Delinquent Camp

Chapter Seven

Seven

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“A few months ago, my best friend Melissa and I were walking around my neighbourhood at night,” I sigh, staring at the ground in front of me. The fire crackles a few feet away, reminding me why I’m here. “Everything seemed normal. We were having fun drinking and wandering around, knowing going back to either of our houses wasn’t an option. Then, out of nowhere…” I trail off, brushing my thumb over the scar on my left hand.

“Gemma?”

I chew on my bottom lip as Michelle gently calls my name. Briefly, I look up, but the eyes I meet aren’t hers. Instead I see Rhyson, leaning forward as he listens to me. His eyes look sympathetic, but his lips are smiling, encouraging me to continue.

“Out of nowhere this car came,” I snap, leaning back so I’m no longer slouched. I glare into the fire, as if it was the person inside the car. “It hit us and left us lying there on the pavement, with no way to get any help.” I feel the threat of tears but hold them back by pinching my thigh through my jeans and focusing on the pain. “The police say it was a drunk driver who killed Melissa. I came out with only a few scars.” I hold up my hand for everyone to see, but it’s out of bitterness rather than to simply prove my point.

~~~

“So what was up with you last night?” Ember asks, jogging to catch up to me on the way back from the campfire. After she came into the bathroom and saw Rhyson and I, she practically dragged me back to the cabin without a word.

“I can ask you the same thing,” I respond, swatting mosquitoes away from my face. “What were you doing, spying on us?”

Ember rolls her eyes as she steps in front of me, blocking my way on the dark path. I stop a few feet away from her, shooting her an annoyed look.

“Well, when my best friend goes missing in the middle of the night, I’m going to go look for her. For all I knew, Rachel could have drowned you in the lake!” She tilts her head to the side, watching me closely.

“Sorry,” I mumble, brushing past her. She matches my pace beside me, waiting for me to explain. “I was just trying to numb my side when Rhyson showed up and we started talking for a while.”

“I don’t know what the deal is with that kid,” Ember mutters, more to herself rather than to me. I raise my eyebrows at her and she shrugs. “He’s going out of his way for you. It’s just not in his nature from what I’ve seen.”

We turn onto the path that our cabin is on, when I nudge her in the side. “Care to explain?”

“Well, last summer he never-“

“What?” I stop in my tracks and grab Ember’s arm, yanking her back towards me. “Last summer?”

“What, you think this is my first time at Camp Haven?”

“Uh, yeah,” I snap, annoyed that she hasn’t shared this information with me before. Ember bursts into laughter and I fold my arms across my chest, waiting for her to stop. “What number is this summer?”

Still laughing, she spins on her heel and starts walking down the trail, waiting for me to follow. When I don’t, she calls to me over her shoulder.

“Three.”

A while later, I finally burst through the door of the cabin, catching up to Ember. She’s sitting on her bed, as if she was waiting for me. After she walked away, I had stood there for who know how’s long in complete shock.