"I thought there was only one exit, and that one would lead you to the lake on the other side of the property." He took a deep breath, rubbed his eyes. "We were excited. All these possibilities. Maybe there were more exits. He could help me find them. He already found this one, the one behind us, so he could help me find more." I nodded, picturing two young boys enthusiastic and eager to keep exploring a secret maze. "He found the secret door," he went on, "and I opened it. And here we are sitting right where it all happened." "What happened, Cam?" "We found an abandoned car. It was just here in the middle of the damned field. " He took a deep breath. Legs bent, elbows on knees, head bowed down low. He looked so alone. So lonely. So damn sad. An angel who'd lost everything he held dear. "He didn't want to explore it for some reason," he went on. "He felt uneasy about it, but I dismissed his concerns. I'd driven before, stole my dad's car, wrecked it even. My dad nearly killed me for that. Raven was on him before he could slap me. She hated anyone hurting me." Except for her, I thought bitterly. No wonder Cameron had his emotional scars. He grew up with a monster. "It didn't start, the car. But I did find something more interesting. There was a box of road flares in the trunk." My heart skipped a beat. Slowly I moved beside him, but I didn't touch him. Not yet. I had a feeling any touch wasn't welcome to him right now. "I wish I never opened that trunk." "You were a kid. Any kid would've explored an abandoned car. I know I would." He turned his head to look at me, and I wanted to kiss him so badly. I wanted to chase away the horrible memories in his blue eyes. "Those kids that bullied him showed up, the ones I beat up." A chill went up my spine. "There were five of them this time." He dragged his hand down to his mouth, then up and over his dark hair. His blue eyes were wide, seeing things in his past he'd probably buried deep. "They were still a few feet away when we spotted them. I wanted to go back to the maze. We know that place inside out. We would lose them in there easily. We would be able to escape. But Pete was scared. He locked himself in the car." "Did you... did you leave him and go to the maze?" He shook his head. "I stayed there, screaming at him to open the door so we could both go." I should have known he wouldn't leave his friend. "But he wouldn't listen. He was paralyzed with fear." He stared at the spot he pointed out to me earlier where the car was. His blue eyes had darkened, as if he was seeing the horror all over again. "What happened next?" I asked when he didn't continue. He rubbed his eyes, shook his head to shake off the memories. "I fought them. I didn't just do it for Pete. I didn't want them to call me a coward if I ran away and leave my friend in the car." He looked so angry, and I knew it was targeted at himself. "I beat them before. Surely, I could do it again. But I didn't. They beat me up. And they found the flares." I held my breath, terrified to hear the rest of his story. "They weren't going to kill us or anything. They didn't care about Pete either. I knew that. They were there for me. For me. They wanted to get their pound of flesh, scare me, beat me up some. But it got out of hand." His hands fisted, the veins in his arms popping out in anger. "One of them lit up the flares, but it burned his hand, and when he threw it, it rolled under the car. It was the middle of summer. All that dry grass and heat." This time a horrified sound came out of my throat. "It burned the dry grass around the car and it filled it with smoke. Lots of smoke. I screamed at Pete to open the f ucking door but he wouldn't. I could hear him coughing, gasping for breath. I tried to break the windshield, the windows, but I was too weak. I could see my hands bleeding, trying to break the glass, but it was no use. I grabbed a rock, anything, but nothing. Pete was looking at me, just looking at me. He wouldn't move. He wouldn't f ucking move." He dropped his head in his hands and stayed like that for a while. But this time I touched him. And this time, he didn't flinch. He lifted his head to look at me, and we stared at each other for a moment. I leaned over to him, so I could lay a soft kiss on the side of his mouth. He closed his eyes, seeming to absorb my touch. "Finish your story, Cam." He nodded. "I must have passed out," he continued in a hoarse voice. "When I woke up there were police and firefighters everywhere. There was a paramedic seeing to my hands. He said I had burns, but I didn't even feel anything. I wanted to find Pete." When his eyes turned to me, they were filled with sorrow and pain and guilt. "But he was already gone," he whispered. "He was gone."