in some stupid group therapy session with Camp Kenton’s on-call therapist, but right now all I wanted to do was punch someone or something.
I glanced at the truck parked outside Loraine’s office, my frustration getting the better of me. I headed for it in one quick movement, finding the keys tucked above the driver’s-side visor. If I was so self-serving, I’d self-serve myself right on out of here. Lufkin couldn’t be that far. Right?
I got in the truck and shut the door. Gravel spun out as I raced in the general direction of the exit. I had almost reached Camp Kenton’s metal sign when a white golf cart crossed through the gates. Grant was driving, a curious expression on his face.
“Damn it,” I said, dodging him.
The golf cart slid across the dirt behind me, speeding up as it headed my direction. I watched him in the rearview mirror. My breathing increased.
“Damn it. Damn it,” I said, my heart pounding against my chest.
If I left, there would be no going back. If he told Loraine I took this truck, there’d be no going back. Either way this would end badly. Loraine was right. She couldn’t trust me. I couldn’t trust myself.
I slowed, putting the truck in park just in front of Camp Kenton’s welcome sign. Grant jumped out of the golf cart the minute he stopped. I rolled down the window. His tennis shoes crunched across gravel as he closed the space between us.
I sat there, motionless.
“You know you shouldn’t be in this truck,” he said.
“You’re wrong. I shouldn’t be here at all.”
9
Mayhem
The hum of the air conditioner in the counselor cabin broke the silence between Grant and me. I was still on edge from the incident earlier in the day, so the junior counselors had taken over afternoon therapy sessions with our campers. Grant hadn’t wasted much time pulling Erica and Louis from their respective duty shifts. He hadn’t involved Loraine either, something I couldn’t thank him enough for.
“Here,” he said, handing me a bottle of water.
“Thanks.”
I took a long swig, then closed the bottle as Grant took a seat in the oversized chair across from me. He pulled his hat from his head, tossing it on the coffee table between us.
“Where were you headed?” he said after a pause. “Could be wrong, but I don’t think it was somewhere approved.”
“I was just going for a drive,” I said. “I needed to clear my head. Hit something. Hit someone. I couldn’t do that here. Not legally anyway.”
Grant cleared his throat, sitting forward with his hands clasped between his knees. He was more serious than he’d been since I got here. Authoritative. Intimidating.
“Look, I get being pissed off,” he said. “I get mad too, but do you realize what would’ve happened if someone else would’ve seen you in that truck? You would be gone. First flight out. I’d offer to drive you there.”
“Sympathy for the win.”
“I’m not sympathetic when it comes to breaking those kinds of rules. You can hurt someone, or hurt yourself, and there’s no excuse. It’s irresponsible.”
“Well, at least you see me in the same jaded tone as everyone else,” I said. “Irresponsible. Untrustworthy. Unrelatable.”
He shook his head. “I’m the one who brought the truck back and lied to Loraine about checking a tire that seemed low. Despite how I may or may not feel about you as a co-counselor, I’m not lying for you again. I’ve got things riding on this summer, mainly the reputation I’ve earned. I won’t lose that. Even for a girl I may or may not like.”
“You only like me because you’re stuck with me.”
“I like you because you’re real.” He raked a hand through his hair, leaving it poking out in different directions. “And I’m choosing to help you get through this because I’d prefer for you to stick around. Don’t make me regret it.”
“I can’t promise you won’t,” I said, studying him.
“Promise me anyway.” He grabbed his hat from the table and tugged it on as he walked to the door. “You can stay here and cool off as long as you need to. I’ve got the cabin.”
“You don’t have to do everything,” I said, watching him as he opened the door.
“I’m not doing everything,” he said. “I’m just helping.”
He closed the door behind him, shutting off the world and everyone in it. I didn’t deserve him on any level, but he was here anyway. He deserved more.
I reached my cabin just after dinner, changed and ready to finish the day