an frowned. After a moment, he asked, “Is it serious<b>?</b>”
Mandy looked genuinely flustered, not like she was faking it.
<b>+25 </b>Bonus
<b>“</b><b>It </b>seems pretty bad. She says she can’t walk<b>. </b>You should go check on her.”
The mountain trail was rocky and uneven. It was easy to slip and twist an ankle if you weren’t careful. Charlotte didn’t immediately question it. After all, Vivian was <b>Sean’s </b>sister. If she <b>was </b>hurt, it made sense to at least take a look.
“Let’s go see what happened,” Charlotte said to Sean.
<b>“</b>Yeah.”
They followed Mandy back down the path a short distance, <b>where </b>they found Vivian sitting on a <b>rock</b><b>, </b>softly moaning in pain as she bit her lip.
“What happened?” Sean asked.
Tears welled up in Vivian’s eyes.
<b>“</b><b>I </b>stepped on a loose rock and slipped. I fell and hurt my ankle<b>. </b>It really hurts<b>.</b>”
Charlotte looked down. Vivian’s knee was scraped and dirty, and her ankle <b>was </b>scratched and bleeding. It was clear she really was injured.
“Can you walk?” Sean asked.
<b>“</b><b>I </b>can’t,” she said, and tears immediately started falling. Her voice was <b>soft </b>and pitiful.
“I’ll be fine, Sean. You don’t have to worry about me. You’re almost at the top. <b>Go </b>watch the meteor shower. I don’t want <b>to </b>ruin the moment for you.”
Sean gave <b>a </b>small nod.
“I’ll find someone to help you back <b>down</b>.<b>” </b>
Vivian froze. Her expression cracked for a split second, but she quickly covered it with more tears<b>. </b>
“1… I really wanted to <b>see </b>the meteor shower too. <b>Can’t </b>I just stay <b>a </b>little longer? I don’t want <b>to </b>miss out.”
Her earlier scream had <b>been </b>loud enough that Mia andn, who were ahead of them<b>, </b>had also heard it. Mia arrived just in time <b>to </b>hear Vivian’s pleading.
She nced at Vivian’s injury<b>, </b>then tilted her head and smirked, “Wow. Pulling the sympathy card already.<b>” </b>
And right on cue, Vivian looked up with tearful <b>eyes </b>and said, “Sean<b>, </b>could <b>you </b><b>carry </b><b>me </b><b>up </b><b>to </b><b>the </b><b>top</b><b>? </b><b>It’s </b>not far now<b>. </b>I’m really not that heavy.”
Charlotte and Mia exchanged a look, then turned at the same time <b>to </b><b>see </b><b>what </b><b>Sean </b>would <b>say</b>.
The scenic overlook was only about <b>200 </b><b>meters </b><b>away</b>. <b>It </b>was not far at all. On the surface, Vivian’s <b>request </b><b>seemed </b>reasonable<b>. </b>
But both Charlotte and Mia knew better. <b>Vivian </b><b>wasn’t </b>nearly as innocent as she pretended to be.
Charlotte said nothing, waiting silently for Sean’s response.
Sean nced around, then looked down at the ground.
Vivian didn’t understand what he <b>was </b>doing and looked confused.
“What is <b>it</b>?”
His voice <b>was </b>calm <b>and </b>distant
<b>“</b><b>If </b>you really want to see the meteor shower, then stay here and watch it. The view’s still decent- not as good as the overlook, but good enough.”
“What<b>?</b><b>” </b>Vivian clearly hadn’t expected that response.
She <b>bit </b>her lip again<b>, </b>her face <b>even </b>paler under the faint light.
“<b>I </b>don’t want to be here all alone while everyone else is at the top. <b>It’s </b>scary by myself.”
But Sean didn’t budge. His tone remained cool and detached
“You’ve still got two friends with you. Let them stay. I’ll have someone bring you snacks in a bit, and after the meteor shower, <b>I’ll </b>arrange for someone to take you down. Don’t <b>spend </b>the night on the mountain<b>” </b>
<b>Mia </b>gave Charlotte a sly look–one that clearly said, “Your man <b>handled </b>that perfectly.”
Vivian, on the other hand, was <b>falling </b>apart.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she cried<b>, </b><b>*</b>ean, are you not carrying me because <b>you’re </b>worded charlotte will be upset? Is she really that petty? I’m your sister, and <b>she’s </b>jealous of even that?”