I zipped open the tent and almost gasped at the sight of the moon – a brilliant crescent glowing in the middle of the sky, stars flickering around it, lighting up the campsite.The sky is so clear.Everly Heath didn’t have the benefits of avoiding all the light pollution from Manchester, so I rarely saw skies like this.Ren probably saw loads on his trip, I thought bitterly, and chastised myself for the thought.I didn’t need to be resentful, because I didn’t care.
Plus, I’d already bitten his head off a few times yesterday and hadn’t liked the sensation of my true feelings coming to the surface.It felt so… vulnerable.
I climbed out of the tent, ignoring the low call of an owl in the distance as I ran to the block of loos.As I left the outbuilding, I heard loud snores coming from Gen and Amy’s tent and made a mental note to find out who that was, so I could take the piss out of them tomorrow.
‘What are you smiling at?’ a voice whispered from next to me, and I let out a short, sharp whisper-scream.My heart pounded, my hand clasped at my chest.
‘Ren.’ I hissed.
Ren was leaning against the block of loos, a smirk on his face.His dark hair looked wild, like he’d run his hands through it in his sleep.He seemed so familiar like this.It brought back all of our childhood sleepovers.Sleepovers that had wandered far too long into our teen years, when they became marred with hormones and yearning andskin. At least for me.Ren had been oblivious to my changing feelings.
He was laughing now, his shoulders shaking.It made him look so handsome it hurt my heart.I’d not allowed myself to look – really look – at him since he’d come home.
‘It’s not funny.’
‘Sorry,’ he whispered back.‘Was a bit funny, though.’
‘What are you doing up?Where’s Peggy?’
‘I heard you wake up.She’s still snoring in the tent.Today knocked her out.’ He paused.‘I just wanted to check you got back to your tent okay.’
He said it frankly, as if he had no intentions or ulterior motives to hide – just frank concern for my well-being.
‘You braved the dark?’ I cocked an eyebrow.
‘I’d brave a lot more for you, Lyds.’
I blushed and glanced away, unable to cope with how my stomach threw around butterflies like confetti.
He doesn’t actually mean that.
‘Well, thanks.’
‘No problem.’ He smiled, then nodded to the sky.‘I’m glad I woke up.Thatis gorgeous.’
‘Yeah, it is, isn’t it?’
We stared up at the sky, scattered with stars, for a moment.
‘Gorgeous,’ he murmured, but he wasn’t staring at the sky now.
He was staring at me.I begged my cheeks not to flush and glanced back at the sky, avoiding the intensity of his gaze.I should have moved back to my tent and stayed away from him.But something about the quiet, the dark and being far from our home made me feel bold.Standing side by side.Pretending we weren’t some sort of adversaries with complicated history.
‘I could get used to this.’ Ren sounded… wistful.
I turned to see his face leaning up to the sky, his eyes closed.His shoulders looked relaxed for the first time in weeks.
‘What, camping trips?’
He shrugged, turning to look at me.‘I guess somewhere quiet.Remote.No cars honking, people meddling.I love our hometown, but sometimes, it can feel a bit…’
‘Much.’
‘Yeah.’
‘I know what you mean.’
Is that why you left?I wanted to ask.So, I used the security blanket of the dark to ask another question I’d been dying to ask since he got back.
