Diego deadpanned, “Dalton, you nearly cried because you thought a squirrel stole it.”
“The squirrelwas suspicious,” Dalton argued.
Holly laughed—quiet but real—and something warm pushed through the fear coiled inside me.
I chewed one bite, two, forcing my stomach to accept food. “I’m not freaking out.”
Maria raised a brow. “Your hand is literally shaking.”
I looked down. Damn it. It was.
Holly set her mug down. “It’d be weird if youweren’tscared,” she said, voice way gentler than I was prepared for. “Basic is…huge. And brave. And…” Her eyes flicked up to mine. “You’re allowed to feel whatever you feel.”
I swallowed hard. We all stared at her. Because hearinghersay that? Yeah. That hit somewhere I wasn’t armored. “Thanks,” I said quietly. She nodded, cheeks pink like maybe she hadn’t meant to say all that out loud.
Mac clapped me on the back. “We’re proud of you.”
Dalton slapped the other shoulder. Hard. On purpose. “Yeah, but like…don’t die.”
“Dalton,” Maria hissed.
“What?! Someone had to say it!”
I groaned. Underneath the table, Holly’s leg brushed mine.
By noon we were stripping beds, loading bags, folding towels, and pretending this wasn’t the last carefree morning I’d have in a long time. Mac carried the trash to the truck. Maria marched around threatening to disembowel us all because none of us were willing to let her lift anything heavier than a bag of chips. Diego lugged a box of leftover snacks across the deck, grumbling. Dalton sprayed himself with bug repellant like he was painting a fence. Holly was stuffing her bag into the truck, face slightly pinched like she didn’t love the idea of going home either. The air felt thick. Heavy. Like a balloon stretched too tight.
We piled into August’s massive truck. Holly climbed into the back beside me. The first thirty minutes of the drive were quiet—radio humming, Dalton telling some story none of us were listening to, Maria half-asleep on Diego’s shoulder. But every bump, every turn, every shift of the truck had Holly’s leg sliding against mine. By the fourth time, something in me snapped. Fuck it. I reached over and let my fingers brush the back of her hand.
She froze.
I almost pulled away. Almost told myself I’d misread everything. Almost reminded myself she was soft and clean and lake-water sweet and I was…me. Then her fingers curled around mine. She didn’t look at me. Didn’t speak. Just…held on. Tight. Like she needed the contact just as badly as I did. My chest squeezed. Hard. Painful. Perfect. I laced our fingers fully, palm to palm, and her shoulders sagged like she’d been holding her breath all day.
Outside the window, the lake disappeared behind the pine trees. The cabin faded from view. And time kept moving—pulling me toward the thing I’d chosen, and away from the girl I was terrified to leave. But she didn’t let go. Not once. Not even when we turned onto the road that led home. The ride back into town felt shorter than the drive out, which was bullshit because the miles were the same. It was everything else that had changed.
By the time we rolled into Holly’s neighborhood, the sun was low, throwing long shadows from all the perfect, expensive houses with their perfect, expensive lawns. The truck looked wrong here. Too loud. Too rough around the edges. Kind of like me. Mac pulled into the McCarthy driveway. Dalton leaned forward between the seats. “All right, princess. You and Maria get out before your HOA fines us just for existing.”
“Shut up,” Holly muttered, but there wasn’t much heat in it. Maria unbuckled slowly, one hand cradling her stomach. She hesitated, then twisted to look at us.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “For…all of it.”
Dalton pressed his palm to his chest. “I am always available for water fights and emotional support.”
Diego smiled, eyes warm. “Anytime, Maria.”
Holly’s fingers tightened around mine once more, shielded by her duffel and the angle of our bodies. No one had said anything, but I knew Mac had noticed. He noticed everything. She finally pulled her hand free, slow like the separation cost her something, then reached for the door handle.
“Bye,” she said, almost too quickly. “Thanks for not letting Dalton drown anyone.”
“No promises next time,” I said.
She rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched. Then she and Maria climbed out. Her parents’ porch light clicked on automatically, casting them in a warm halo as they walked upthe steps. Holly turned just before they went inside. Her gaze found mine through the windshield. For a second, everything else went quiet. She lifted her hand in a small wave. I dipped my chin. That was it. Mac pulled away. Diego and I were dropped off next, two sagging trailers at the edge of the park.
“Diego hopped out, banging the door shut behind him. “Later, man.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Later.”
Mac met my eyes in the side mirror. “You call if you need anything this week. You hear me?”
