One Summer

Chapter 34: The end of isolation

Chapter 34: The end of isolation

Hailey

Today we were coming back to camp and even if we were only three days in Chicago, it felt as if we were here longer than that. In a matter of three days so much happened because of some revelations I faced throughout that time. In those counted days I managed to find out who was my first kiss after a year of not knowing who it was, the reason as to why it was hard for Bryce to be his true self and Zach's confesion involving his feelings for me. It was only yesterday when I had found out of all of this and that day seemed endless for me from the moment I woke up to when I finally fell asleep. 

"Hailey! Are you coming down or what?" Cameron asked as he knocked on my door quickly and I groaned before closing the suitcase quickly. Apparently, I was the last one to wake up and while everyone was downstairs eating breakfast, I was still asleep. 

"Yeah, give me a second" I called out and immediately dragged the suitcase behind me as I approached the door. When I opened it, I noticed that Cameron was just staring at me and then he smiled sadly before he went back downstairs. I guess he still feels bad that it was his note that caused me to mistake Zach for Bryce. 

When I reached the kitchen, everyone turned their heads to just stare at me except Bryce who let out a small smile before finishing his water. Aiden and Jessica immediately broke the silence by greeting me with their usual niceness and I was relieved that I didn't have to continue all the awkwardness around me. There's a lot of awkwardness today because everyone already knows what happened yesterday, but only Bethany knows about the fact that Zach was my first kiss. After I went after Bryce, I didn't see Zach at all for the rest of the day and I ended up explaining what happened to Bethany before she told the others because I really wasn't in the mood to see the reactions from the triplets. I ended up staying inside the room throughout the whole day until I showered and changed into my pajamas to go to sleep. 

"We will be waiting for you in the car" Alec said and I nodded quickly before they all left me to eat my breakfast in the kitchen. Bryce waited until everyone left (Aiden and Jessica were helping them out with the bags and such) and he came towards me before he embraced me on a tight hug

"Good morning, princess" he mumbled as he rested his chin on top on my head and I couldn't help but smile at this because at least he was trying to not let the tension get to him

"Good morning, Anderson" I said softly as I looked deep into his light blue eyes and I noticed that he still felt conflicted on the inside because of everything that happened yesterday. I know that he hasn't confronted Zach at all about this, but I know that they will have to soon enough because they're brothers and they can't stay mad at each other forever

We didn't talk much as I ate my breakfast and the silence around me felt peaceful, which I liked very much. I finished my breakfast quickly and I noticed that my suitcase wasn't by the front door which meant that it was already inside the car. Bryce smiled at me before he grabbed my hand and walked me to the front door before opening it to meet the fresh air outside. Everyone was already inside the car, and Aiden and Jessica were waiting for us to come outside to say their good byes to us. Bryce immediately thanked the both of them for everything throughout these few days before he went inside the car. I just kept looking at Aiden and Jessica, who seemed sad to see me leave so quickly and I couldn't help but feel sad also because I know that I will miss them when I come back to camp.