Summer Camp Sweethearts

Chapter 14

I sit on my bed later that evening, replaying everything that has happened today. Blake wanted to ask me something before we were interrupted by the alarm. There was indeed fire on the campgrounds near the woods. Some students thought it would be funny to smoke and leave the cigarette buds there. Instantly my mind went to Kyle. Since he started 'dating' Piper, his behavior went from bad to worse, so it would not surprise me if he was behind it.

I sigh, thinking of how my life has become such a rollercoaster ride since the beginning of this camp. Maybe my gut feeling was correct when I refused to attend this camp. Perhaps deep down, I know things will become complicated. I pick up my cell phone and search my contacts list before landing on my mother's name. I press the green call button and place the phone against my ear. The phone begins to ring until my mother's voice is heard on the other side.

"Hello. It's Melanie speaking..." I open my mouth to respond, but my mother's voice on the other end keeps speaking, "I, unfortunately, can't be at my phone right now. Please leave a message after the tone, and I will call you back as soon as possible." The high beep noise after the message comes, and tears start falling down my face.

"Mom? It's me, Melissa. I just want to say I miss you and I love you." I say between sobs and press the phone tight against my body. I place the phone back on my bed and sit there for a while. I just want to go home. I can't believe I will say this, but I just want to be with my family again. My mom's smile pops up in my head. Although it has only been her and me for the past few months, I miss her smile.

"Are you okay?" Sofiya asked as she popped her head through my bedroom door.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I say as I look up at her. "I just want to go home."

"What's wrong?" she asks with a concerned tone. She walks over and sits on the bed next to me.

"Melissa, what happened? Why are you crying?" Sofia asked while wiping away my tears with the back of her shirt's sleeve.

"It's nothing," I say, trying not to cry anymore, but it was too late for that now...the tears were already falling down my face again.

"No, it's just nothing," Sofia says as she looks at me with a serious look on her face. "What happened?"

I sigh and tell her everything that has been going on since I left home. She listens to my story, but it is hard for me to talk about this stuff because I don't want anyone to know what I am feeling inside...especially not Sofia. I know she knows half of my dad's story, that he is in prison, but not anything else. Whenever someone asks me what he did, I just tell them he killed someone. Further than that, I did not dare to elaborate.

"Melissa, I'm so sorry," Sofia says as she hugs me. "I wish there was something I could do to help you."

"It's okay," I say, trying not to cry anymore. "I just want to go home." Sofia looks at me with a concerned look and then nods in agreement. She gets up from the bed and walks over to my suitcase sitting by the door. She opens it up and takes out some clothes for me to wear.

"Well, it looks like you're stuck here for a while longer than you thought," Sofia says as she turns around from the window and walks towards me again. She sits down on the bed next to me again and takes my hand in hers.

"I'm sorry that you're stuck here with me."

"It's okay," I say as I look down at the floor. "You don't have to be sorry for anything."

"I just want you to know that if there is anything that I can do, then please let me know," she says as she looks into my eyes. She squeezes my hand and smiles at me before letting go of it again. She stands up from the bed and walks towards her dresser drawer, where she pulls out a small piece of paper and a pen. She walks back to the bed and sits down beside me again.

"What's that?" I ask as she hands it to me. "It's my number," she says as she looks at me with her beautiful blue eyes.

"Please call or text me if you ever need anything." She smiles at me before walking out of the room without saying another word.

We got permission from Rita to make dinner in our cabin for the evening. "Dinner is ready," Abby shouted from the kitchen. Even though our cabin is not fully equipped with all the necessities a traditional kitchen would have, Abby said she would make a plan.

"Okay, I'll be right there," I shout back.

"Hey Abby," I say as I walk into the kitchen.

"Hey," she says as she turns around to face me. "I made us some hot dogs."

"That's great," I say as I grab a bottle of cold water and walk over to the mini fridge that just fits in our cabin. "So, how was your day?" she asks as she walks over to me with two hot dogs. "It was okay," I say as I take one of them from her hand and sit down at the table. She sits next to me, and we both eat our hot dogs in silence for a few minutes before Abby breaks it by saying, "You know you can talk about anything, right?" I look at her with confusion because that's not what I expected her to say.

"You know, you can talk about anything," she says again as she looks at me with a smile. "I know we have known each other briefly, but we are cabin roomies."

"Yeah, I know," I say as I take another bite of my hot dog. "I just don't want to talk about it."