Summer Dream

Chapter 17

By Thursday, things were mostly back to normal. Audrey hadn't tried anything else, and it seemed as if the feud was behind them. That's what Aspen thought, at least. "So, are we going to the mini farm today?" Aspen asked Michael.

"I can't, I told Audrey I'd hang at the pool with her." Michael sighed.

"When are you gonna stop hanging out with her?" Aspen shook her head. "Unbelievable."

"Babe, it's fine. She just wants someone to listen while she talks about herself." Michael sighed.

"Yeah, whatever. Have fun with the Devil." Aspen said, walking away from him.

"Hey, you should still be wearing your boot. Your ankle isn't healed yet!" Michael called after her.

"My ankle is fine!" Aspen yelled back. She walked into her cabin and slammed the door.

"Woah, someone's in a bad mood." Carly said, peeking down the loft at her.

"Michael's still hanging out with Audrey." Aspen said, stomping up the stairs. "He knows she's the Devil and he still chooses to hang out with her."

"Don't you think it's better if he still hangs out with her?" Carly asked. "What if he stopped and she gets pissed? She'd break your other ankle."

"I guess, but I'd also like to hang out with my own boyfriend." Aspen crossed her arms.

"Why don't we go to the pool then? You can make him swim with you." Carly suggested.

"Fine, we'll go to the pool."

Michael took a seat on the bench next to Audrey. "Hi, Mikey." She smiled at him.

"Hi, Audrey." Michael said, looking at the kids in the water.

"I've got something I want to tell you." Audrey smiled and turned to him.

"What is it?" Michael asked, looking at her.

"I.. I just wanted to tell you that I love you." Audrey said, holding his hand. "I know you feel the same way. There's no way you couldn't."

"No, Audrey." Michael shook his head. "I don't."

"I've never been with someone I love before, and I'm so happy we found each other." Audrey said, squeezing his hand.

"You're mistaken, Audrey. I'm with Asp-." Audrey quickly pressed her lips to his. Michael widened his eyes, a collective gasp coming from the kids swimming. He pushed her away from him and wiped his mouth, turning away just in time to see Aspen running from the pool. He looked at Carly with a worried expression. She looked disappointed, but not surprised. He got up and walked over to Carly. "How badly did I just fuck up?"

"Stay here. You don't want to ruin things more than you already have." Carly sighed, walking away.

"Carly, wait." Michael sighed, walking after her. "Audrey kissed me, I didn't kiss her."

"That's not what it looked like. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check on my best friend." Carly ran back to her cabin. She walked inside and up the stairs. "Aspen?" Her voice was soft as she sat on the bed next to Aspen, who was sobbing into her pillow.

"I warned him that this would happen. He promised he wouldn't let it happen." Aspen sobbed.

"I know, honey." Carly sighed, rubbing Aspen's back. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, absolutely not." Aspen said. She got up and grabbed her notebook and guitar before going into the bathroom and locking the door.

"Aspen, come on." Carly sighed. She looked at the window as Michael climbed in.

"I need to talk to her." Michael sighed.

"She's not talking to anyone right now." Carly said, jerking her head toward the bathroom.

"Carly, tell Michael to get out of our cabin. This is a girl's cabin and boys aren't allowed in here. It's against the rules." Aspen said from the bathroom.

"Baby, please talk to me." Michael sighed, walking to the bathroom. He leaned against the door. "You know she did that on purpose."

"Yeah, no shit." Aspen scoffed. "Just, go away. I'll talk to you later."

"I'll take what I can get, I guess." Michael sighed. "I love you."

"Fuck off." Aspen said, throwing her pen at the door. Michael sighed and climbed out the window.

"Let me know when she comes out." Michael said and Carly nodded.

"She will do no such thing." Aspen said, her words muffled by the bathroom door.

"I'll let you know." Carly mouthed to him.

"Thanks." Michael said sadly before going back to his own cabin.