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“Oh… Um,” She says, taking a quick glance at her house before turning back to me. “Sure.”

I walk us up my front porch and take out my keys to unlock the door. The house is dark; my mom has an overnight shift at the hospital tonight. I flip on the light switches and guide us into the kitchen. I pull out the bench seat at the breakfast nook, “Here, sit down.” I whisper.

She takes a seat, and I kneel down in front of her. She’s so tiny, even being on my knees in front of her, she is at my eye level. Saying nothing, I reach into her hair, carefully working the sticky mess out of her curls, making sure not to pull.

“I’m really sorry Emily did this to you,” I sigh, “This is so fucked up.”

“How did you know it was Emily?” She asks quietly, her gaze falling on mine.

Realizing I just admitted to watching her all night, I try to play it cool. “I saw her talking to you before you ran off, and I could tell she said something that upset you.”

She looks down, fighting back tears again. “You don’t have to tell me what she said, but I need you to know, Cami, that whatever it was, it's not true. She is a mean girl, and she is projecting her anger towards Cooper onto you, and you don’t deserve that.” I say, pulling the last remaining pieces of gum out of her hair.

“She laughed at what I was wearing, said she could never leave the house looking the way I do, and called it cute.” She says, emphasizing the word cute. Her eyes start to water at the admission. My fingers stop moving in her hair, anger pulsing through my veins. “Huh… That's funny because when I saw you, I couldn't stop thinking how pretty you look.”

That earned my first smile from her, butterflies swarm my stomach. I smile back at her as my fingers leave her hair.

“There, good as new!” I say, proud of my accomplishment in earning a smile and successfully removing the gum from her curls.

“Thank you.” She smiles.

“Hey, are you hungry? I make a killer grilled cheese!”

She lets out a giggle, and finally the night doesn't feel so heavy anymore.

CHAPTER 7

Camille

DAY 3: WINE & WIND DOWN

Iwake up well-rested and ready to start the first day of wedding festivities. A big group of us have rented a bus to take us to a nearby vineyard for wine tasting, so I spend a few minutes picking out the perfect outfit. I settle on a navy blue babydoll dress with ruffles and a delicate floral print. Pulling my hair half-up in a loose claw clip, I let the rest fall over my bare shoulders. With an hour left before the bus arrives, I grab my crossbody bag, toss in my room key, lip gloss, and sunglasses before heading out the door in search of coffee.

The dining hall is quiet, still empty being this early in the morning. I choose a table near the massive double windows overlooking the lake. It’s another beautiful day with crystal clear blue skies and a gentle breeze. With hot coffee in hand, I pull out my phone and scroll through Instagram for a minute. The very first post on my feed is a picture Ivy uploaded last night. It’s a shot of her and Cooper lying on the lakeshore at sunset, captioned “4 more days” with a ring emoji. I smile and give my screen a quick double-tap.

“Mind if I join you?”

I look up to see Drew standing in front of my table, wearing jeans, a black fitted T-shirt, and a baseball hat. It’s a completely effortless look, but he pulls it off so well.

“Yeah, of course,” I say, putting my phone down on the wooden table, giving him my full attention.

“How’d you sleep?” He asks, pulling out the chair opposite me.

“Good.” I smile, taking a slow sip of my coffee. “All that sun yesterday really knocked me out.”

He chuckles, his eyes crinkling. “Yeah, it did me in pretty good too. You look really…” His words get cut off abruptly by my frantic Mother storming into the dining hall.

“Cami!” She shouts.

My brows furrow. What on earth is going on?

“I’ve been looking all over for you!” she pants, pausing at the edge of the table to catch her breath.

“Well, you found me,” I say cautiously, setting my mug down. “Is everything okay?”

“Don't be mad…” She says gently, bracing her hands out in front of her.

My eyes go wide with concern. “Mom, what did you do?”