Cruel Summer

Coyotes and Bear Traps

"What the hell are you doing here?" I blurted out my thoughts before I had the chance to stop them. I ran my tongue over my chapped lips while I gaped at him. His smirk had widened when he heard the slight distress in my voice. He had an eyebrow slit that I didn't notice before.

"What am I doing here? That should be an easy question to answer, darling." I shot up out of my swing and walked backwards when he started to advance towards me. I never took my eyes off him and swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Well if it's so easy, then why don't you answer it?" I bumped into the slide and he placed both arms around me. He opened his mouth to speak, but I used the distraction to my advantage. I ducked under the slide and ran for it.

I headed for the woods that resided just behind my neighborhood and made my way across the field, hoping to lose him in the thicket. I ran faster when I heard him chasing me. Pumping my arms and legs until I made it to the tree line.

I jumped over a fallen tree and started going in random directions, hoping to lose him without getting lost myself. The thought of getting stuck in the forest at night, alone with Carter, scared me and I ran faster.

I slowed down when I couldn't hear him trailing after me. As my adrenaline started to wane, I shivered. I didn't grab my jacket on the way out and the temperature was steadily dropping. I had also failed to grab my phone and the sunlight was almost gone.

My eyes stung with tears when I realized what I had gotten myself into. I took a deep breath to steady myself then looked around. I don't recognize anything. No one ever comes back here which meant that I was alone. It's okay, I got this.

I nodded my head to my thoughts and started to walk the way I came, hoping it was from the same direction. I wrapped my arms around myself, moving my hands up and down trying to produce warmth. I heard a twig snap and I froze. I looked around, but the only thing I could see was darkness.

I urged myself to move but my body wouldn't obey. My eyes were wide with fear and the sound of my heart pumping was on full blast mode in my ears. I released a shaky breath and continued on my way, now more careful. A twig snapped again, only this time I didn't stop and instead, picked up my pace.

I started full-on running when I heard a howl. There's definitely no wolves around here, but there are coyotes and they're just as vicious. I sighed in relief when I saw the gleam of a distant porch light. Right as I was about to head towards it, an arm shot out and wrapped around my waist.

My eyes widened but before I could scream, the person's hand closed against my mouth. I kicked and struggled against the person as they dragged me away from the house. The person grunted when I managed to kick him.

"Ow, damnit! Chill the f**k out, will you?" My attacker growled at me. My fear quickly turned to anger. I opened my mouth and bit his hand. He released my mouth and loosened his grip on me. Sadly, not enough for me to break free.

"What the hell, Carter? Let go! First, you chase me down into the woods and now you try to kidnap me!" Carter stilled, then turned me around to face him.

"What do you mean I chased you down? If anything, it feels like you're stalking me, as this is my stepdad's house." He raised an eyebrow at me in question and I realized there was no slit. Did I imagine it?

"What happened to your eyebrow slit?" He looked confused for a second before recognization flashed across his face. Anger swirled in his eyes and his stance stiffened.

"That wasn't me, Alice. That was my twin brother, Carlos." My stomach fluttered when he said my name, but it dropped when I registered what he said. He started to explain when he saw my confused look.

"I was the one who kept pushing you onto the floor and who called you this afternoon. Carlos must've heard me and tracked you down. " He looked genuinely sorry that his brother had scared me. "Come on, I'll take you home."

"Wait." He looked at me expectantly. "Why did you grab me like that? I thought you were a serial killer!" I scolded him and slapped his chest. He smirked at me and caught my hand. He brought it up to his lips and kissed it.

"Because you're way too pretty to walk around with just one leg the rest of your life." Before I could question him, he walked to where I was headed earlier and pulled back the bushes enough to where I could see a bear trap.

"Why in the world do you have bear traps in your backyard?" He grinned and walked over to me.

"To keep trespassers away. Now come on, it'd be a shame if you got sick because of this cold weather."

He shrugged off his jacket and placed it on my shoulders. I welcomed the warmth and his scent.

Before I could thank him, he lifted me up bridal style and started to walk towards his house with me in his arms. I gasped, "Carter, put me down!"

He smirked, "No can do, princess. I don't want you falling behind or to step on any traps." I just huffed and snuggled into him.

"You're just lucky you're warm." He chuckled and I closed eyes, glad to be safe in his arms.