Delinquent Camp

Chapter Twenty-Seven

        A/N: *PLEASE READ* This is the second last chapter of Delinquent Camp, plus there will be a short epilogue. This is where everything is going to be known. I'm kind of scared to post it.

In all honesty, I changed who did what a lot of times before I came to this decision. I hope you all are shocked and like it. Please comment, as I am kind of freaking out about posting this right now :$

        Twenty-Seven

        I wonder if my mom is really going to come back after summers over.

            She said she would in her letter, but I haven't thought much about it. Why did she leave in the first place if she wants to waltz back into my life years later? Do I even want her to come back? I don't know. I don't think I can live with my dad and Kirsten anymore; not when things are just getting worse. But can I live with my mom? The person who left and made everything go downhill?

            "You don't have to do this," I tell Rhyson, clutching my comic book in my hands. I didn't know why I brought it in the first place, but when I grabbed my bag of clothes, it was already in there and I couldn't bring myself to take it out. I got a good mark on my art project, but honestly, I couldn't care less. "I understand if you can't."

            Rhyson shakes his head no, but keeps it downcast so his hair covers his eyes. His skin looks pale but I know it's only from how he's feeling. I probably look the same.

            "I have to do this."

            I want to tell him that he doesn't, but I know what he means. I didn't have to go face the place where Mellissa died but I did anyways, because I felt like emotionally, it was something I had to do. If I didn't, I would still be running from it.

            "Do you want me to go first?"

            Rhyson doesn't move, not even to glance at me. "No, I'll go. Do you mind if I do it by myself?"

            I shrug and he takes a deep breathe. His hand clutches the door of the van tightly before he finally pushes himself outside into the dampness. I watch him walk out of the small, gravel parking lot until he's on the path through the graveyard. I know exactly where he's going despite never going to Mellissa's grave.

            When I know he can't hear me, I slide out of the van and lean against the driver's door, watching Rhyson. As he nears the plot, his steps get slower and slower until finally they stop. Because of the distance I can't hear him and I wonder if he's saying something out loud, or going over the night in his mind.

            I don't know how long it is before I see his shoulder's start to shake. His back is to me but I can see his pale hands reach up to cover his face. The whole summer at camp I thought Rhyson had it all together; like he was taking everything in stride. But now I know that he's just being holding it all in.

            The time I faced Mellissa's father was one of the hardest things I had to do. I wonder if that's the way Rhyson felt every single time he had to face me.

            I tear my eyes away from him, giving him some privacy. In my hands I open the comic book and flip through the pages to look at it one last time. It's crazy, how if anyone else looked through it, it would be completely normal. But to me, it's like seeing my best friend alive again. It's like when I saw home movies of my grandparents after they died; it's kind of scary seeing them alive, but also sort of happy.

            "Gemma."

            I look up and Rhyson's standing at the gate of the cemetery. He doesn't say anything more and turns around, heading on a different path then the one I'm going to take. I know he's going to see his father's grave and I can't help but feel sorry for him. He's carrying the weight of two deaths on his shoulders and I can't help but think that he's going to be lifting that for the rest of his life.