I sit up and stretch, rolling out my neck from the weird way I slept. Somehow, I stayed on my chunk of space. At least I hope I did. If I find out later that I drooled all over Shane or his pillow I’ll die of embarrassment.
After a quick shower, I throw on the first pair of clothes I can find. For now, I need to put Shane out of my head and go find my best friend. I don’t know what’s gotten into her, but I’m certain her friendship with Jason and Dax won’t end well. Shane is right, they’re both trouble. They proved that last night and the fact that they roped Scar into their shenanigans worries me.
Everyone is in the dining room, filling the tight space with laughter and loud chatter. I forgot to set my alarm and Shane left without waking me, so I’m the last one here. As long as Mr. River doesn’t realize I’m tardy, I should be in the clear. After a quick sweep of the room, I don’t find him scowling and ready to pounce. That small win releases the tension knotting in my shoulders. I don’t need another reason for him to send me packing.
I skip the food line and find Scarlett sitting alone at her normal table. “Hey.” I plop down across from her, but she doesn’t so much as raise her head. “So last night was—”
“Stupid.” She stabs a chunk of scrambled egg and moves it around in the residual goopy syrup pooling in the center of the plate. “It started out as a joke. Jason and Dax had these masks they said got mixed in with their clothes.” She leans back, meeting my gaze. “Dax started saying how funny it would be to scare everyone tomorrow at the bonfire. Jason jumped in and said we should do a test run. It was dumb. I’m sorry.”
“Someone could have gotten hurt.” I think back to Shane’s bloody nose. It won’t surprise me if he woke up with two vicious black eyes this morning. “Someone did get hurt. These kids aren’t even teens yet. Most of them have never been away from home before and you think it’s a wonderful idea to terrorize them?”
“No, I don’t. I just…got caught up. Maybe I need to be exiled to your cabin or something.”
The very idea of her bunking with Shane does something weird to my stomach. I’m not sure if it’s the idea of Scarlett in the same room as Shane or the fact that it wouldn’t be just the two of us anymore, but whatever it is doesn’t sit well.
“You need to stay away from those two. Speaking of…” I glance around the room but I don’t see them anywhere. Shane is missing too.
“They’re with Mr. River,” she says, reading my thoughts.
“Where’s Shane?”
She shrugs and pushes her plate away. “I guess he’s ratting them out.”
My spine stiffens at the tone of her voice. “Hey, don’t blame Shane. He’s not the one who played psycho killer.”
“Yeah, well, he’s never liked them. I’m sure he’s doing whatever it takes to kick them out.”
“And that would be a bad thing? Come on, they don’t want to be up here for any other reason than to screw off without parental supervision.”
Scarlett sighs and I see the exact moment when she stops being so stubborn. “I guess you’re right.”
“I’m always right.” This gets a smile out of her so I stand, feeling calmer now that we’re on the same page again. “I’m going to grab a protein bar from my bag since I’m sure the only thing left up there is dry toast and cold eggs. What task are you assigned today?”
“Kayaking. But Jason is my partner, so I don’t know if that’s still the plan.”
“I’m sure they won’t get kicked out as long as they straighten up.” I squeeze her hand and step over the bench seat. “Meet me out front in five.”
I dodge a few kids on my way to the door. I feel kinda bad for not telling her everything going on between Shane and me. The problem is I’m not sure what, if anything, is going on. It feels as if I made our interactions out to be something more than they are.
As I make my way outside, I see Shane slamming Mr. River’s door behind him and stomping off toward our cabin. Jason and Dax are nowhere to be seen, but his obvious irritation must be about them.
Kids file outside and head toward their assigned activity as I jog across the dirt road. It’s still early morning, but I can tell it’s going to be sweltering. Wouldn’t hurt to slather on another thick layer of sunblock since I’m heading to the cabin. Pale skin plus spending all day in the sun can cause some nasty burns if I’m not careful. Yup. Even growing up in California I never adjusted to the climate. I’m that person on the beach you wonder how they haven’t burst into flames.
The door to our cabin is wide open and even from the front steps, I can hear Shane tossing stuff around. It sounds as if the Tasmanian devil is throwing a fit.
When I step inside, he doesn’t turn in my direction. At his feet is his blue duffel with clothes hanging out. He’s swiping the contents of his nightstand into the bag when I clear my throat.
“What are you doing?” I mean, it’s a stupid question. Clearly he’s packing, but I have to ask because there is a kernel of fear stemming from the thought I pushed things too far last night with sleeping in his bed. Now he’s running so he doesn’t have to crush me again.
“What does it look like?” He still doesn’t glance my way as he stomps over to the bathroom and collects the few items he stores in there.
“But why are you packing?”
“Why don’t you ask your friends?”
“I’m sorry?” Okay, now I’m really confused. “Slow down. What is going on?” I catch his arm as he tries to maneuver past me, and he meets my gaze.
“I’ve been kicked out.” Anger swims in the cool blue color of his eyes, highlighted by the deep purple of the skin below. If I’m not mistaken, some of that anger is directed at me.
“What happened?”
He stops what he’s doing, dropping his toiletries onto the bed where they clatter against each other. “I’ve been accused of theft.”
I reel back because theft and Shane do not belong in the same sentence. “What? Who the hell would accuse you of that?”
“Who do you think?” He runs an aggravated hand through his hair. “Mr. River noticed some money missing and one of my gloves under his desk.”
“That makes no sense…” My mind almost breaks itself as it replays last night. There were three other people in our room, two of whom would have every motive to do something this malicious. Deep down I know Shane would never steal. He’s made it clear how much he loves this place.
“Dax and Jason,” I blurt out the second their faces pop into my head. They’ve made their dislike for Shane clear. After last night, they would have every reason to set him up.
Shane’s spine stiffens, and he glares down at me. “Yeah, I kinda figured that one out. Problem is, there’s no one to back me up.”
“I’ll back you up.” I take his hand in mine and tug him toward the door. “You were here all night. With me. They could have taken one of your gloves when we weren’t looking. This is just a stupid misunderstanding.”
When I reach the threshold of the door, Shane breaks my grasp and dismisses me with a wave. “Let it go, Lyla. It’s better this way. I need to go home and…clear my head.”