Page 1 of Don't Let Your Mind Go There

Part 1

Prologue

TATE

It was our family’s tradition to go camping every year, and while we usually went during summer break, this year, our camping trip happened in the fall.

It was Dad’s idea, but we weren’t all on board with it at first.

Why would we give up camping in beautiful weather by the lake, just to freeze to death in the middle of the woods? Dad was quick to point out that we’d be in a cabin, not a tent like we usually were. But even that wasn’t very convincing to me.

“There are two rooms. Big, warm beds. A kitchen, a fireplace,” he had told us enthusiastically.

“I thought you liked camping in the tents. You’ve always been super excited to use that little gas grill to cook our food on.” Mom had a point, and she also didn’t seem to understand why Dad had this sudden change of mind.

“You and the kids don’t enjoy the food I cook on that thing anyway. With the kitchen and a dining area inside and out, we can have big dinners.”

“I’m all for that,” Ronan, my twin brother, said.

“Me too.” I shrugged, agreeing with him.

It took another hour or two before Mom agreed to go camping in Jasper, Alberta in October, instead of spending the summer by Lake Tahoe in California like we usually did.

Shortly after, Dad had already booked us a cabin, and with a couple of months to wait, he already started to look up things to do in that area. We had been to Canada before. Well, we basically lived right at the border. Our hometown was Whitefish, Montana, and it was an hour drive up to the Canadian border. To be fair, Whitefish was a beautiful place. We lived right by the lake, and nature was all around us. Still, for holidays and vacations, Mom and Dad always took us somewhere else.

The closer we got to October, the more excited I became.

I’ve always loved vacationing with my family, but this one would be different.

And nothing could’ve ever prepared me for what that campsite in the Jasper National Park had in store for us.

1

TATE

Our drive to the campground was supposed to be around six-and-a-half hours long, but with Mom needing to pee and stretch about five times, we had to stop at a few gas stations along the way.

It was the fifth stop, and while Mom went to the bathroom, Dad and I headed inside the little store to get one or two small bottles of water for the rest of the drive. We only had an hour and forty minutes left. If Mom could make it that long without peeing, that was.

“I think Mom has a serious issue with her bladder. How does she pee so often?” I wondered.

“She drinks a lot, that’s why,” Dad stated, sounding slightly annoyed. He had been the one wanting to drive all the way up here for our vacation, but it was clear that he hadn’t planned on stopping so many times.

I followed him to the fridges, and he opened one of the doors to grab two waters. Before he closed it, I caught my reflection in the glass door. I looked tired. I hadn’t slept much last night because I desperately wanted to finish the book I had started two nights ago.

“Do you think I can take a nap when we get to the campsite?” I asked, looking up at Dad who was now looking at the chocolate bar on the shelf opposite of the beverages.

“Yeah, why not? We need to unpack before we eat dinner.”

“Great. What’s for dinner?”

“I don’t know. I’m not cooking tonight. Way too tired for that,” he admitted. He reached for a Mars bar, then grabbed a Snickers too. “There’s a restaurant on the campsite. We’ll have dinner there tonight.”

“Sounds good.” I smiled and took him in as he continued to study the chocolates. Dad was a handsome man. His brown hair reached the nape of his neck, and he tucked it behind his ears so the strands wouldn’t fall over his eyes. His nose was straight, and his lips were perfect. His sharp jaw added to his good looks, and his gray eyes were the reason why Mom fell in love with him.

Although Ronan was my twin, people always told me that I looked more like Dad. I thought so too. I had his hair color and his same eyes. Our characteristics were the same, and Mom always said that I was as independent and stubborn as Dad.

Ronan, on the other hand, was just like Mom.

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