Bluffing

A short story about a young adventurous couple who unknowingly run into some trouble in the woods and find great danger is "Bluffing" by Gail Helgason. Gabriella and her boyfriend Liam are on a hike to have some lunch by the lake. After Liam is attacked by a bear the story switches back into the hospital. Throughout the story the setting switches into the past of what happened at the lake and the present of Gabriella visiting Liam. When he's finally awake long enough to speak to her, he claims "[he] meant the bear to come after [him] instead of [her]." It's hard to tell if this is the truth or not seeing as how they don't have the most honest relationship. Liam insists that she use a homemade cleaning solution while Gabriella decides she doesn’t like it but she doesn’t bother to tell him "she'd stopped using it." Liam is a liar and will say anything to get his way. If he doesn’t want to share a destination with other hikers, he lies to scare them off with an imaginary "elk carcass" that’s clearly from a grizzly. Another reason Liam isn’t telling the truth would be how excited he is to "get by for three months over the winter" and live in a van all so him and his friend Clive could head down south and explore some "good, technical rock." Why would he give that up now to save Gabriella when he would be leaving her for a long time anyways. The final reason that Liam’s bluffing when he told Gabriella "[he] wasn't trying to run up there" is that he is incredibly selfish. He has a keen eye for his future and has many goals not involving his beloved girlfriend, who happens to have the same interests and goals. All he wants to do is explore with his friend while Gabriella waits and tries to set up a future with Liam. Why would he bother to risk his life that he planned so many great adventures for a girl who wanted a commitment.