosebush. I follow him.

Avery! Moriah! a voice calls to us before I can continue pestering Avery. I look behind me to see Eric. His sister and Rona are with him too, but I don’t see the rest of the gang.

I hear Avery let out a sigh, but he carries on, pretending like he hasn’t heard them or realized that they are there.

What’re you guys doing here? I ask. It’s only noon. Avery’s not going to be off for a few more hours at least.

What were you guys doing last night? Eric asks another question instead of answering mine. He’s probably noticed how I’m favoring my foot.

What do you mean? We went home like we said, I lie.

We know you both got into some kind of trouble, Destiny interjects.

I smile. I don’t know how much they really know, but I’m definitely not going to explain it to them. How annoying. Where’s Lulu and Kevin?

They’re at work, Eric says hastily.

Rona stares at me, but she stays quiet.

Avery, Destiny turns away from me and softens her tone, tell us what happened. We can help!

I think I can see Avery’s jaw tighten. He seems pretty pissed off.

"You ran off last night, Avery. And Moriah followed you. Your mom came along and acted worried when we told her."

The way Destiny says my name, like it’s poison on her tongue, makes me want to push her down and start punching her lights out. The more interactions I have with her, the more I realize I don’t like anything about her.

It’s none of your business, Avery says, letting his irritation show in his voice.

I-I got worried when you left, and after a while, I decided to check on you to see if everything was all right, and I saw both vehicles were gone, from your house and the Delmonts’.

As you can see, we’re fine. You guys should get going now. I’m in the middle of work. He inspects another rose and cuts it off long, placing it in his bucket of water.

How’s it coming, Avery? my grandma asks as she walks over to us. And what are you kids up to?

They were just saying hi, Avery replies. They’re leaving now, and I’ve almost got all the roses you requested.

Nice to see you, Mrs. Delmont, Rona says with a nod. Then she takes the hands of both Destiny and Eric, leading them away.

Avery and my grandma continue working, and I move to the porch. Even though I had a long night’s sleep, I still feel tired. I’m too pissed off to be around anyone right now, too. I need to know what Avery’s hiding, and I need to know it soon or I’m going to snap.

I close my eyes and breathe deep, sinking into a dreamless sleep.

scene change

She’s sleeping.

We’ll just have to wake her up then!

I’m awake now. Who’s talking about me?

I reluctantly open my eyes and turn my head to see Shandra walking up the porch steps.

Good morning, Ri, she tells me with a big smile.

It’s afternoon, I reply. Then I sit up.

All the more reason to be awake. She holds out her hand.

I raise an eyebrow.

C’mon. You’re coming home with me and Ave. You’d like to learn more songs, wouldn’t you?

I think about refusing, but I know she isn’t asking. Shandra’s a nice person, calm and stuff, but I get the feeling she can be pretty stubborn if she wants to be. And, well, I have been wanting her to teach me a new song. Apparently, I’m not grounded from Avery’s house.

Yeah, sure, I reply and take her hand. Can you write down the lyrics to ‘Troubled Pines’ for me too? I’ve been meaning to ask…

Of course. She smiles.

She pulls me off the bench. I take a peek over her shoulder and see Avery waiting in the front yard. His hands are shoved in his pants pockets; he almost looks like he’s brooding.

Go grab your guitar, Shandra reminds me.

My gaze lingers on Avery for a moment longer before I rush inside and grab my guitar. My grandma sees me off.

Avery doesn’t say anything as we drive to his house. I guess he doesn’t get much of a chance to say anything, though. His mom apparently has a lot to say today, or she can feel the tension or something. She talks about her horses, about lessons, and a bunch of things about them that I basically know nothing about. To be honest, I’m not even sure if she’s talking to me or Avery. Neither of us say anything back anyway.

Once we get to the house, Shandra stops babbling, like someone just flipped her on-off switch. Avery gets out of the truck right away, since he had the window seat, and lets himself and his dog inside of the house.

Shandra sighs. Let’s head inside. I handpicked a few of my favorite songs. I’ll play you a sample of each and you can tell me which you’d like to learn. Sound good?

Sounds great, I tell her. I scoot my way out of the truck and grab my guitar from the back.

I settle into the front room and get comfy with my guitar, warming up my fingers while Shandra’s getting her guitar. I don’t see Avery anywhere. I don’t think I’m going to see him either. Unlike the last time I was here, I’m sure he won’t be hanging around with me. If he’d just answer my damn question...

Ready to go! Shandra announces, beaming.

She hands me a paper with the lyrics for Troubled Pines before sitting down. I thank her, fold up the paper, and place it in one of my shorts pockets.

I sit back and close my eyes as I listen to the different songs she plays. I settle on one that’s in the same style as the first song she taught me.

Decided you like folk songs, huh? she asks me.

That first song you taught me is the first time I’ve ever even heard a folk song, but yeah. I guess I like how they sound. At least the two you’ve played. I smirk.

Her eyes sparkle. Is it the sound you like or the stories they tell?

Both.

Good, then. She grins.

She shows me the basic chords and teaches me the lyrics. I learn fast, so she goes into more detail, switching up the chords by adding personal flourishes and adding a secondary guitar part. We play great together. I think I actually have better chemistry with her than my old band. It wasn’t until I started playing with her that I’ve come to realize how much dissonance was in my own band, and I don’t mean our music. It was our stubborn personalities that clashed. Maybe we were all a little selfish too... I don’t know. Shandra’s easygoing and willing to compromise. She lets me take the lead when I want to and I like that. In my old band, I had to fight to lead. In the end, I never got to anyway.

Great job, Ri, Shandra praises after we finish playing through the song with our added flourishes. Now you should sing ‘Troubled Pines’ with me.

I’m not shy about my guitar playing, but I’m not feeling very confident in my voice, especially after hearing Shandra sing.

I’ll pass, I say.

Oh, c’mon. It’ll be fun.

"How do you even know