The panic in Haley’s voice is palpable. That, I understand.

What I don’t understand is how Jade seems to relish in destroying me.

Yet, she tilts her head a little with a smirk, and I clench my fists.

She’s just one of those people who wants to watch the world burn, bystanders be damned.

“Liam.” Haley croaks. “Tell me what is going on!”

I take a deep breath, feeling her eyes on me, as well as the eyes of her parents.

And fucking Jack.

Remind me why he’s here again?

“Haley, this happened a long time ago. And I should have told you. But I never did. Your sister and I, we knew each other.”

Haley jumps to her feet and paces back and forth around the fire.

“You two ‘knew’ each other? What the fuck does that mean?”

“We knew each other. We dated.” I continue. “This was a long time ago. When I was in the military. Remember what I told you about being in the military. Well I may have left some things out.”

“You said you had a really bad experience in the military and fell apart. Is that not true?”

“Not exactly.”

Haley leers at me, her eyes burning like the fire. She chugs the rest of her solo cup full of whisky and throws it on the ground. Her parents look on at us, a little stunned. Jade just looks satisfied.

“Not fucking exactly!? Well then tell me, exactly what is going on? Exactly why is Jade saying you used to know her?”

“Because I did.” I say, standing up. “I knew Jade back in the day. We dated.”

When I say those words, Haley’s shoulders sink together, and she looks as though she’s had the life blown out of her.

“You…dated? You two?” She glances at me, then at Jade. “This is a joke, right? Some kind of practical joke?”

Jade smirks. Zack looks at her a little confused, but he doesn’t seem to hold the disdain that Haley does in her facial expression.

“So you fucked my sister. And you were in love with her. And you never told me?!”

“It’s not like that. I wanted to tell you.”

“Oh, okay. So you wanted to tell me?! Why didn’t you?”

I shrug. “I didn’t get the chance.”

She paces back and forth shaking her head. I give her a few seconds, and then try to put a hand on her shoulder.

“Haley, I…”

“Don’t fucking touch me!” She snaps, tears in her eyes. “I can’t do this anymore. I want to believe you, Liam. I want to, about…everything.”

I can feel the satisfied leer of Jade, as well as the judging looks of her parents. And Jack seems to be pretty satisfied, too.

My heart races with adrenaline. Why can’t she see, this was so long ago?

I put my hand on Haley’s back and lead her away from the campfire. I need her to hear what I have to say away from judgmental ears.

“Haley.” I whisper, my panic palpable in my voice. “You’ve got to realize. I wasn’t trying to hurt you by not telling you. I wanted to tell you all along, it’s just that…everything with us happened so fast.”

We stop, a safe distance from the ears of the fire. Pine trees are all around us, the naturalistic surrounding does little to comfort my overall state.

Haley faces me, presses her hand into my chest, and looks me in the eye. “So you were in love with my sister, before me?”

“It’s complicated.” I say. “I was young. I walked in on her…”

“Yes, or no!” She reiterates, raising her voice. “Were you or were you not?”

I nod. “At the time, I was.”

She digs her fingers into my chest, grabbing my t-shirt. Breaking eye contact off with me, she pushes me away.

“Dammit!” She says, shaking her head, teary eyed. “This is all such a fucked up coincidence. Of all the damn mechanics I could meet in the country, I ran into my sister's ex-lover.”

“I know. It’s crazy, it really is. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say how close I’ve come to feel to you in the last few days. Just think, if this is less than a week, what would happen if we stuck together?”

She glances up at me, supreme sadness in her eyes.

“I’m sorry Liam. This all happened like a whirlwind. I didn’t know what to think. But if we were together, I’d always feel like I was your second choice. And I just can’t.”

“Please, just give me a chance. I’ll—“

“Stop. Just stop!” She cuts me off. “This was a fun week. You’re a great lover, Liam. But I can’t be with you.”

She won’t look me in the eye, but I take a step toward her and grip her hip. “You’re just going to throw out the chance of us being together like that? Come on, Dagny.” I say her nickname in a low growl, hoping it will trigger her memories of us. “I…” my voice shakes.

“I fucking love you,” the words tumble out. I can’t hold them in. I’ve never been a beggar--ever--but if that’s what it takes to reason with her, that’s what I’ll do.

“There is no Dagny.” She sniffles, sweeping my hand away from her hip. It’s not lost on me that this is the first time she’s ever physically refuted me. My nostrils flare, and my pulse speeds. “Only Haley.”

My body tenses at the deja vu I’m experiencing.

Jade is destroying my life all over again. Just when I was thinking Haley might be a great one.

“Hey.” Haley’s dad says over our shoulder. “Do you two want to explain what’s going on?”

“No.” Haley mumbles. She flashes a look at me, and for the first time since after we hooked up, her face is tense. The firelight reflects off her eyes.

Her bitch shield is back up, firmly in place. And it’s my fault.

“Haley, just let me ex--”

“Dad.” she cuts me off. “Will you please take Liam to the bus stop? He’s going home early.”

“At this hour, honey? I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“I can hitchhike.” I murmur. “It’s fine.”

Her dad sighs. “Well fine. I’ll take you. I barely had any whisky. You young'uns drank it all.”

My eyes soften and I realize, there’s no plea I can make to Haley that will soften the blow she just took.

As ridiculous as a coincidence this is; I’ve fucked her sister. I’ve loved her sister. I’ve lost her sister.

And she doesn’t want to see me every day, a daily reminder of how everything she’s done in life, seems to come in second.

I can’t argue with the sadness in Haley’s eyes.

It gives me great pain to admit, but it’s my fault.

I go to the tent, grab my bag, and get into the car with Mr. Rosebaum.

After our fishing session, I expect some bonding moment on the way to the Greyhound bus station. But the man is silent.

He drops me off, and I take the one a.m. bus out of town, heading to Blackwell, leaving Haley forever.

As I look out the window of the bus in the middle of the night, I think of her.