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“No, you’re not,” I choke out. The world is spinning around me, but Caleb is perfectly in focus.
A single, dry laugh slips through Caleb’s terse lips. “Right. Yeah. Of course you would know how I feel better than I would.”
“I don’t—it’s not—we’re too different, Caleb,” I stutter.
“Only in the ways that don’t really matter.”
I sigh, letting the air escape slowly, like I’m a deflating balloon. “We’re different in an ‘I’m staying here, you’re leaving’ way. I don’t have the time or the energy to be in a long-distance relationship.”
Caleb opens his mouth to speak.
“I don’twantto be in a long-distance relationship.”
Without asking permission, my heart got way more invested in Caleb Winters than it had any right to. If I said those same words he just told me back, I think I would mean them. But letting him in? Letting myself rely on the phrase he just uttered? Letting myself love him and then remaining in a town filled with reminders of him while he goes off to bigger and better things?
I can’t do it.
Caleb’s mouth snaps shut. I hate the hurt I can see swimming in those blue depths. But he’s leaving. Moving on from this town. Moving on from me. Off to a fancy baseball camp and then to an elite university to meet new people with backgrounds as privileged as his.
I’m just the girl he bickers with constantly and occasionally kisses.
He’s about to leave me behind, and selfishly, I’d rather walk away first.
Although Caleb’s the one who spins and strides back toward the cabins before I have the chance to.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
LENNON
When I wake up in my sleeping bag the following morning, I’m disappointed. I was hoping the past day and a half didn’t happen, and that the sloped eaves of my childhood bedroom would be there waiting to greet me when I opened my eyes. But no, it’s the rough boards of the cabin’s roof that I’m staring at instead. I sigh and fling the covers away.
Considering how I woke up wanting to flee, I’m surprised by how much I enjoy the day. The chaperones are too exhausted from yesterday’s activities to plan anything constructive for today, so it’s essentially a free-for-all.
Almost everyone ends up on the lakeshore, including me. I perch on a rock between two massive pines and sunbathe while reading. Shannon joins me for a bit, but everyone else leaves me alone.
It’s the first full day in a long time where I haven’thadto do anything, and it’s nice. Really nice.
There’s no schoolwork, no farm chores, no responsibilities.
Just the pit in my stomach while I surreptitiously watch Caleb playing football on the thin stretch of sand with his friends. After our canoe ride, I didn’t think it was possible for things to get any more tense between us.
I was wrong.
* * *
After dinner, I wander out to the campfire. Along with daytime activities, the attempt at evening entertainment seems to have also ceased for the final night here.
Unlike last night, the split logs surrounding the stone circle are all empty. I take advantage of the space to stretch out along the length of one and stare up at the stars. Someone already built a fire, which provides pleasant warmth and a comforting crackling sound.
The snap of a stick warns me of someone’s approach, but I don’t bother to sit up or look over. “Want to make another bet?” a voice I recognize as Colt Adams’s asks.
“No.”
There’s a soft chuckle. “Well, I’m betting you know why Winters has been in such a shitty mood all day.” I make a point not to react and just keep tracing patterns in the stars overhead.
I definitely don’t betray the surprise his words elicit. Caleb has looked perfectly carefree all day, joking and laughing with his friends.
Colt laughs. “Refusing to talk about it. Maybe you guysdohave something in common.” Plastic crinkles. “Want any?”
