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Connor rolled his eyes. “Yeah. I got it.”
Jack thrust his hand forward causing Connor Levine to flinch. “Shake on it.”
Reluctantly, he stuck out his hand and placed it in Jack’s.
When Jack didn’t see Amelie at their nightly campfire, he went looking for her. He wanted to say goodbye and ask her if she’d come up and see him later that summer.
He checked everywhere until finally, outside the dorms, a girl he didn’t recognize called over her shoulder, “Rec Room.”
Jack made his way to the rec room but found that it was dark and empty. Annoyed, he decided to make his trek count and retrieved two quarters from his pocket and placed them in the soda machine slot. Just as he slid the first one in, he heard laughter coming from the closet. Amelie’s laughter to be exact. Jack stood there and listened for a second longer. As he got closer, he heard shushing, and then more laughter. Slowly, he opened the door as his stomach sank. Amelie practically fell over. She must’ve been leaning on the door. She, half-dressed and holding a beer can, while Conner Fucking Levine leaned over her and looked up wild-eyed.
“You mother-fucker,” Jack called as he hurled his fist at Connor’s face. He hit him over and over, as Amelie screamed and pulled at him begging him to stop. When he ran out of breath, he released Connor and watched him slump to the floor, bloody and nearly unconscious.
“What the fuck, Jack,” Amelie demanded.
Jack grabbed her chin, and then let go as she pulled back. He placed his hands on both sides of her face. “Amelie. Look at me. You’re drunk and you’re about to be in deep shit. Do you understand what I’m saying?” She nodded slightly. “Good. Now, here’s what I want you to do. Listen to me carefully, ok?” Her eyes wide, she nodded again. “I want you to go to your room and pack your stuff. Discreetly. Don’t let anyone see what it is you’re doing. And don’t say anything to anyone. Do you hear me? I want you to meet me behind the guy’s dorms in ten minutes. All right?”
Amelie shook her head and glanced down at Connor. “But what about him?”
“I’m going to get help and meet you at the car, ok.”
“I can’t just leave, Jack,” she said, her words slurred.
Jack placed his hand under her chin and forced her to look at him. “Amelie, you’re half naked and drunk. And high. They are going to kick you out regardless. And they’ll probably get the police involved. You do get that, right?”
He glared at her and waited for her to confirm she understood. She began to cry, dramatically. This was the last thing he needed.
“Ok, then. We’ll head out tonight and let you sober up. In the morning, we’ll call your mom so she won’t worry and tell her you decided to leave early, and that I’m driving you home. Now, do exactly as I told you and meet me in ten minutes. Or I’ll have to leave without you.
Dazed, she shook her head and headed toward the door. When she got there, she turned back. “Jack?”
He exhaled. “Yeah?”
“You are going to do the right thing, and call for help like you said you would, aren’t you?”
Jack ran his fingers through his hair and pursed his lips. “Of course, I am.”
FOUR
Jack quickly grabbed his bag. He’d already been packed. Now he just needed to double back through the woods to his parked car. The key was not to be seen. He didn’t want to have to answer any questions. He’d already decided that they’d take th
e back roads to avoid having to get on the highway and potentially get caught. He waited for Amelie for what seemed like forever. However, according to his watch, it had only been ten minutes. By minute twelve, he decided she wasn’t coming, and that he was just going to have to leave without her. His heart was racing as he slowly turned the key in the ignition. He made it half a turn before changing his mind. That damn girl. He could go back for her but what if she’d been caught? What if she’d flagged down help, and in the process, turned them both in. Jack slumped back in his seat and rubbed at his temples, considering his options. If he went back now, he risked going to jail for assault. He hadn’t had time to really discuss a proper alibi with Amelie, and besides, she’d been so wasted that she probably wouldn’t have gotten it right anyway. Not only that, but what if she had sided with Connor? Where did that leave him? In jail, that’s where it’d leave him. That damn girl. She would almost surely be the cause of his demise.
Still, in the end, he decided he couldn’t just leave her. He hadn’t said goodbye. If she were pissed at him, and she would be he knew, she sure as hell wouldn’t have anything to do with him once she sobered up and Connor got to her. He wiped the blood from his hand on the back of his t-shirt. It was swelling rapidly, so he took a spare shirt from his backpack and wrapped it. He grabbed the hoodie that was lying across the backseat and slipped it on, pulling the hood around his face. Jack got out of his car and again doubled back through the woods until he was at the heart of Camp Hope. From there, he weaved in and out of the buildings until he reached the girls’ dormitory located directly in the center, closest to the counselor’s office. The light was on, and he could see a few counselors sitting around inside. He knelt down and almost crawled across the path to the girls’ dorms. Once inside, he high-tailed it to Amelie’s room and knocked. There was no answer. He slowly turned the knob, surprised to find it unlocked and ducked inside. Amelie’s roommate looked up startled.
“She was packing, and then all of a sudden she just started throwing up. Next thing I know she’s passed out. I keep shaking her, but all she does is moan. I don’t know what to do. I was about to call a counselor… but she reeks.”
Jack rubbed his good hand across his jawline and took a deep breath. Damn it. Fuck! He should leave her here. No, he has to leave her. “Ok… ok… just let me think…”
“They’ll call her mom. They’ll kick her out.”
Jack slumped on the bed. “No shit.”
The girl shook Amelie again. Amelie rolled on her side and then promptly threw up.
He sighed and pushed her hair away from her face. “Is there any way we can get her out of here without being seen?”
The girl twisted her mouth and then bit her lip. “Um…”
