AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. “You’re one to talk. Both of you.” I shifted my gaze pointedly between the two of them, then tipped my chair back until it rested on two legs. “Besides, I’m not keeping secrets. I just don’t have a rock star dad or an ambassador mom to constantly brag about. Not that I would anyway.”
Devan’s smile widened into a grin. He had the best smile—straight white teeth against a scruffy jaw, the barest hint of a dimple in his left cheek. It really was unfair. Part of me felt a little guilty at finding him so attractive after what had happened with Micah, but it wasn’t hurting anyone to look. Besides, I’d be gone in a week.
“No rock stars in your family tree, huh?” he teased. “Then what brings you to beautiful Maine for your last year of high school?”
I opened my mouth to answer, fully expecting the words to catch in my throat like they always did. But to my surprise, they fell right out, dropping like stones into the stillness of the room. “My parents died in a fire. I got sent to live with an aunt I’d practically never met, and she sent me here.”
I was so shocked by my own words, I lost my balance, and the front legs of my chair slammed back to the ground. The sound was loud in the stunned silence.
The grin fell off Devan’s face so fast it would have been comical if I hadn’t been mentally hyperventilating. Why had I told them that? I could barely stand to think about it; what the hell had possessed me to share it? And with the two of them, of all people?
To my utter shock, it was Garrett who spoke first, and his dark eyes when they met mine were steady and calm, a softness in them I hadn’t seen in weeks. “I’m so sorry, Camilla. That’s a terrible thing to experience.”
A tingle ran up my spine at the sound of my name on his lips, and something fleeting passed between us—some connection I could have sworn he felt too. But then my attention was caught by the other half of his statement. His words almost implied that he knew what it felt like, and I hoped that wasn’t true. No matter how infuriating the guy was, I wouldn’t wish that kind of painful loss on him. On anyone.
I opened my mouth to say something—I wasn’t even sure what. Thank him? Ask questions he wouldn’t answer?—but my throat chose that moment to catch up, and sealed off completely. Any words I might have uttered were trapped inside, and I blinked against the burn behind my eyes and the remembered feel of flames on my skin.
A second later I felt something touch my hand, jerking me out of my memories and back to the present. Devan had reached across the distance, wrapping his fingers around mine where they rested on the table. His hand was warm, and dry, and big, his skin smooth against mine. The contact felt solid and grounding. I took a breath, the stone in my chest lightening. He squeezed my hand once before releasing it, and I immediately missed the comforting feel of him.
They didn’t ask me for more details, and I couldn’t have provided them anyway. Eventually we returned to our project, working together to outline a series of questions for the group discussion we would have to lead. Although there wasn’t any more talk of things unrelated to school, I still felt somehow lighter, like a weight I didn’t know I’d been carrying had been lessened, just a bit.
18
By the time the end of the week rolled around, I’d become less sure than ever of what the right decision was. Stay or go; go or stay. However, I’d also grown increasingly annoyed with myself and my endless dithering, and by Saturday, I’d had enough.
It was my eighteenth birthday, dammit. I would spend the day relaxing instead of worrying for a change, and then tomorrow I would pack up my meager belongings and be on my way to the airport before I could second guess myself. I needed to get to the tattoo studio and see Ian. I never should have deleted his number.
I spent the majority of the afternoon out on my rock by the lake, taking full advantage of all the free art supplies to paint something that wasn’t required by class for a change. I focused on the forest this time, the trees having fully given themselves over to the resplendent colors of fall. The sight was breathtaking. Leaves in every color from bright golden yellow to deep fiery red, the sunlight sparkling through to cast dappled shadows over everything it touched. I didn’t think I’d ever seen anything so beautiful.
It seemed like over the past few days fall had arrived with a vengeance, and it wasn’t just the trees that were trying to adjust. The temperature had dropped dramatically, barely making it to sixty during the days, and falling down into the thirties at night. I’d even seen frost on the grass on my way to breakfast earlier that week. No one else seemed put off by the weather, but it was definitely a shock to my system.
I wasn’t willing to give up my rock though, so I layered on extra clothing and braved the cold of the woods, keeping well away from the frigid water as I laid out my art supplies on the wide slab of rock and slowly lost myself in my painting. I would miss this place, the quiet sigh of wind through the trees, the lap of water against the shore, the vivid colors of the canopy overhead.
This place had a way of putting things in perspective, making my problems feel small and insignificant against the larger backdrop of the woods and the lake. The longer I sat there, the calmer I felt.
Micah didn’t come to join me, and while part of me was sad that we’d only gotten to share that single morning together out here since the incident with Drew, a larger part of me was relieved, because if he kissed me again, I didn’t know how I’d be able to get on that plane tomorrow. Neither of us had mentioned it since it’d happened, but the scorching looks he sent me when we crossed paths in class made it clear that I hadn’t imagined a second of it.
Finally, the sun began to set and the cold started seeping through my clothing. Regretfully I gathered up my supplies and hauled myself to my feet.
I’d been out at the lake so long I’d missed dinner, but I wasn’t hungry anyway. I stopped by G-B Arts, returning all my borrowed supplies to the closet in the art studio. I let myself linger as I straightened the rows of paint and brushes, my fingers drifting over the bottles and containers. The building was deserted, and I walked slowly, my footsteps nearly silent as I said a quiet goodbye to the studio before heading back to the dorm.
I’d expected at least Nora and Frank would be in the room, probably deciding what to wear before they headed out to Vinnie’s Place later in the evening—and I was sure they’d try to badger me into coming—so I was surprised to find the door locked. I swung my backpack off my shoulder and was fishing in the outside pocket for my keys when a muffled thump came from inside the suite. I paused, listening closely, and a second later there was another thump and a muted laugh before I heard the latch turn and the door cracked open a fraction of an inch. Nora’s eye peered at me through the opening.
“Oh, good. You’re back. Hang on, you can’t come in yet.”
“What—” I started, but she’d already swung the door shut in my face and relocked it.
What the hell was going on in there? I stared between the door and the keys in my hand, before shrugging and leaning against the wall in the hallway.
It didn’t take long before the lock turned and the door swung open again, this time all the way.
“Okay, come in.” Nora grinned, stepping to the side to let me enter. All the lights were off inside, and I eyed her in confusion, but she winked at me before slamming the door, closing us in darkness for a moment before she switched the lights on.
“Happy birthday!” she cried, laughing as I turned to take it all in.
It was just the three of them, Nora, Frank, and Julie—God knew I hadn’t bothered to make any other friends on campus, at least not that they knew of—but my roommates had gone all out. There were balloons and streamers, a giant cardboard sign, and—most importantly—more desserts than I thought I’d ever seen in one place at the same time. They’d clearly raided the dining hall, and I shuddered to think how many trips it had taken to get all this food back to the dorm. My eyes teared up at the sheer amount of work they’d put into all this, just for me, some new girl they had next to nothing in common with, who had barely even tried to make herself personable at all.
“How did you even know it was my birthday?” I asked, gazing between the three of them.
