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