Every word from her scraped against me. Every sideways glance made me want to throw something, just to see it break.
It didn’t help that every so often, I’d catch myself looking.
Disgusted with myself, I turned away, picking up rocks and hurling them into the river. Each splash was a shot of adrenaline, cold and clean, but it did nothing to clear the thoughts in my head.
After a while, Shane drifted over, clapped me on the shoulder. “You good, man? You seem… I don’t know. You okay?”
I shrugged him off. “Fine. Just not big on forced group bonding.”
“Ha. I hear that.” He dropped his voice. “Between you and me, Sabrina’s been planning this trip for months. She thinks nature’ll make us all best friends, but I think she’s more nervous that you’ll scare her off.”
I glanced at Amelia. She was quietly talking with Sabrina, voice so soft I couldn’t catch the words.
When we regrouped, Sabrina was full of plans. “Tomorrow, we do rock climbing but tonight? Movie night, pizza, and then maybe some drinks. I want to hear all your wildest stories, Caiden.”
Great. Nothing I wanted more than to sit around telling military stories while Amelia listened in the dark.
But I played along. We all went back to the cabin, took turns with the shower. When Amelia passed by me in the narrow hallway, shoulder brushing my arm, I felt it all the way down to my elbow.
Neither of us said a word.
At dinner, everyone tried to pretend we were normal. I drank two beers, maybe three, just to give my hands something to do.
Sabrina recounted a story about getting lostin the woods as a kid. Amelia actually laughed, a quick, pained sound, and for a second, she looked at me like she wanted me dead.
I smirked into my bottle. She’d have to try harder than that.
Afterwards, when Shane and Sabrina left to go clean up the kitchen, I found myself alone with her in the living room, shadows trembling along the wood-planked floor.
I waited. Knew she’d speak first.
“You’re the same as always,” she said, voice harsh and low. “Still trying to make everyone else as miserable as you are.”
I let the anger rise, boiling up from the old place. “That’s rich, coming from you. Last I checked, you were queen of freezing everyone out. You like it, don’t you? Being the victim.”
Her eyes flared. “Fuck you,” she whispered, but it was a hiss, not a plea.
“Already did,” I shot back, not even sure what I meant anymore.
She recoiled, color draining, but her chin didn’t waver. “Keep it up, Baxter. Just try me.”
I leaned closer, not really meaning to, but unable to stop the gravity. “Baby, you wouldn’t survive ten minutes alone with me.”
Her laugh was hollow as a grave. “Wouldn’t want to.”
But her breath came quick, nostrils flaring. Like she did want something. Like if I reached out, she’d let me touch her throat.
I stood up, looming over her, fists tight at my sides. She didn’t flinch. Respect, in a sick way.
“Let’s get one thing straight,” I said, voice controlled but barely. “We pretend for them. But you start shit with me again, I won’t hold back.”
She nodded, lips pressed thin, and for half a second the hatred between us felt like the only thing alive in the room. Feral as a starving dog.
I walked away, slamming the door behind me.
Outside, the cold bit into my ears, but it was nothing compared to the heat coiling in my spine.
I hated her. I wanted to see her bleed, and I wanted to put my mouth on her skin. I wanted to make her say my fucking name. I wanted to survive this trip without giving anything away. I was wired, on edge, every nerve tuned to her frequency.
