Home > Beneath a Summer Sky(2)

Beneath a Summer Sky(2)
Author: A.R. Perry

“Here you go.” Shane unlocks the door and nudges it open. “This is where the female staff stay. It’s self-explanatory. Beds.” He points to the five sets of brown rickety bunk beds. “Bathroom and shower are in the back.”

“Thank you so much.” Scarlett takes her bag from his hand and bats her eyelashes, which at the moment are coated in a perfect layer of black mascara, making her doe eyes appear bigger.

Much like Shane, I’ve seen Scarlett work her magic. She’s notorious for dating around, her three-date rule firmly in place, yet guys still line up to take her out even when they understand it’s going nowhere.

Shane clears his throat, his gaze passing over me before settling on the silver number one above the door.

Without another word he walks away, leaving Scarlett and me standing on the front steps. A few seconds later the door to his cabin slams shut.

“Uh, what the hell was his problem?” Scarlett pouts her pink lower lip.

I run a hand down my braid and shake my head. Guess this isn’t the best time to tell her I used to know him. Judging by his demeanor, he’d rather pretend I’m a stranger. Or bury me somewhere in the woods.

“No clue. Maybe a mosquito bit him in an itchy place.”

Scarlett busts out laughing as we grab our bags. “I’ll scratch it for him. All he has to do is ask.”

“Gross.” I shove her and shoulder my bag.

Between the two of them, this is going to make for a very long summer.

 

 

So, I didn’t handle the first meeting with Lyla well. In fact, on a scale from one to fail, it was an utter disaster. The worst part is there is no excuse. I was well aware she was coming. Early this morning I spotted her name on Mr. River’s roster, which hadn’t given me much time to prepare. Not with how the man loved to talk.

The transfer application crinkles in my hands as I lean against the wooden headboard to what will be my uncomfortable bed for the next three weeks. This application is what I should focus on. It needs to be in the mail no later than tomorrow if I hope to secure a spot at UCLA in the fall.

Instead, I’m sitting here obsessing over every second, every minute detail of our interaction. Because yeah, that had not gone well, to say the least.

Epic fail comes to mind.

I rub a fist into my eye until I see stars and smack my head against the headboard, but it does nothing to block out the expression on her face. The hurt. The sadness. She was never very good at hiding her emotions.

And I did that.

I hurt her again.

God, I suck.

All I wanted was to protect myself. To make sure I survived the summer. Is that so bad? But the way I handled the situation…or didn’t handle it, made things worse. I seized up, and by the time I came to, the damage was done.

No clue how I let Mr. River talk me into another summer. Last year I told him that was it. I was too old to be chasing after twelve-year-olds for three weeks. At the time he agreed, then two weeks ago I got a call that a counselor had to drop out due to mono.

Guess I should be thankful he’s not here spreading it to the rest of the staff. I’ve seen the way some counselors act when they think no one is watching. God, I can only hope Lyla hasn’t turned out like that because I can’t handle watching her with some other guy. With the way her mom had her pinned beneath her thumb though, I wouldn’t be surprise if she rebelled.

I groan and toss the papers on the red-checkered quilt.

No amount of rereading the questions will make the information stick. Not until I make up with Lyla. But I have no clue how to do that and keep a distance. This is senior year all over. I hurt her when I cut her out, but I didn’t have much of a choice.

That’s why I jumped at the offer to attend Texas Tech. The plan was always to head off to UCLA with Jay, but then everything went down the crapper and I needed space. Literally.

Lots and lots of space. Several states to be exact. Hell, at the time I would have taken continents.

If my mom hadn’t fallen ill, I would have stayed away too, but now she needs me. And I need to focus on finishing these forms so I can make sure I’ll be here for her.

I gather them up right as the door bangs open and two guys rush inside. They’re shouting and making a crazy racket. Enough to ruin my concentration. Or the shred of it I had left.

From the looks of it peace isn’t something I’ll get this summer.

“Did you see the redhead?” One of the guys bites a knuckle and tosses a camo bag on the bed across from mine. “At first I was pissed my mom forced me to come this year but now…now I’m thinking it will all be worth it.”

The shorter of the duo flops back onto the bed next to his friend and laughs, but it comes out as a snort. “Screw the redhead—”

“Oh, I plan on it.”

He laughs again and sits up. “That blonde had curves I would love to get my hands on.” He makes a crude gesture with his hand while thrusting his hips. Heat rushes through every limb, leaving me shaking.

The application crumples in my tight fist.

There are only two girls up here. And I will end up in jail for murder before I let either of these tools get close to Lyla or her friend.

I clear my throat and both sets of eyes swing my way. The guy on the bed grins and tips his chin in a friendly greeting. In turn, I glare. These two will learn really quick who runs this place.

“Sup?” The guy standing takes a step toward me, his fist in the air waiting for me to bump it. “I’m Dax. That crude piece of crap on the bed is Jason.”

Still burning with anger, my gaze flicks to his waiting fist, then with a slow blink I focus on his face. From the vibrating anger rushing through my limbs, there’s no way I look friendly. So, either this guy is terrible at reading people or he doesn’t care.

There’s an interminable stretch of silence as his arm lowers to his side before he clears his throat. “Yeah, well, we need to grab a few things from the car still so…” He lets his words drift as he turns and smacks Jason’s shoe.

A few seconds later, I’m alone again.

Yet I don’t feel the slightest bit better. These are just two of the six male counselors signed up this year. Sure, five more females are joining, but still, that leaves little space between them and Lyla. And a crap ton of space between me and her.

There might be a slight possibility I need to rethink this whole avoiding her thing.

The bedsprings squeak under me as I stand. The rickety thing has got to be fifty years old, but at least I was smart enough to bring a foam roller this year. Won’t make it perfect, but at least it will be tolerable.

I head out onto the porch, slipping on my sunglasses as the door clicks shut. Not even nine in the morning and already I can tell it will be a scorcher. That’s the only pitfall of having a summer camp in Southern California. No air-conditioning makes for some torturous days when the temperature reaches one hundred.

Don’t even get me started on trying to sleep through it. At least Mr. River listened to me last year and installed a few window units. Now I won’t need to sleep with an ice pack under my back.

I cross the dirt road that separates my cabin from the main house where Mr. River stays. The small office and living quarters are connected to the kitchen and dining room. He likes to monitor things and I don’t blame him. Two years ago, a few of the counselors thought it would be funny to break in and steal all the desserts. Yeah, we were short three counselors that summer after that and had a gang of furious preteens.

Hot Books
» House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1)
» A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire
» From Blood and Ash (Blood And Ash #1)
» A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime
» Deviant King (Royal Elite #1)
» Den of Vipers
» House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2)
» The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #
» Sweet Temptation
» The Sweetest Oblivion (Made #1)
» Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels #6)
» Wreck & Ruin
» Steel Princess (Royal Elite #2)
» Twisted Hate (Twisted #3)
» The Play (Briar U Book 3)