《My Brother's Best Friend》Chapter 38

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We're almost there.

Just a few more steps.

My body feels like it's going to collapse, each and every muscle on complete and utter fire. My water bottle is empty. It's been empty after the first mile. I want to cuss my brother out so badly for ever coming up with this stupid idea in the first place.

Placing my hand over my eyes to squint ahead, I see the beginning of the view at the top of the hill. We've been walking for three hours for this, so it sure as hell better be worth it.

I begin to walk upwards again, my thighs pulsating from the strain. My shirt is sticking completely to my back from all the sweat. It was cold when we left from how windy it is at the canyon, but I'm sweating so much that now I'm hot. Too hot.

Fuck it.

Pulling my shirt over my head, I'm in my sports bra and a pair of leggings, staring in jealousy at Maya who is handling this walk like a champ, keeping right up with the boys. It's like it doesn't even bother her. Then again, she does workout almost four times a week.

Ethan looks over his shoulder at me. "Keep up, Maddie." He laughs, and then he looks at Maya. "She's making you look bad."

I narrow my eyes at the two of them, irritated as hell that Maya still won't tell me what happened between them last night. From the looks of it, he can't keep his eyes off of her.

They're kicking dust from the rocks into my face from being so far ahead of me, and Cam finally slows up, putting his hands onto his hips.

"Damn." He fakes like he's tired, but he's lying through his teeth. "It's getting to me now."

"Shut up." I mutter rudely as Ethan laughs and continues to lead the pack. I just want this stupid walk to be over and done with already.

"You're really going to be in a sports bra in front of me?" He whispers when Ethan and Maya are far enough ahead, and normally that comment would make me laugh, but I'm miserable.

"Stop." I whine. "Not now."

The hill seems to be getting further and further the more I keep walking. When the hell will we finally get to the top?

"Come on." Cam tries to motivate me. "You can do this, Mads."

"I really don't think I can." I admit and stop to put my hands on my knees. I think I'm going to puke.

Ethan and Maya reach the top, and Maya has her hand over her mouth. "Oh my god it's so pretty up here, Maddie!" She screams. "Come on, you have to see!"

Cam squats down beside me and places a hand to my back. "Come on." He reassures me. "You've got this, baby. Drink some of my water."

He passes his jug over to me, and just from the nickname it gives me more motivation than I started with today to finish this stupid trail. Gulping almost half the bottle down, I pass the jug back to him and begin to walk once more, pushing past the excruciating pain.

"Yeah!" Cam claps behind me as he follows, and I roll my eyes, a tiny grin plastered to my face. He will always find a way to make me smile.

Finally, after hours, we finally reach the clearing. We have to climb over a couple rocks to get there, but we finally made it.

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I thought for sure I'd say it wasn't worth it, but damn. This view is incredible.

The canyon runs for miles, and the sky is a beautiful blue, the sun gleaming down onto the rocks. I've never seen something so amazing. I thought I'd seen the canyon, but never like this. Never so close up.

"Whoa." I breathe out as I scan it with my eyes. It doesn't seem real.

I'm too busy taking it all in to realize that Cam has walked up beside me. Ethan is helping Maya take a picture for her Instagram, and it bothers me that he already seems to be replacing me.

Maybe that's why she didn't want to tell me what happened last night.

"I wish Ethan knew." He finds himself saying. "Because then I'd be able to kiss you in front of this beautiful ass view."

"Holden, why are you so corny lately?" I laugh, and stop myself from reaching out to touch him. "I'm just kidding. I wish I could kiss you too."

"Maddie, come take a picture with me!" Maya shouts, so I quickly head over to get in a selfie with her.

I want to take a picture with Cam too, but I can't. It annoys me more than anything.

She takes one of Cam and Ethan, and I let my eyes travel down Cam's full on six pack, the way the sweat glistens on them. It reminds me of that thirst trap photo on Instagram, and I inwardly groan. There's no way we'll be able to have sex until we get home, and I don't know if I'll be able to wait.

This is our last glimpse of alone time before we have to reunite with our parents, who are feeling much better today no thanks to Maya. They didn't want to come on the hike. They said they were too old and wanted to relax. I should have stayed back with them because my body is already sore as hell.

"Oooh!" Maya points to a rock with a flat surface. "I want a photo there. Come with me."

I groan as she starts to climb her way over, following her lead as Cam and Ethan walk over to the opposite side of the clearing.

"When are you going to tell me about what happened last night with you and Ethan?" I huff as I throw my leg over another rock.

She's quiet for a few minutes until she finally reaches the one she wants and sits down thankfully. I collapse down beside her, laying right down onto my back. "I just don't want you to get mad at me." She says quietly. "Our friendship is the most important thing to me, Mads. I would never ruin it for a boy. Even if it is Ethan."

"Maya." I grab onto her hands and send her a reassuring glance. "I'm not going to be mad, okay? You told me you were into him. I've had time to prepare myself. It's fine, and if something happened between you two then I'm happy for you."

"Really?" She arches a brow up and I quickly nod.

"Yes." I say proudly. "Plus, you've kept my secret with Cam this whole time, so this is my way of repaying you, okay?"

"Deal." She laughs.

"So... what happened? Did he kiss you?"

Maya's cheeks turn beat red, almost to the color of a cherry before she bites onto her lip.

"Uh..." she laughs again, nervously.

"Oh." I piece two and two together. "More than kiss?"

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She's still silent, and my nose scrunches up in disgust when I understand what actually happened last night. "Oh." I say again. "Well, yeah, I don't really want the details about that."

"Yeah... I didn't think you did. Thus the reason I didn't tell you anything."

"Ethan!" I scream across the canyon, and he whips his head around. "It's about damn time!"

He looks confused for a second, but I see Cam explaining things to him about how I already knew, then he shrugs and sends me a smile.

"You're cool with it?" He yells back, and I shrug.

Ethan still has a smile on his face, and it makes me happy to know that he's happy with her. I couldn't have chosen a better girl for him.

"Okay." I sigh. "Let's take this picture and get out of here. I need to sit in the hot tub for the rest of the night."

Stepping back to let her find a good pose, I slip and stumble backwards. I try to catch my fall with my hand but my ankle twists, and I let out a bone chilling cry when I look down and see that it's stuck between two other rocks. I can't move it.

"Holy fuck!" I scream out in pain, the tears immediately pouring down my cheeks. "Maya, it's stuck!" I cry. "Oh my god. It hurt so fucking badly."

"Maddie, hold on!" Cam is sprinting to our side of the clearing, and Ethan is following close on his heels. My foot is in agony, and the rock won't fucking move. The more my foot swells up, the more it's stuck.

"You're going to be okay." Maya says frantically. "Hold on. The boys are coming."

Cam reaches me first, and he looks at the rock, seeing my foot completely stuck. I know he's trying not to panic, but it's written all over his face.

There's a huge boulder on one side, and part of the canyon on the other. I don't know how the hell I'm getting out of this.

"Fuck, I can't look at it." I sob, the pain radiating completely up my leg. "I just want it out!"

"Should I call 911?" Maya asks, and Ethan nods his head. "Yeah let them know the trail we're on. Tell them we're at the clearing."

Ethan helps her down from the rocks before he focuses his attention on me again. I'm panicking so much that I'm beginning to hyperventilate. What if I can't get my foot out? What if it never gets loose?

Will I lose my fucking foot?

"Hey." Cam soothes, and my eyes meet his. I can tell he's worried, but he's holding it together for me. The green in his eyes is so beautiful, and for a second I calm down. For a second all I can see is him. "You're going to be okay, alright? I'll make sure of it."

"W-what if they can't get it out?" My fears tumble out immediately, but Cam grasps onto my chin.

"They're going to get it out." He reassures, but I'm starting to hyperventilate again. I'm sobbing so hard that I can't seem to breathe. It hurts so much. "Baby, breathe."

My whole body stills, and he's trying to figure out why I've suddenly stopped crying until he realizes what the hell he just said.

In front of Ethan.

"What the hell did you just call her?" Ethan narrows his eyes between the two of us, and finally, after thirty seconds or so, it clicks.

He knows.

"Ethan..." Cam stands to his feet, but Ethan shoves him away.

"Mystery girl is fucking Maddie?" He seethes. "My little sister?"

Ethan shoves him again, and Cam can't seem to say anything. He's just standing there and taking it.

"You fucking lied to me!" He screams. "To my face! For months!"

He shoves him again, and this time Cam holds him back. "I didn't know how to tell you." He explains. "It just happened... and I-"

Ethan throws a punch and sends him flying to the ground, and I'm crying so much that I just want this to be a nightmare. None of this is real. I'll wake up from this anytime now.

"There's no service!" Maya shouts, but when she sees Ethan hovering over Cameron she sprints back over to them. "What the fuck is going on?" She asks and then her eyes meet mine. She's already figured it out.

"Okay." Maya breathes in and out deeply and then looks at the boys again. "Whatever the hell you need to figure out needs to be done later. We need to help Maddie. You guys need to try and move the boulder."

"Move the boulder?" Ethan sneers. "How the fuck are we supposed to do that?"

"Fucking try!" Maya snaps. "She's your fucking sister, Ethan."

Everyone is yelling at each other, and I just want everyone to get along. I can't move, I can't walk away from it, all I can do is sit here and take it as everyone bites each other's heads off.

"Just... wait." Cam spits blood onto the sand from Ethan's punch and walks over to the side of the canyon. There's a random piece of wood on the ground, probably from another tourist, and he grips it firmly as he walks back to me. "Okay, I'm going to try and..." he pushes it underneath the boulder, and I can feel slight relief.

"I can feel a difference." I nod.

"Okay, Ethan just help me push it." He says.

"Don't fucking talk to me." He spits icily towards him, and I can visibly see the pain written across Cam's face. He leans on one side of the boulder, and with Ethan pushing and Cam using the wood for leverage, they're able to free my ankle after three attempts.

It hurts even worse now that it's freed from the rock, and I land on my back, looking up into the sky as I can feel it pulsating.

"Holy fuck." Ethan stares at my ankle, and my eyes grow wide.

"What?" I ask, sitting up to finally see the damage. My ankle looks like there's a golf ball on the side of it, and it's already a deep shade of purple, going almost halfway up my calf.

The tears come out uncontrollably again, and I'm afraid to even try to move it.

"We've gotta get you to a hospital." Cam says, and with one swift movement he's able to pick me up into his arms.

"Absolutely fucking not." Ethan hisses, but when he moves Cam's hands it makes my ankle move, and I scream out in agony.

"Fuck off!" Cam finally blows up at Ethan now, holding me tighter to his chest. "She needs to go to the fucking emergency room and you're that worried about the fact that we're together? That is what is bothering you right now? Fuck out of here."

He storms off to head back towards the trail with me still in his arms, and I can't seem to stop crying.

"T-the trail is miles!" I sob. "Cam, you can't carry me all that way."

"Watch me." He says.

My eyes are stinging from all the crying, my ankle is throbbing, yet all I can think about is the fact that Ethan figured it out. He reacted exactly how I thought he would.

"You're going to break up with me, aren't you?" I ask, and he looks at me like I've grown three heads.

"Are you getting delusional too?" He asks me, and then that grin that drives me crazy falls onto his face. "Is getting delusional a side effect of an ankle injury?"

I want to laugh, but I'm in so much pain that I let out a chortled sob mixed with a laugh, and Cam kisses my forehead.

"We're going to get you help." He says again, and he looks behind us at Ethan and Maya, who have just now started to climb over the rocks to follow us. It wouldn't surprise me if Maya was trying to calm Ethan down about everything.

I really hope she does.

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