Twenty One: That Awkward Moment When Everything Falls to Pieces

When I am jolted from my dream in the middle of the night, it occurs to me that I did actually manage to fall asleep.

            This fact is surprising, especially since I’m sure I spent at least two hours tossing and turning in my sleeping bag, whilst nervously waiting for any incoming bugs or snakes that might find their way into my tent, courtesy of Jake and his gang.

            From what I can hear, all is quiet outside. The absence of a high pitched screech must mean that Cindy is still sleeping safely inside my tent next to Savannah. Damn. Now I’m kind of hoping something actually will happen. I’ve gone through all this trouble of uncovering my excellent deceptive and persuasive skills – something has to happen. Even if I have to march over to Jake’s tent and demand he pranks Cindy right now.

            I didn’t go through all this trouble for nothing.

            Suddenly, the sound of rustling outside greets my ears. Oh, God. Is this it? Is this the deciding moment as to who gets a bucket of cockroach-filled slime dumped on their head?

            Please be Cindy. Please be Cindy.

            Moments of silence follow. I lay motionless inside my sleeping bag, my whole body tensed with anticipation. Why can I not hear screaming? The blonde bitch is meant to be covered in some sort of repulsive sticky substance by now. Or at the very least shaved bald. Freaking hell, Jake, is it too much to ask? You’ve done it to me enough times. Just one more.

            More rustling. Is someone sleeping in a pile of leaves, or something? Now… whispers. Giggles. But that doesn’t sound like Jake’s voice. No, this one sounds predominantly female.

            Unless Siobhan is the newest recruit of Jake’s crew, I don’t think this has anything to do with them.

            So what’s going on?!

            I push the blankets off me and crawl over to the flaps of the tent. If only sticking my head out wasn’t so obvious… instead, I have to settle for turning my ear as closely to the entrance as possible, in the hope of catching a part of any conversation happening outside.

            Still nothing. The only noises that reach my ear are more muffled whispers, and the remnants of a stifled giggle. Whoever’s out there must be witnessing something utterly hilarious for them to be making this kind of racket (okay, so maybe it’s not exactly a racket, but you know what I mean). This, in turn, only increases my curiosity.

            I need to find out what’s going on.

            Pulling on the pair of pink Ugg slippers that just happen to be lying next to me, I slowly unzip the tent flaps, trying to make the least amount of noise possible. Despite the sound probably being no more than twenty decibels in reality, the noise of the zip being dragged down sounds deathly loud in the quiet camp. I’m pretty sure the residents of nearby tents will be woken by it; this is why I’m half expecting there to be a crowd of people outside my own tent, demanding a reason for their rude awakening.

            Thankfully, there isn’t.

            I climb out into the open gingerly. Whoever thought it was cold inside the tent (me) should be thankful that they’re not out here. The bitter wind nips at my skin immediately, despite it being the middle of summer. Suddenly, my extensive collection of bedroom accessories seems like the best idea I’ve had in a while. People should really start recognizing my intelligence when it comes to situations like these. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not nearly appreciated enough in my society.

            Obviously.

            Upon a quick survey of the camp area, nothing unusual catches my attention. The fire, which had been roaring healthily just a few hours ago, has now diminished into a warm pile of half-burnt wood, giving off close to no light at all. Everything is still, an absolute wonder in comparison to the usual chaos of camp. I’m half expecting a dozen kids to appear out of nowhere, running around wildly and screaming at the top of their voices, purely because I can’t get used to the silence that has settled between the tents.

            Then I hear the rustling again, cut off abruptly by a short bark of laughter that echoes around the trees.

            Its source is somewhere over in the opposite direction, away from the center of camp. Tentatively, I take a step forward, trying my best to keep the sound my foot makes to a minimum. When I deem the noise quiet enough, another step follows. Then another, and another, until I have made it halfway across camp.

            “Blake!”

            The voice is high pitched and hushed, forced out between the effort of suppressing laughter. I freeze immediately, not even daring to turn my head. What’s going on? My mind is racing, and the only thing I can think of is the awkwardness when I’m caught snooping on someone else’s conversation.

            “Shush,” a deeper voice sounds, in a mildly flirtatious tone, “someone’s going to hear us.”

            The female voice giggles hysterically. For God’s sake, do they really have to keep doing that? I take another few steps forward, until I am even closer to the source of the noise.

            I have to clasp my hand over my mouth quickly to prevent myself from gasping too loudly. The last thing I want is to attract attention to myself at this moment in time. I freeze on the spot, unable to do anything but stare at the sight that stands in front of my eyes.

            Cindy, pressed closely against Blake’s body, her arms linked around the back of his neck, gently playing with his hair and fingering the collar of his t-shirt seductively. Her own top is buttoned unnaturally low, verging on the brink of indecency.

            Not that Blake was complaining.

            His hands are on her waist, but one of them is sliding gradually downwards, toying with the idea of touching her butt. Then, he takes the plunge, going for it anyway, until a squeak of surprise leaves Cindy’s lips.

            “Blake!” she hisses.

            Yeah, like she didn’t actually enjoy that, the slut.

            “I can’t help it…” Blake says, not removing his hand. “You’re just too hot.”

            “Oh, really?” Cindy asks, challengingly. “Well, what about Bailey?”

            At this point, my heart (which was previously in my throat) freefalls to the bottom of my stomach. Why am I even here? The whole thing is just painful to watch… and Blake’s next sentence only increases that pain even more.

            “What about Bailey? She’s not even hot… I only played around with her ‘cause I was bored.”

            I feel like everything’s spinning. I swear I’m about to puke, or cry, or scream… or maybe all three at once. The overwhelming feeling to rush forward and pull the two of them apart whilst screaming as loud as I possibly can is washing over me, but my feet are frozen to the spot, rendering me completely unable to move. What is happening? Is this a dream? If it is, it’s got to be a nightmare. Cindy just laughs in response to Blake’s heartbreaking sentence, and before I’m even aware of it, the two of them are fully engaged in a heavy make out session.

            Which only increases my need to vomit even more.

            I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I’ve never been in this situation before.

            What’s considered a normal reaction when it feels like your heart is being ripped into two separate pieces?

            I do the only seemingly reasonable thing: I run.

            I get the hell out of there, as far away as possible. My feet are pounding on the woodland floor, probably making enough noise to alert Cindy and Blake of my whereabouts. I’m not even heading back to the camp; my head is reeling too greatly for me to make any sense of direction. Running is all my brain can process at the minute. Alongside Blake’s words, which seem to be stuck on repeat in my head.

            “What about Bailey? She’s not even hot… I only played around with her ‘cause I was bored.”

            I should’ve known. Blake said himself that our relationship would never be anything serious, and I was stupid enough to think that would be okay. Of course I couldn’t cope with seeing him kissing someone else. No matter what he labeled it as, I always saw a relationship.

            I couldn’t have been more wrong.

            Humiliation, despair, downright pain. You know, just to name a few of the emotions pumping through my veins at the moment. When people said their heart had been broken after the end of a relationship, I always thought they had been overreacting – just using this as an excuse to justify them staying in bed all day and eating ice cream by the truckload. How could one person’s bad choices cause you physical pain? It surely just wasn’t possible; the mind was responsible for however messed up you may be feeling inside.

            It’s biologically impossible for your heart to split into two pieces, but my own is doing a freaking good job of acting like it.

            I’ve completely lost all sense of timekeeping, but after a lengthy period of running, the arrangement of trees begins to get sparser and I start to recognize my surroundings a lot more. It’s only when I hurtle down the path of the cabin area and tear in the door of Forte that I realize tears are streaming down my face. With each second, a new one forms in my eyes, obscuring my vision until the mass of water becomes so great that it rolls smoothly down my cheek.

            How can I have had my first heartbreak without a relationship?

            Somehow it’s happened.

            And the place where my admiration for Blake used to lie is now occupied by anger. Hatred. How could I have thought so much of him? Arrogant and selfish are the only two words that spring to mind when his name is mentioned. The gorgeous, carefree guy that I had met a few weeks ago had vanished before my eyes, replaced by a cold shell of heartlessness.

            I have to leave.

            As the possibility crosses my mind for the first time, it becomes immediately clear. This is what I have to do. There is no way I can stay for another three weeks in this place, forcing a brave mask on a face that so desperately wants to crumble and cry.

            I’ve been a mere toy in a game, used only to relieve a spot of boredom.

            That’s really doing wonders for my self esteem.

            Approximately two minutes later, when I’m in the process of stuffing the entirety of my belongings into my case, a voice sounds in the empty cabin.

            “Bailey?”

            Half of me is expecting it to be Blake, coming to apologize profusely and beg for my forgiveness.

            It’s not. It’s Tom.

            “Are you in here?”

            His footsteps are approaching, and it’s only a couple of seconds before he appears in the door frame, wearing pajamas and a sympathetic expression.

            “I don’t want to talk,” I choke out, my voice barely comprehensible under the sob that I’m holding back.

            My hands move back to the pile of clothes on my bed, shoving them away carelessly so I don’t have to continue the painful conversation with Tom. I’m shaking; the t-shirt I am holding is trembling under my grip as I try to shove it hastily back into my case.

            “Bailey...” he says. The volume of his voice indicates that he is closer now, and out of the corner of my eye I can see him approaching me.

            “Please, Tom,” I say. “I just need to leave. I’m sorry, but... I can’t cope...”

            “Bailey, no,” comes his reply. Suddenly, his hands grip my arms and he twists me around, forcing me to face him. Immediately, my gaze drops to the floorboards beneath our feet, and I’m rapidly blinking away yet another mass of tears building behind my lids. “You can’t leave because of this.”

            “Yes, I can. It’s too much, Tom. I can’t cope with being here any longer.”

            “Please,” he says, the tone of sincerity in his voice startling me slightly. “You can’t leave because of my brother. This is just what he does. You have to understand that he’s not worth it. Don’t give up because of him.”

            “How did you even know I came back here?”

            “I woke up just as Blake was coming back. He told me that he saw you sprinting off in the opposite direction, but he didn’t know why. So I came after you... but I kind of figured why...”

            “I’m still going,” I say, in the firmest voice I can manage. As much as I want to sound confident and assured, the second word catches in my raw throat and I end up sounding completely pathetic. Nothing new there, then. “Whatever you say... I have to leave.”

            “You can’t.”

            I wonder if it’s my imagination, but it sounds as if Tom’s... upset. Not a patch on the pain I’m feeling, but still. There’s a hint there.

            “Why not?”

            A momentary silence settles in the air, before I feel Tom’s hand under my chin, forcing me to look upwards and make eye contact. His blue eyes (which are extremely similar to the shade of Blake’s) bore into mine, and the intensity of his gaze is so great I feel as if I’m shrinking underneath it. “Because,” he says. His soft hand leaves my chin and resettles on my tear stained cheek.

            What’s going on? What is he doing? I’m not sure what that look means, but I’m not about to interrupt this obviously meaningful moment to ask him.

            “Because I’m in love with you.”

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Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! A lot of you will be happy about this ;) I was just debating whether he could actually be in love with her after such a short time, but I decided it didn't have too much of an effect if he was just like... I like you.

Please don't comment saying they can't be in love with each other yet... they've been spending all day every day together and it's my story :P It doesn't have to be completely realistic. But I'm guessing you are going to be too pre-occupied with freaking out anyway, so it's all good ;)

What are your thoughts? :D Only two chapters left of this story :( My new one doesn't even come close to how much I love this story, so it's kind of depressing. You should still read it anyway, when I upload ;) <3