It was July the peak of summer and Nathalie was finally starting to feel okay. She didn't miss Val the way she used to, and she had started journaling again. Her journal and sketchbook had become her new constants, tucked into her bag like companions.
Things were getting better.
She appreciated how neither Lisa nor Danny mentioned Val during their weekly hangouts. Everything felt fresh… and free.
That summer, her family had originally planned to spend August in Italy with their grandparents. But both she and Danny had grown tired of visiting every summer. They adored their grandparents dearly, but in their opinion, Italy had nothing new left to offer. So, they asked to visit in December instead for Christmas. Their grandparents agreed.
Now, the siblings were considering something different. Their state was hosting an interschool summer camp for all district schools. Everyone was talking about it—campfires, tents, hiking, bonding. The theme for the year was EmberTrail.
"I'm not going," Nathalie had said during dinner earlier that week after Danny passed around the flyers.
"Why not?" her brother asked, disappointment flooding his face.
"I hate camps," she said, waving it off. "Why would I pay $800 just to be fed to mosquitoes?"
Danny had sulked the rest of dinner. Convincing Nathalie to do anything she didn't want to do was a full-time job. He'd tried millions of times and failed.
"I want to stay with Mom and Dad," she added with a mouthful of food.
"Nope, that's not going to happen, honey," her dad replied. Nathalie paused, confused, raising a brow.
"Your mom and I are going to Hawaii this summer," he said.
Two confused faces stared back at him.
"I thought you weren't planning any vacation," Danny protested.
"That was the plan," their mom explained. "But after we heard about the camp, we figured—why not? It's the perfect getaway."
"But I'm not going to camp," Nathalie frowned.
"You have to," her dad said. "You can't possibly leave Danny to go alone."
"He's seventeen!" she argued.
"That doesn't matter."
"I hate camps, Dad. And besides—Val will probably show up too." She smirked, knowing how much her family despised him. Playing the Val card always bought her leverage.
Her father sighed and cleared his throat. "Nathalie, you can't keep running away from him. Eventually, you'll need to learn to be around him… even if he is a jerk."
"I don't want to. What if he attacks me again?"
"That's why you'll go with your brother."
"I still don't want to," she sulked.
Danny, on the other hand, was trying not to smile too widely. He really wanted to go—with her. That stupid grin of his annoyed her. Although she adored him, all she wanted to do at that moment was wipe that smug look off his face with a napkin.
She wasn't cut out for outdoor survival. She was a house cat. A soft one.
She had many reasons for not wanting to go to summer camp, but the biggest one? Val. Her healing journey was still fragile. Seeing Val with Dina at school was one thing. But seeing them day and night for two straight weeks would destroy her. Their couple photos already haunted her timeline.
Plus she knew Dina. And Dina could be brutal.
As she dug into her food, clearly annoyed, an idea sparked in her mind.
"Dad, what if I just joined you and Mom to—"
"No!" all three of them interrupted in perfect unison.
They burst into laughter. Nathalie knew then and there that she'd officially run out of escape plans.
Back at school, the buzz about EmberTrail was deafening. Everyone was talking about the fun, the hikes, the bonding.
"There's going to be a ball at the end!" one girl squealed.
"No, dummy. It's a finale party," her friend corrected.
Nathalie rolled her eyes and buried herself in her phone. But then—a text popped up.
Jason.
Jason?
Her heart skipped. Why was he texting her?
It had been nearly two months since she and Val broke up. Jason had been gone the entire time—he'd been in Argentina with his mom since his parents' divorce. He only spent a few months with his dad each year.
"How have you been?" she texted.
"I'm great. Why didn't you tell me?"
Nathalie frowned. "Tell you what?"
"About how much of a jerk my cousin's been to you?"
Her lips curled into a sad smile. It felt good knowing Jason was on her side—but at the same time, he was still Val's cousin so it felt very weird..
"I've moved past it. It's nothing."
"In that case, can you meet me at the secret lake by 4?"
She blinked.
The lake? Why would he want to meet her?
She barely knew him. In all her three years with Val, she and Jason had only shared a few polite hellos. She had once gone to his house with Val after his parents' divorce but that was it.
Still…
"Ill think about it," she replied