Episode 13

When we got to the camp grounds, I immediately went to my tent that I was sharing with Amy. I dumped my stuff outside the tent and stood around awkwardly. Just then, Amy appeared. I quickly pulled Amy by the arm and pushed her into the tent. She yelped in surprise.

"Hey, what's with you?!" Amy demanded, annoyed.

"Amy, just shut up and sit down. I'm freaking out right now." I said as I tried to calm myself. As reality set it, the situation became much more real than I would admit. Amy looked worried. Her eyes looked huge as she sat close to me. I took a deep breath.

"I kissed Trey," I blurted out suddenly. I saw Amy's eyes bulged. She just gaped at me. I looked at her, waiting for her to say something.

"And?" Amy looked at me expectantly, her eyes wide.

"What do you mean, and?" I said, a little uncomfortable with the way Amy was looking at me.

"I mean, you kissed him. So, what happened after that? What did he do? Did he kiss you back?" Amy said, looking at me with wide eyes.

Crap, that was only my second kiss. My first kiss was with Liam. And yeah, I remember THAT kiss..a lot. Suddenly it occurred to me that when I kissed Trey, I felt...err..nervous, I guess. But that's about it. Then I realized that Trey never kissed me back. I felt my face coloured. Oh God, how mortifying.

"Nothing. He did nothing. Oh God...!" I groaned, embarrassed beyond belief.

"You mean, he didn't kiss you back? Oh, Hannah.." Amy said, her eyes full of sympathy.

"Oh God, Amy...What the hell am I doing? How can I face him now?" I said tearfully. Amy just put her arm around my shoulders. She knew how much I liked Trey. I was so ashamed.

"Look, just act normal. Like nothing happened. Don't act embarrassed. That would be even more mortifying. Act like the kiss didn't happen. And just see whether he went with it or he became upset. If he's upset that you're acting like nothing happened, then that's a sure sign that he likes you. If he's following the flow, then I guess you got your answer." Amy said. I pondered on it. She had a point.

So, I took a deep breath and proceeded to act as if I was cool and did not just make a fool of myself kissing a guy who's way out of my league. I walked out of the tent with Amy close beside me. We had to get to dinner. I groaned. Urgh, do we have to go foraging for food?

Thankfully, food was provided. I was happy to see the rows of sloppy joes. Hey, better than eating crap that we cook ourselves in the wilderness and die from food poisoning. But I still couldn't eat a thing. I could muster 2 mouthfuls and that was it.

Trey was nowhere to be seen. I looked around the group.

"I saw lover boy with some brunette near the stream earlier." Dan said suddenly, behind me. I turned to him, feeling pained. Dan didn't know I kissed Trey...yet.

"Well, somehow I shouldn't be surprised, huh?" I said with a scoff.

"Why, what happened?" Dan asked as he sat closer to me. We were sitting a little away from the bonfire, where everybody else were congregating. I felt humiliated all over again. I turned to Dan and told him what happened. He looked a little horrified.

"Oh Hannah, I'm so sorry. I guess he didn't expect it." Dan said as he put his arm around my shoulders. I lay my head on his shoulder and we stayed like that for a while until Dan sighed. I looked towards him.

"What is it? Are you okay?" I asked, worried.

"It's nothing. It's just that Cohen and I broke up. I caught him with his roommate in bed together." Dan said morosely. I sighed and took his hand in mine.

"You know, I think we single gals should forget about guys for a while." I said as I squeezed Dan's hand in mine. Dan smiled sadly and kissed me on the cheek.

"Yeah, easier said than done. Hey, where's Liam? He's usually somewhere in the background, following you like a shadow.." Dan said as he looked around him.

I shrugged. I really don't know where he was. He'd been strangely absent ever since Trey started hanging around me more than usual. I kinda missed him.

Just then, my phone rang. I was in my tent, nursing a bottle of coke. I looked at my phone. I frowned. Hailey?

"Hello? Hailey?" I answered the phone in confusion.

"Hannah, come home. Now. It's dad." My younger sister, Hailey said morosely. I inhaled sharply as Hailey told me what happened. Oh God!

I stumbled out of the tent to find Prof Portman when I ran smack into somebody's back. The person turned around to face me. Liam! I was in a daze and suddenly felt two strong arms holding me still, because apparently I was swaying..

"Hey, Hannah. What's wrong?" Liam asked, concern etched on his face. I looked at him, unable to say anything.

"Hey, you're ok?" Liam asked, his hands grasping my arm gently as he peered at me. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a sob escaped my lips. Liam's eyes widen in surprise.

"It's my dad...he got hit by a car..I gotta see him. I wanna go home. Liam, please...take me home.." I muttered desperately, tears streaming down my face.

"What?! Oh my God. Okay, wait here. Don't go anywhere. I'll take you home, ok?" Liam assured me as he gestured to Amy to watch me. She nodded as she put her arm around my shoulder.

I stared at the window, not really looking at the scenery outside. My mind was messed up. I didn't know what to expect. Hailey had been hysterical on the phone. So, all I heard was her blubbering incoherently. Words like 'dad', hit by a car and come home quick were enough to jolt me to action.

We were in a car driven by one of the camp counsellors who happened to have an errand to run in the city. Once we reached campus, I got out, like on automatic mode. I was unsure where to go. Then I heard Liam spoke to Amy.

"Amy, you follow her to her room and help her pack. I'll come and pick you guys up in an hour, ok? I'll call you when I get here." Amy nodded her head as she held me arm and helped me to my room.

Amy threw some clothes and toiletries in my luggage and made me change clothes. Like a robot, I obeyed her.

Less than an hour later, Liam called and we went down with my luggage. From afar I saw Liam standing outside a luxurious Lexus SUV. He took my luggage from Amy and helped me into the passanger seat. As I sat in the vehicle, I heard Amy telling Liam that she couldn't come with me since her sister who just had a baby is still in confinement and needed Amy to babysit the older kids for the weekend. I totally understand.

Just then, Liam got into the car and started driving. I looked at Liam as he maneuvered the car out of the campus. I was scared. Scared of what's waiting for me at home. And I was so grateful Liam was coming home with me.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***