Page 23 of Some Kind of Forever
Pointing to the left side of the wall, I say, “Up there. You can still see half of his shoelace dangling.”
“He went down that wall?” Hunter’s eyes widen, mouth gaping.
“Rappelling!” Liz yells hesitantly from the top of the platform, her pigtails dangling out of the helmet as she peers over the ledge.
I move toward Katie, who looks at me with unease filling her expression, and I whisper a few words of encouragement. “Rappel on!” she squeaks. I stay beside her, pointing out ways she could direct Liz down to the ground. In no time, shoes hit dirt, and the girls share an embrace.
“You did so great!” Liz says to Katie, making her break out into a wide smile.
“You girls were awesome!” Hunter says from beside me, slapping high fives to both of them.
As they take off their gear, he continues our conversation. “Last year, we went to Mexico, and Chase had a panic attack on the zip line platform. Both of our dads had to carry him back down the ladder. I don’t know what happened last week, but he doesn’t do heights.” He shakes his head. “Anyway, I have to head back to town. See ya tomorrow.”
I look back at Chase, who’s watching us with a questioning gaze in his eyes. Flashing a smile, I give a thumbs-up and shrug. He sends Aiden down, and I coach Caleb in the same ways as Katie. Aiden’s feet hit the ground just as the dinner bell rings.
Our four campers race to the mess hall, and Chase’s steps fall next to mine. “Did Hunter give you any good dirt?”
“Apparently you’re afraid of heights?”
“Ha!” He throws his head back as he laughs. “Hewouldtell you that. Let me guess, panic attack in Mexico?”
“Yeah…but I’m confused. You were fine up there last week.”
“Eh,” he says, tipping is hand over side to side. “I wouldn’t say that…” He bumps my shoulder with his as we walk. “The whole reason my foot slipped is because I realized how far from the ground I was. You found me mid thought spiral. Pulled me out of it, actually.”
“How did I do that?” I ask, confused about how anything I did last week would pull him out of a panic attack.
“You, uh…well, you talked to me.” He rubs the back of his head.
“I—huh?”
“Your voice. It’s soothing. You asked if everything was okay, and suddenly everything was…” He shrugs.
I stop walking. “Why did you even go up there, knowing you would panic?”
“Not sure. Maybe I wanted to impress you, be around you. Ilikeyou, Kayla. I’ll spend the time any way I can take it. Why do you think I’m at the diner every day?”
“I…” I start, not sure what to say to that. He’s always so direct with his words—bold in the way he expresses his interest in me—and it catches me off guard. Evan always gave me the runaround, so I’m almost at a loss for how to handle Chase’s candor. Deciding on avoidance for now, I march past him. “We have to get in there with the campers.”
He jogs to catch up, walking quietly beside me as my own thoughts spiral while I mull over his confession, weighing the gravity of my own floundering feelings.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHASE
“You guys were the best group here,” I say, holding my hand up for the collective handshake we created during the week. Everyone leans in, snapping their fingers twice, and then slapping high fives to each person next to them. The boys turn to me, pounding fists and bumping elbows as a goodbye.
Liz leaps across the circle to give Kayla a hug, and I hear her say, “Ooh! I’m gonna miss you, Liz!” Kayla turns to Katie, holding up a hand for a high five, but Katie wraps her arms around her waist instead. Kayla’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise as she pats her back. “I’m so glad you had fun, Katie.”
I squat, holding out my hand to the girls. Liz slaps my hand, and I’m almost knocked off my feet by another unexpected hug from Katie. “Thank you for helping me find my brave,” she says quietly.
My heart cracks wide open with pride. Watching her come out of her shell this week has been such a gift. “Hey, you were already brave, I just helped you remember it.” I pat her shoulder as Claire calls the kids over to take attendance. When our four run off, I look up to see Kayla watching me. Her eyes aren’t guarded for once, and her arms aren’t folded. She’s just staring at me openly. “What?” I ask.
“That was adorable,” she teases, a smirk landing on her lips.
“Yeah, well, that’s what camp is all about, right? Gaining confidence?” I shrug, falling in step next to her as we walk back to the main building.
She kicks at a rock on the ground. “It is…”
