Camp for the Emotionally (Un)Stable || Lams

Chapter Fifteen: In The Eye Of A Hurricane

Laurens|First Person

It's around twelve when Mr. Washington finally lets me out of his office. I'm too loose for my   own comfort though, there was something in that pill they had me take that left me a slightly numbed mass of body. I don't feel like myself, I feel like some other person, one who is unable to actively participate in whatever seems to be happening. 

I stumble a little as I round the corner of the administration building, muttering a low, "woah," as I catch myself on the side of the wooden structure. A hand lands on my back and I jump, thinking it's Mr. Washington coming to bring me back to his office until I can walk properly. I'm filled with relief when I'm met with the calm gaze of Aaron Burr. He frowns at me and for a moment I'm brought back to the mess hall. I'm crushed under his weight as I stare over at the crumpled body of Maria Reynolds with hungry eyes. I fight against him to leap at her again. I don't even remember what she said, just that all I could see was red. 

She's ok, and that's about the only good thing about the situation. She woke up and agreed not to press charges by some miracle. I have since been banned from the dining hall until further notice. I'm to pick up all of my meals either before breakfast or after dinner. Fine by me, I mean the mess hall is hell anyway. I'm more than willing to eat in my cabin for the rest of the summer if that's what they want. 

"You doing ok, John?" Aaron asks, looking down at me with an intense look to his eyes. At some point he must've put his hands on my shoulders because he squeezes them as I force myself back into the present. 

"Yeah, just a little dizzy." I press a hand to my forehead, making my eyes focus on the grass for a moment before I look back up at him. "Where is everyone?" I ask, looking around and noticing that the camp itself looks oddly empty. 

"Recreation. Main area is off limits unless you have an appointment with the Washingtons." I hum in understanding, looking around some more despite the fact that there is no one in sight. "Ang is down by the lake with Peggy and Alex if you're feeling up to it. She told me to come and check on you actually." 

My mood brightens a little, though my body still feels heavy. I nod and he leads me down to a smaller stip of beach that hardly anyone uses. For a while it was referred to as the hookup beach because of the amount of times couples were walked in on during a makeout session. I struggle a little walking down the slope to the beach, but Aaron goes slowly, making sure I'm keeping up. I'm grateful that Angelica had thought enough to send him for me. I would probably be curled up in my cabin staring at the wall right now had he not told me where they were. 

I can make out the vague sounds of laughter as we near the beach. There's light splashing noise, and a deeper voice that hollers in response that I immediately recognize as Alexander. I feel a tiny twinge of excitement as I skid down the rest of the hill and walk over the last stretch of the dirt and past the last couple trees to reveal a scene of my friends playing in the lake under the shine of golden sun and the shadows of a couple of clouds. Angelica sits on the bank, only her legs submerged in the cool lake water. In front of her is Peggy in her yellow one-piece, water up to her hips. Alex stands a couple of feet from her, for once in only a pair of swimming trunks. 

His upper body shines a little with drops of water, and his face displays a wide smile as he scoops his hand through the water again and covers Peggy with a wave of the greenish liquid. She giggles and stumbles back a couple steps. Angelica smiles softly, turning around to glance at us for a moment. 

Aaron pats my back, flashing me a grin before walking forward and peeling off his shirt. He slips his feet from his shoes and sits down beside Angelica. Peggy and Alex look up from their water fight and both grin at me. Alex waves me over, calling something that I don't hear. I evaluate my outfit, jean shorts and t-shirt. I try not to think it over too much as I toss my shirt in the sand beside Aaron's that landed next to a pile of the girl's things. I spot Alex's shoes and kick mine off over in that direction. 

The world seems to move in slow motion as I push myself towards the water, wading in past Aaron and Angelica and diving in and swimming out towards Peggy and Alex. I surface next to someone's leg, smiling without really feeling happy up at them. I can't see their face because the combined sun and water in my eyes that blurs my vision, but by the way they reach down and pull my face towards theirs I can only assume it's Alexander. His smashes his lips sloppily on mine for a moment, and I try my best to kiss back before he pulls away and splashes a surge of water into my stomach. 

I laugh, though it feels ingenuine. My eyelids feel heavy like I'm tired, and my whole face lacks feeling. My smiles are forced, and after a while I can tell it starts to show. 

Peggy is swimming in the lake a bit deeper, Angelica on Aaron's back as they step slowly in the water towards her. I stare blankly at them, my whole body feels like it's made of lead. My shoulders hunch, and my head lulls to the side. I close my eyes, feeling a warm sensation as I do so, not wanting to open them again. Arms wrap around my middle and a forehead rests on between my shoulderblades, and I have no energy to do anything but lean into them. 

"I can tell you're tired, John." Alexander says in a sophisticated tone. I hum at his words, wanting nothing more than to go back to the cabin and to just lie in bed. I'm not even necessarily sleepy, just exhausted. "C'mon, I'll let them know we're leaving." 

I force my eyelids apart, looking over at Angelica who has since gotten off of Aaron's back so that Peggy can be held up by him. She giggles as he dunks under water, just barely keeping her shoulders above. Angelica looks at us, looking past me to Alex. I don't know what he does, but she smile sympathetically and nods. He grabs my hands, gently leading me up onto the beach and picking up our things before holding me steady as I wedge my feet into my sneakers. Then, together we walk back to our cabin, both of us growing tired just from the walk alone. And as soon as we're back, we both pass out. 

It feels like I've been back to school for months, but really it's been just one long stressful week.

I'm too tired to think of a question. I'll try to edit a couple parts tonight so I can update more often.
<3