The first few songs are easy, as the radio cycles through the Top 40 and popular hip-hop stations. Chase keeps count of the songs on his fingers, nodding his head along to some of them. I hesitate slightly when we reach the oldies and hard rock stations, but I still manage to string the lyrics together before the radio switches. I’ve gotten all eight songs right so far, and I smirk over at Chase, meeting the amusement in his eyes.
We lose reception as we drive farther into the mountain, causing the radio to cycle back to the beginning. “I don’t know this one…” I say, shaking my head at the fuzzy Mariachi song crackling through the speakers. He smiles and I smile back, finding myself enjoying his company despite the silly bet we have going on.
“Okay. Last song, and then you get to hand over your number,” he teases, rubbing his hands together. The radio settles on the final station, and by some miracle, it’s landed back on R&B. I turn, animatedly serenading him in triumph as he strokesthe hair on his face. “Ugh, I was so close!” He hangs his head in defeat, shoulders shaking from his laugh.
“Told you.” I laugh back, turning off the highway onto the mountain road. The sun crests the horizon ahead of us, and I reach over to nudge his shoulder. “Look at the sunrise,” I say, pointing to the muted yellow-gold breaking through the pink and periwinkle tinted dawn. “The sunrise is another one of my favorites. Now you know two things about me…”
Chase looks from the sky to me and takes a deep breath. “Beautiful,” he says, looking right into my eyes. And as much as I want to believe he’s talking about the horizon, I know, deep down, he isn’t.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHASE
“Are you two dating?” Harper, a thirteen-year-old with braces, asks from across the table. She’s looking between Kayla and me like we’re a math problem to be solved. And maybe we are. I don’t know what’s happening, but something has shifted between us this last week at camp. Our other campers—Jack, Cameron, and Sarah—sit across from us, chatting away.
With a wink and a smile, I say, “Not ye?—”
“No.” Kayla steps on my foot, and I bite back a smirk. “We’re just friends,” Kayla assures her, shaking her head.
“Friends, huh?” I question, raising my brows in mock surprise. “That’s new. I’ll take it!”
Kayla rolls her eyes, knocking into my shoulder. We’re sitting close enough that our knees bump occasionally, and the brush of her arm on mine sends tiny jolts through my skin. We’ve landed in some kind of valley where we’re past the acquaintance stage, but not quite more.It’s a fragile friendship. She knows where I stand, and she hasn’t kept her distance like she was doing before. But her cool, calm, collectedness has me floundering sometimes. I don’t think I’ve ever had to work this hard to convince a girl to give me the time of day.
Outside,damp earth spreads under my hiking boots, not quite dry from the drizzle of rain last night. We have one last hike with our campers before they load the bus and go home.
“Alright, guys, this hike isn’t very long,” Kayla announces from the trail opening. “But with the rain last night, the path will be a little more slick than normal. Please, watch your step. We don’t want anyone going to the infirmary or worse.”
She takes the lead, and we sandwich the campers between us, hiking our way up the spongy path. Bright green trees covered with moss flank the trail. I look up in time to watch Kayla crest the hill, the morning sun casting an ethereal glow over her. It triggers the memory I have of her basking in the sun weeks ago. Just like then, I’m having a hard time looking away. Jack stumbles in front of me, snapping me out of my reverie. “You okay?” I ask, grabbing his shoulder.
“Yeah, just got distracted…” His voice trails. I follow his gaze to Sarah, who stands next to Kayla in the sunlight. They slap hands and celebrate, acknowledging the feat of climbing up the steep hill.
“I know the feeling…” I say wistfully.
We reach the waterfall in record time, and after teaching the campers how to build shelter and craft fires, it’s time to head back. The sun has dried up the trail some, but slick spots still surprise us as we slowly wind our way down the hill. The clearing behind the cabins comes into view, and before I know what’s happening, Harper has slipped, sliding into Sarah, who launches at Kayla’s back. Kayla yelps, trying to catch herself, and her head hits the side of a lichen-covered log as she goes down. How it happens so quickly and in slow motion baffles me as I watch from the back of the trail, unable to do anything.
I leap around the boys, quickly assessing which of the threegirls needs attending to first. Harper’s in shock, standing frozen as she stares ahead. Sarah sits in the mud, holding her knee to her chest, blood trickling down to her ankle. Kayla isn’t moving, her body splayed face down on the ground.
“Jack, Cameron, find Claire,” I shout over my shoulder. “Tell her we have a camper and a counselor hurt.Run!”They take off in between the cabins toward the main building as I slip and slide over to Kayla. She’s breathing, and quiet moans slip past her lips, but her eyes stay closed. A gash dribbles bright red above her eyebrow. “Kayla…” I shake her leg, attempting to wake her up, then carefully turn her over to rest on her back.
“Sarah, are you okay?” I call over to her, shaking Kayla’s leg again. She groans but still doesn’t open her eyes. I grab her pack and rip into the small first aid kit, using my teeth to tear open the package of sterile bandages. Applying pressure to her forehead, I wait, stroking her other cheek.
“I think I’m alright, just scratched up,” Sarah answers, voice shaking. “Is Kayla okay?”
God, I hope so. “I’m not sure yet,” I reply honestly, eyes scanning over Kayla for any other injuries. “Harper, you okay?”
She doesn’t answer.
“Harper?”
I look up to see her staring at the scene, her eyes wide as she shakes her head back and forth. “I didn’t mean to,” she whispers repeatedly.
Claire and Samson come running from the building, first aid supplies in hand. Samson checks on the campers, guiding Harper to a rock before attending to Sarah.
“We need to get her inside. Can you lift her?” Claire asks, bending next to us and lifting the gauze to check Kayla’s wound.
“Yeah, I just don’t want to hurt her.”
Kayla stirs under my hand, her eyes fluttering open. “Wh-why is my face wet?” she asks.
