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“I’ll trust you forever, Ben.”
My keys are in my hand. “You were right. People will want to hear this story. You should publish it in the Bulletin.”
“If that’s what you want then I will.”
She walks me to the door and we kiss one last time. It’s killing me to walk out on her and for a second I’m sure I’ll cry too.
I know she remains there at the front door watching as I walk away. I know she’ll keep watching until I’m gone. Halfway down the front walkway I pause and turn around. I give her the only thing I can give her. I hope it’s enough.
“I love you, Camden.”
And then I leave without looking back a second time because whether I want to or not, I need to go.
Camden
Trina literally drags me out of the newsroom at lunchtime. “You can’t keep moping around in there and eating sad little ham sandwiches by yourself. “
“I’m not moping,” I grumble but I allow myself to be propelled to that high energy den of gossip and drama known as the cafeteria.
School has been back in session for a week and just when I think it’s impossible to miss Ben any more than I already do, I walk to the bus stop the following morning and the ache deepens. No one except Trina minds when I keep to myself. Everyone’s busy talking about the hockey team or college applications. And today they’re also talking about the front page article in the latest issue of the Bulletin. I don’t need to talk about it. I know every word by heart. I wrote it.
Trina talks me into getting a stir fry bowl and then shepherds me to the table where her boyfriend, Kent, sits with a couple of his buddies. It’s not really my crowd but I know Trina wants me here so I sit across from her and try to act cheerful.
Kent pecks his girlfriend on the cheek and gives me a curious look. “How’s it going, Camden?”
I move my rice around with a plastic fork. “Not bad.”
Kent pauses. “Have you heard from him?”
There’s a thud as Trina kicks her boyfriend underneath the table and Kent complains, “What the hell, babe?”
She gives him a withering look. “Does nothing I say ever sink in?”
Kent gives that some thought. “You said not to hassle Camden about Ben because she’s in, like, a delicate condition or something. But I wasn’t hassling her.”
Trina moans and puts a hand to her forehead. “I did NOT say the words ‘delicate condition’. Do not repeat that because it doesn’t mean what you think it means. I said my friend is feeling fragile because she is worried about her boyfriend and you ought to have some compassion.”
Kent endures this speech while guzzling a carton of milk. He finishes it and belches. “I get it. Sorry, Camden.”
“It’s all right.” I’m smiling because it’s hard not to smile around the two of them. “I heard from Ben a few days ago. He’s still tied up with legal issues. He doesn’t know when he’ll be back.”
Kent nods. “I miss that fucker.”
I have a feeling this is high praise coming from Kent Dresher.
“Yeah, I know people wrote him off as Devil Valley trash but I always knew the boy was quality.”
The words are said right behind my back and I know I’m supposed to hear them. I turn to see Allie Wexman sneering as she educates some hapless sophomore girl.
Allie acts like she just noticed me. “That’s pretty wild about Ben. Sorry, I mean Bennet. He’s famous enough around here for his own fan club now. Hope he has the stamina to handle all the attention.”
Trina gets annoyed. “You’re talking to his girlfriend. Have some respect.”
Allie is unimpressed. “Somehow I get the feeling he’ll be eager to trade up.” She saunters off with her apprentice in tow.
“Vapid hag,” Trina mutters at Allie’s back and stabs at her rice bowl.
I’m not worried about competition from Allie Wexman or any other girl. But I can admit to myself that when Ben told me his entire story I was shocked. I knew all along he had secrets. I just never expected that his secrets were so excruciating. Or so dangerous. I also never expected to hear that he’d come from an entirely different world than the one we share in Devil Valley. The thought had never crossed my mind that he might have more in common with our wealthy Black Mountain classmates than with me.
