Chapter 54 HAPPY CAMPERS
MERRIELYNN.
The annual school camping trip was supposed to be an escape.
A chance to forget about the suffocating walls of Pinnthorpe, the whispers, and the tension that seemed to follow me everywhere.
Instead, it felt like I was walking into another trap.
We arrived at the campsite late in the afternoon, the fading sunlight casting a golden glow over the towering trees and the sprawling grounds. The air was crisp, carrying the scent of pine and earth. It should’ve been calming, but I couldn’t shake the unease that had settled in my chest the moment I got off the bus.
I’d kept my distance from Cormac since the party.
After everything—the rescue, the silence, and especially the threatening photo—I wanted nothing to do with him. He had disappeared from my life for two weeks, which was exactly what I’d thought I wanted. But now, as fate—or more likely, manipulation—would have it, we were shoved back into each other’s orbit.
“Alright, listen up!” one of the camp supervisors called out, clapping her hands to gather everyone’s attention. “You’ll be rooming in pairs for the weekend. The list is posted on the bulletin board by the main lodge. Check it out, grab your key, and get settled in before dinner.”
I joined the throng of students heading to the board, a knot forming in my stomach. It was just a room assignment, I told myself. It didn’t matter who I ended up with.
But when I scanned the list and saw;
ROOM 7: MERRIELYNN FORBES, CORMAC GRAVES
written in neat black ink, my stomach dropped.
“No,” I whispered, staring at the paper as though sheer willpower could change what I was seeing.
The universe had to be playing some kind of cruel joke. Out of all the people I could’ve been paired with, it had to be him.
I turned away from the board, my mind racing. This couldn’t be a coincidence. Cormac had to be behind it. There was no other explanation.
“Bad luck, huh?” Emorie’s voice cut through my thoughts, and I turned to see her standing beside me, holding the key to her own room.
“You could say that,” I muttered, feeling the weight of the key in my pocket like a lead stone.
“Maybe it won’t be so bad,” she said, trying to sound optimistic. “I mean, you’ll hardly be in the room, right? It’s just a place to sleep.”
I gave her a tight-lipped smile but didn’t respond. Sleep. Right. As if sharing a room with Cormac for two nights would be that simple.
The room was small and rustic, with two single beds on opposite sides and a narrow window overlooking the forest. The walls were made of polished wood, giving the space a cozy, cabin-like feel. But even the warmth of the room couldn’t dull the tension that crackled in the air as Cormac and I stood on opposite sides, silently unpacking.
I ignored him completely, keeping my focus on my bag as I pulled out my clothes and toiletries. The sound of his movements was a constant reminder of his presence, but I refused to look at him.
He hadn’t said a word, though, which was fine by me. I didn’t want to talk to him. I didn’t even want to acknowledge he existed.
Not after what he did.
Two weeks. It had been two weeks since the photo in the hallway. Two weeks since the fear and embarrassment had sent me running from school, questioning every decision I’d made since arriving at Pinnthorpe. I’d spent those weeks keeping my head down, trying to figure out who had done it—and why. But deep down, I already knew the answer.
It was him.
Cormac might not have put the photo up himself, but he was behind it. He had to be.
“Do you need all that space?” His voice broke the silence, low and rough like gravel.
I glanced up, startled, and saw him standing near his bed, watching me with an unreadable expression.
“What?” I snapped, my voice sharper than I intended.
He gestured to the small dresser between our beds. “You’ve taken up the whole thing.”
I glanced at the dresser and realized I’d spread my things across it without thinking. Scowling, I shoved my stuff to one side, making room for him.
“There,” I said curtly.
He didn’t respond, just moved to place his things in the empty space I’d left. The silence stretched on, heavy and awkward, as we continued unpacking.
I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering, though. Couldn’t stop myself from remembering the way he’d looked at me that night at the party, the way he’d carried me out of the pool, the way he’d stayed with me until I calmed down. It didn’t make sense. None of it made sense.
If he’d saved me, why would he turn around and orchestrate something so cruel? Why go out of his way to humiliate me?
“Are you going to ignore me the entire weekend?”
His question snapped me out of my thoughts, and I turned to glare at him. “Yes. That’s the plan.”
He raised an eyebrow, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I see. And here I thought you’d be thrilled to share a room with me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” I shot back, crossing my arms. “I don’t want to be here any more than you do.”
“Really?” he said, leaning casually against the wall. “Because I get the feeling you’re more upset about this than I am.”
“Upset?” I scoffed, my frustration boiling over. “You’re the one who rigged this, Cormac. Don’t pretend like this wasn’t your doing.”
His smirk faded, and for a moment, his expression was unreadable. Then he pushed off the wall and took a step closer to me.
“Believe what you want,” he said quietly. “But not everything revolves around you, Merrielynn.”
The way he said my name sent a shiver down my spine, and I hated myself for the way it made my chest tighten.
Before I could respond, he grabbed his jacket and walked out the door, leaving me alone in the room.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur. I joined Emorie and a few other classmates for dinner around the campfire, but my mind kept drifting back to Cormac.
He didn’t show up to dinner, which should’ve been a relief, but instead, it left me feeling uneasy.
Why did he have to be so infuriating? Why did he have to make me doubt everything I thought I knew about him?
By the time I returned to the room that night, he still wasn’t back. The air inside was cool and quiet, and I felt a strange mix of relief and disappointment as I got ready for bed.
I climbed under the covers and stared at the ceiling, my mind racing with thoughts I didn’t want to have.
I wanted to hate him. I wanted to blame him for everything that had happened—the photo, the fear, the humiliation. But the memory of him diving into the pool to save me, of him sitting by my side as I cried, refused to leave my mind.
Why couldn’t he just be the villain I needed him to be?
I must’ve fallen asleep at some point because the sound of the door opening jolted me awake.
The room was dark, lit only by the faint glow of moonlight streaming through the window. I turned my head and saw Cormac stepping inside, his movements quiet as he closed the door behind him.
He didn’t say anything, just shrugged off his jacket and tossed it onto the chair by his bed.
He paused, glancing at me.
I stayed silent, watching as he pulled off his boots and climbed into bed.
The room fell silent again, and I turned onto my side, closing my eyes.
But sleep didn’t come easily. Not with Cormac so close, and not with the questions swirling in my mind.
I didn’t trust him.
I couldn’t. But for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to hate him, either.
And that scared me more than anything else.