Chapter Twenty-Eight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the girls were asleep, I changed into my running clothes and headed towards the treehouse. I didn’t see Drew so I went ahead and climbed to the top to wait.

Even in the dark, the camp looked so amazing. Lights were off in the cabins but the security lights cast a faint glow of the area and reflected off the lake. The water rippled thanks to a slight breeze and fireflies flickered along the area, giving me my own private performance. I felt at peace for the first time in a long time.

That peace was broken a few minutes later when Christy and Keaton appeared down below. They were walking quietly and I watched them kiss passionately before they turned to head in opposite directions. As he was walking away, Keaton caught sight of me and smiled.

I waved to him and watched as he headed towards the treehouse. He disappeared from sight only to reappear next to me thirty seconds later.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked as he sat next to where I was dangling my feet over the edge. I turned my head and smiled at him.

“Of course not. I’m just soaking in a few final minutes before everything changes tomorrow.”

He sighed and a slight smile appeared on his lips as he stared out at the lake. “I know what you mean. Even though I’m up here a lot, it’s just not the same without campers.”

“Exactly.” I glanced back out to the camp. “You and Christy seem close.”

“I guess.” He shrugged slightly. “She’s great and all but there are a lot of miles between Georgia and Colorado. The same could be said for you. You and Drew are serious then?”

“We are. We’re talking about life after camp. We’re five hours apart but…”

As I trailed off, Keaton nodded and ran his hand through his long hair. “And the Kira thing doesn’t bother you at all?”

“Kira thing?” I furrowed my brow and shook my head. “What Kira thing?”

“Them. The two of them. Their friendship. Their relationship.” He watched my face as he spoke and then sighed. “You didn’t know. He told me he was going to tell you.”

I stared at him for a moment as my heart started pounding in my chest. “What are you talking about?”

“Drew and Kira were a thing for years, Shaylee.” Keaton pulled out his phone and started swiping through photos on the camp’s website.

“No.” I shook my head and scoffed. “My sister never mentioned Drew. Besides, she was really involved with-”

“AJ,” Keaton finished as he showed me a picture. It was of my sister and I knew it was her last summer at Camp Holcomb because her hair was only down to her chin from where it’d been growing out after the chemo. She was in the arms of a young kid who was around sixteen, too. He was tall, thin, and had on a pair of black framed glasses. I recognized him immediately from my camp days but that recognition suddenly went beyond five years before. He may have been young and gangly but the smile and turquoise eyes were the same.

It was Drew.

“What?”

Keaton nodded and put his phone away. “Andrew Moore, Shay. Went by AJ as a kid, Drew as an adult. I thought you knew. That’s what I’ve been trying to talk to you about.”

I felt like I was going to be sick. I didn’t say anything else as I stood from the ledge and moved to the slide. I didn’t even bother sitting down as I gripped the sides and crouched so I could run down as fast as possible. I didn’t stop running as I dashed to Cabin Seven where I knew Drew would be. AJ. Whoever he was.

AJ. I never knew his last name but Kira had spoken about AJ all of the time. Hell, I knew AJ thanks to her. They were best friends at camp and she eventually fell in love with him. He was her first everything. Everything. And I’d fallen in love with him, not knowing who he was, but he knew me. He had to.

He and I hadn’t really spent that much time together while we’d been at camp together thanks to our age difference. But, as if Keaton had unlocked them, memories of AJ flooded my mind. Those turquoise eyes that I could easily get lost in were familiar and for a good reason.

The first week of camp, when Kira had finally coaxed me into being social beyond her, AJ had been there at the treehouse. He’d been the one to teach me to zip-line. He’d been the person who’d flanked my other side when I went to my first end of week campfire, helping me construct my s’more. He’d just been there, been present.

He did cheer for me during my first karaoke stint. He had laughed at movies when I’d chosen to sit with my sister. He’d continued to help me with the campfire snacks more times than I could count. Hell, he’d even danced with me at my first ball, the last Kira had attended.

AJ had been present in my camp experience and I’d never even realized that he and Drew were the same person. He never told me.

I pushed open the counselor door to Cabin Seven, not bothering to knock and not caring if anyone was asleep. Jordan popped up from his bed instantly. Surprised lined his face and he shook his head.

“Are you okay?”

“Where is he, Jordan?” I glanced around and he pointed to the bathroom.

“Changing. I thought he was coming to run with you?”

I stared at the closed door for a moment and shook my head. I was torn between knocking it down and running far away. I chose the latter. I didn’t say another word to Jordan as I walked back outside.

I ran to the lake and didn’t stop until I was on the east side. I walked down the old dock and wrapped my arms around my knees when I sat down. I don’t know how long I sat there until I heard running feet approach as Drew called my name, his voice frantic. I didn’t bother to turn when his feet slammed against the old dock and he kneeled next to me.

“Shaylee? What’s wrong?”

I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat as I turned my face to look at him.

“I don’t know, AJ. What do you think is wrong?”

His eyes closed and his head dropped instantly. “I was going to tell you. I tried, Shay, I really did.”

“Yeah? You should have tried harder! Nine fucking weeks have gone by and you’ve lied to me every single day.” I shook my head and looked away from him. “You know what I realized while I sat here? I realized that you showed me this spot. Remember?” He didn’t answer but I kept talking. “You showed me this spot. I tried to have sex with you here. And now I realize… This is the very spot where you had sex with my sister. Where you took her virginity.”

“How did you know that?” Drew’s voice was a whisper and I finally turned back to look at him. His face was obviously pale, even in the dim moonlight, and he wore a pained expression.

“She told me. She told me everything about you, AJ. Everything. Your first kiss, when she first fell in love with you, how you two would sneak out after lights out, the first time you had sex, the letters you would write in the off season. Everything.” I reached up and angrily wiped a tear from my cheek. “I’m so stupid. I don’t know how I didn’t realize it earlier. No wonder you latched onto me immediately. I look just like her.”

“No, Shaylee.” Drew’s hand touched my face and I flinched away from him. “No. You and me… We have nothing to do with Kira.”

I moved to my feet and watched as Drew straightened up himself. I just stared at his handsome face for a moment and my heart crumbled.

“You chased me. You made me fall in love with you. You lied to me.”

Drew shook his head as a look of devastation crossed his face. “Shaylee. I love you. I loved Kira but not like I love you. Not even close. She was my best friend but you’re so much more.”

“You knew it was me right away, didn’t you? That was why you fucked with me so much.”

“Shay…” He rubbed his chest and nodded before looking anywhere other than my face. “I saw you in Atlanta while you were waiting for the connecting flight. Howard and May had told me you were coming but when I realized it was you in the airport, I couldn’t believe it.”

He chuckled but it didn’t hold any humor. “We boarded before I could talk to you and when we landed, I honestly thought you’d recognize me. I thought we’d fall right back into friendship but you hated me instantly. I’ll admit that it was fun to tease you, Shay, but I always planned on telling you. I just wanted to get back in your good graces before I did. By the time we got to that point, weeks had passed and I was so scared to tell you. Scared to lose you.”

I wiped another tear and folded my arms across my chest. “Well, congratulations. You and me? There is no you and me. I need you to leave me alone.”

“Don’t do that, babe.” Drew reached for me and I stepped away.

“I’m not your babe. I’m not your girlfriend. I’m not your friend. I’m just Kira’s younger sister.”

I turned away from him and walked back towards the path. Drew called my name several times and I could hear him behind me but I broke into a run as soon as I hit the trail. I made my legs move at a grueling pace and managed the mile and a half run in less than ten minutes.

I cried silently in the shower as I stood under the spray. When I couldn’t cry anymore, I got out and went to bed. I didn’t fall right to sleep, though. I laid there and replayed the summer in my mind, searching for the moments with Andrew Moore that could have alerted me to the truth.

Yeah, I remembered a few times when he tried to tell me something but the summer was full of opportunities. I didn’t understand why no one but Keaton insisted that I know the truth. Howard and May obviously knew who he was and knew his history but they hadn’t enlightened me. Instead, they’d pushed us together.

The betrayal stung from all directions. It was well into the night before I finally fell asleep.