"If you come, I promise I'll make sure he leaves you alone."
He hesitated. "Fine. But if he doesn't, I'm leaving on the spot. And I'm sharing a tent with you. I'm not getting left alone."
"Deal. You'll have a good time, I promise." I paused, something clicking in my mind. "Hey, Aubrey... What's with the French?"
He laughed again. "Oh, sorry. I'm French Canadian originally. Grew up speaking it at home. It just kinda slips out, but... only when I'm hammered."
"Wait... Are you hammered right now?"
"Oh, I'mtotallyhammered."
The group chat becomes a source of endless humor for me. It seems everyone uses it for one thing or another—messing around, telling jokes, or occasionally dropping major life updates.
I don't text much myself, so I'm not always participating, but I keep up. So when Aubrey leaves the chat, I'm not surprised. Whatever's going on with Eli has been escalating for a while now, even before I'm added to the group.
Ignoring Gary's earlier plea not to bother Aubrey, I call him anyway. If I know this group, probably everyone has already called him at least once.
Gary's attempts to mother us all never seem to work.
"Hi, Andrew."
His voice is scratchy, and I freeze in surprise—he actually answers.
"Aubrey. You okay?"
"Not really. Nothing's been working out for me lately, and I'm kind of just over it."
"You're going to have to catch me up because, honestly, I'm a little lost here."
I hear him take a deep breath, his silence stretching long enough to make me worry. "I don't even know where to start," he admits, his voice low.
"How about..." I hesitate, unsure how sensitive the topic is. "What's up with Eli?"
He lets out a dry laugh. "Eli?He’salways been like that. It's not new."
"Can I ask why?"
The line goes quiet again, so much so that I check my phone to make sure he hasn't hung up.
"Sorry," Aubrey says eventually. "I was thinking." He laughs again, this time lighter, almost incredulous. "I can't remember."
"What do you mean you can't remember?"
"Well, Eli's actually Wayne's friend originally," he begins, his tone shifting to something more conversational. "They met when Waynetookhis truck to Eli's auto repair shop. They hit it off, andsoEli starts coming to the camp parties. Then he gets close to the rest of us, added to the group chat. But Todd hates Eli from day one... at least, that's how I remember it. Then Todd starts poking fun at Eli, Eli pokes back, and I join in because, well, Todd's my best friend. I'm just standing up for him.Then Eli starts coming after me,more than anyone else. Now it's like we're always at each other's throats."
I pause, considering the dynamic. "Hey,Aubrey?This sounds immature, but hear me out.I think maybe he has a crush on you or something."
A big laugh erupts on the other end of the line.
I grin. "What, you don't think so?"
"No! I have never, ever been hated by someone as much as Eli hates me. He's done and said some of the most horrible things. Andrew,it's been like this for ten years!It’s been ten whole years since he started hanging out with us!He just picks on me more now because Todd and Wayne are always together. They're attached at the hipthese days, so Eli and I are left to fend for ourselves. Which apparently means trying to destroy each other."
I hesitate. "He's worried, you know. He tried to call you."
"I know, like twelve times. I blocked him."Aubrey sighs, his voice softening. "If he's calling, it's just to yell at me for being offended. He doesn't actually care. But honestly? I don't care about Eli right now. I just want to be left alone. I have today off, the whole weekend off. I just want to marinate in my bed and disappear."
I recognize that tone... the defeated edge that hints he's ready to retreat from everyone and everything. I've been there, and I'm not about to let him sink into it.
