"Craig? You awake?"
The voice ca clearer now, Craig finally recognized it.
Adriana.
He blinked against the darkness, then unzipped the tent with a quick zip. There she was, standing just outside, a sly grin on her lips, eyes sparkling under the moonlight.
"You actually answered, scoot over." she teased, stepping in like she needed no permission.
rlina’s eyes snapped open the mont Adriana ca in. She forced a smile but the tightness around her eyes gave her away.
Craig rubbed his temples. "What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be—"
"Sleeping?" Adriana interrupted, waving him off. "Nah, I snuck out. You thought I was gonna let that brooding camp coordinator ruin my night?"
She wedged herself between them. "Thank God you guys are still awake, I was scared you guys weren’t gonna hear ." She muttered.
The tent suddenly felt cramped—too small.
"Um...maybe...I should head back." rlina suggested, fumbling with the blanket, avoiding both Craig’s and Adriana’s eyes.
Adriana gave rlina a tap on her thigh, a bid to encourage her. "Yeah, Louis is still up."
Craig’s eyes searched hers, but she was already gathering her things. He swallowed down the worry curling in his chest. His hands behind his neck, as he watched her in frustration, cause he couldn’t control the mont.
"I’ll walk you," He offered.
"No. You don’t have to."
"It’s late." Craig Insisted.
"I just walked here Craig," Adriana cut in. "It’s snoring coordinators and grass. She’ll live."
Craig went quiet. rlina was already outside before he knew it, pacing beneath the stars. The mont before Adriana arrived still clung to the air, broken and unresolved.
An ache crept up his chest, he hated that she had to be the one to leave, he cursed himself for not suggesting to leave with Adriana instead. This wasn’t how he expected the night to end.
The next morning, rlina stayed in bed, waking up later than everyone. She hadn’t slept well. Distant voices—Phoebe and Keith laughing, Craig and Adriana teasing—only made her curl deeper into the blanket.
She didn’t want to see them. Any of them.
When she finally got up, she gravitated toward Louis, Jay, and Mia. It was easier. Safer. She couldn’t fake being fine around Craig and Adriana, not after last night.
Even when Phoebe called her for a picnic, she shook her head. "I’m not hungry."
Minutes later, she was seen laughing with Louis, food in hand.
"Look at her, having the ti of her life," Phoebe muttered, tossing her fish down. "Like I don’t exist."
"Did you guys fight last night?" Keith whispered to Craig.
Craig shook his head. That was all he could offer. But inside, he was spiraling too, maybe even more than Phoebe. rlina hadn’t said a word to him. Like last night never happened.
Phoebe’s frustration finally boiled over. She’s walked over.
"rlina! Seriously? You’ve been dodging all day!"
rlina turned, startled by the harshness, "I wasn’t dodging you. I was just...Louis and his friends were—"
"All day?" Phoebe gasped. "You ruined all our plans! Just now you said you weren’t hungry, then I saw you eating like a starved scavenger!"
rlina stepped back. "Maybe I’m tired of being told what to do. Maybe I’m not your puppet."
"Fuck you," Phoebe snapped, voice tight. She turned and walked away, fast, like she couldn’t stand to be seen breaking.
Later that night, Keith pulled rlina aside and told her Phoebe had been crying. Guilt gnawed at her, so she made her way to the bonfire where Phoebe sat with Craig and Adriana, the fire casting sharp shadows on their faces.
She hesitated, then stepped closer.
"Hey... Phoebe, can we talk?"
Phoebe didn’t look at her. "Oh, she finally rembers I exist," she muttered, arms crossed.
rlina’s jaw tightened. "Are you coming or not?"
Phoebe scoffed. "What for?" She still wouldn’t et her eyes.
Phoebe was being childish, and rlina wasn’t having it. She wasn’t about to let herself be embarrassed in front of Craig and his girlfriend. With a tight sigh, she turned to leave.
"Right, just walk away. Let your hatred for Craig ruin you," Phoebe blurted.
"What?" rlina spun around, stunned.
Craig’s head snapped up, eyes narrowing. He looked between them, tension rising, but stayed quiet—watching, waiting, jaw clenched.
"Yeah? You want to deny it? Isn’t that why you’ve been distant? Let guess—another fight about his brother last night, and now you’re taking it out on ."
rlina stared at her, disgusted. She couldn’t believe Phoebe was actually saying this—out loud.
Craig swallowed hard. He should say sothing. Anything. But his silence felt safe.
Adriana, who’d been half-tuned out with her earphones in, slowly pulled one out, sensing the shift in the air.
"Your hate for Craig Lesnar is stronger than your love for . Admit it," Phoebe said, voice cracking, eyes glassy.
rlina blinked back twice, stunned. Her lips pressed together so tightly they almost turned white. Was this really happening?
"You know what?" she said, breath sharp. "Screw this."
She shook her head, furious, eyes burning—not just from anger, but disbelief. Then she turned and stord off.
Louis stepped into her path, arms slightly raised like he ant to stop her.
"rlina—"
rlina brushed past Louis without slowing.
"Don’t," she snapped, her voice sharp and final.
Adriana rose slowly, confusion knitting her brows."Wait... I don’t get it. She hates you? Why?" she asked, eyes searching Craig’s face.
Craig shrugged, irritation flashing briefly before he shoved it down. "I don’t know. Ask her," he muttered, then turned and walked away.
He hated the question, hated hearing it out loud, harsh and brutal, but more than anything, he needed to talk to her.
Not long after, he found her sitting alone beneath a towering pine, knees drawn tight to her chest. Her face was streaked with tears that hadn’t yet dried, the weight of the night still settling on her.
"rlina."
The soft murmur of his voice caught her off guard. She turned, hastily wiping her cheeks, mistaking the low tone for soone else.
"Louis, I told you. I want to be alone."
"Not Louis. ." Craig replied calmly.
An uneasy silence fell as she blinked up at him. His calm voice made her nervous. "What are you doing here?"
He didn’t answer, instead he stepped closer, the gravel crunching beneath his shoes. "Can I sit?"
She gave a faint nod, and he settled quietly beside her. Their arms brushed, the touch was featherlight, but it sent a ripple through her, a reminder that despite everything she was facing, he still had an effect on her.
"I’m sure you had a good laugh," she said, the bitterness clinging to her words like smoke. "Watching get humiliated."
He turned to look at her, and his voice was barely more than breath. "No. I hated it."
She glanced sideways, confused. He wasn’t teasing. He wasn’t smirking. He was serious.
"I was watching you the whole ti," he went on. "You blink twice when you’re trying not to cry."
She glanced away, a flicker of sha in her eyes as her heart tightened. "You noticed that?"
His voice dropped to a warm, tender whisper. "I notice everything when it cos to you."
The words caught her off guard, leaving her breath uneven. She her fingers moved awkwardly, tugging at the hem of her sleeve, eyes flicking anywhere but his. Still, that gentle confession wrapped around her, sending a wave through her chest she wasn’t ready to face.
Then, almost reluctantly, he added, "In her defense... not everything she said were lies."
She stiffened. "What ? You think I wasn’t with her all day because of you?"
"No. I ant... the part where she said you hate . Can’t stand ." His tone was light, almost teasing, but there was a hint of nervousness beneath it.
"Yeah," she said, rubbing her palms together with a dry edge, the word dripping with sarcasm.
Craig tilted his head, searching her face. "You said—"
"I don’t hate you," she cut in, her voice sharp, eyes challenging. "And you know it."
He held her gaze, unflinching. "Do I?"
A heavy silence stretched between them—thick with unspoken truths, raw and fragile, as if the next word could either bridge the distance or shatter everything.
"I tried to," she whispered. "I really tried to. But I couldn’t. I once felt... safe with you. Before... everything."
He looked at her with raw emotion, then let out a deep, slow breath. "Yeah." His voice hushed and sincere. "Before everything got complicated"
A quiet stillness settled between them—less avoidance now, more mory, more grief.
"I miss that," he whispered, voice soft and raw.
" too," she breathed.
For once, she felt a strange relief in admitting what she was really feeling. Maybe Phoebe’s cruel words, had given her the push she needed.
Slowly, she turned to look at him, their faces re inches apart. Her lashes fluttered—uncertain if she was blinking or steadying herself, but for once she was finally letting herself face him with complete honesty.
"I was angry," she said softly. "The way you just...switched on when you found out. But more than that, I was hurt." Her voice trembled. "It felt like you didn’t care, about , or what I was going through."
He swallowed hard. "I didn’t know how to be around you."
rlina didn’t say anything.
"I was confused," he continued, softer now. "You’re the only person who’s ever made feel like this."
Her heart thudded in her chest. She didn’t dare breathe. "Like what?" she whispered.
Craig leaned in, his words brushing against her skin like a secret. "Like I can’t breathe when you look at like that."
She exhaled shakily, the kind of breath that ca from holding back too much for too long. Tears welled in her eyes, hot and heavy, and before they could fall, before either of them could second-guess it, they leaned in. As if drawn by the sa breath, the sa need.
His hands found her face, warm and steady, thumbs brushing along her jaw like he was trying to soothe the ache inside her. Their noses grazed, slow and searching, as their lips hovered—too close, too much, too far gone.
Reviews
All reviews (0)