Lucky Penny (4 page)

My whole body tensed. If only she knew how Blake Weston was a part of the worst time in my life, a time I wanted nothing more than to erase. But it wasn’t that simple because he was also a part of some of my most treasured memories. The kind that, no matter how hard you tried, refused to go away. The kind that had hit me like a home movie running through my head the second I’d recognized him. Stolen kisses in the yard when no one was looking, and sneaking out to the lake at Cenci Park. There had been a time when Blake was my world.

But that was then, and this was now.

And now we were nothing but strangers.

When I didn’t answer, Marissa said, “Fine. I get it. We all have pieces of our past we would rather keep to ourselves, but your past is Camp Chance’s golden boy, Penny. He’s not going anywhere. Can you deal with that?”

That was the million-dollar question.

Could I?

When Troy had said the training would be intense, I expected long days and some challenging teambuilding exercises. I didn’t expect crash courses in everything from first aid to fire starting, how to deal with aggressive behavior to how to deal with wild animals, and how to tie the perfect knot to how to feed eight campers on basic rations. My hands were sore, my head was pounding, and my shirt was stuck to my body with a fine layer of sweat.

I was exhausted.

On the upside, I’d managed to avoid Blake for the whole day. He had been assigned to the other group, which was fine by me. After spending the whole night tossing and turning, I’d decided that Marissa was right. Blake was here to stay… and so was I.

I needed this.

And besides, maybe having him here was a sign—my one chance at full and complete closure. Maybe my luck had finally turned.

Marissa assured me that once the first round of campers arrived, there would be little time to worry about bumping into Blake. Each counselor had a small group of same-sex campers assigned to them and would live in one of the cabins with their group for thirteen nights. There were six counselors, three male and three female, and six activity instructors. Troy and Tina handled the day-to-day camp management, and a team of ‘behind-the-scenes’ staff helped everything come together. Meals, cleaning, maintenance—that kind of thing. There was another full day of training followed by a team debrief on Friday, and then a day off before the first group arrived on Sunday.

“Intense, right?” Marissa breezed into the cabin as if she hadn’t just spent the last eight hours paired with me. My lack of coordination was apparent when it came to pretty much anything that involved rope, paddles, or maps.

I nodded as I peeled the damp t-shirt off my body and grabbed my wash bag. “I’m going to take a quick shower.”

“Great, then we can head to the campfire. We managed to talk Troy into grilling out again.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure. Is it mandatory?”

“No, but what are you going to do instead? Hang out here alone?” Marissa’s eyes bunched up.

Actually, that was exactly what I planned to do. Blake would no doubt be there, which meant I would not.

I padded into the small bathroom ignoring my roommate’s pleas. She didn’t understand; I hadn’t given her any reason to. All Marissa knew was that Blake and I had some kind of history. If I was going to survive the summer here, I needed my past to stay just that—in the past.

The hot water lasted five minutes, cutting short my plans of a long soak under the trickle of soothing warmth. I wouldn’t even have this luxury come Sunday when I moved into my camper’s cabin. Campers had to use the communal block for washing. There was one for staff and one for campers.

After drying myself and brushing out my hair, I pulled on my shorts and tank top and rejoined Marissa.

“That didn’t take long,” she said with a knowing smirk.

“Let me guess. You knew the hot water would last a full two minutes?”

“Something like that. Besides, it means you can come with me now.”

“Marissa,” I warned.

“What? You can’t hide in here all weekend. We can avoid him, I promise, but you’re going to have to face him eventually.”

Not today.

“Fine.”

Marissa wasn’t the only one surprised by my reply. Maybe it was my sense of achievement from the day—the fact I’d let Marissa support my body weight twice—that had me feeling determined to not only survive the summer but to also make the most of it.

“Really?” A smile formed on Marissa’s face, and I found myself smiling back.

“Yes, really. Now, come on, before I change my mind.”

Everyone gathered around the campfire. Troy and a couple of the other guys—Malachi and Liam, I think—grilled burgers and hot dogs on a smaller fire contained within a huge steel drum. Tina seemed more relaxed than she had last night and made sure to go around to all of the new staff to see how we were doing. And, of course, Blake was there. I had felt him before I saw him. One brief look and now, I was forcing myself to look anywhere but in his direction. It was hard; harder than I thought it would be. But apparently, what the head let itself forget, the heart did not, and every time I heard his voice, my heart flipped violently in my chest.

As the night wore on, I became less and less comfortable. Everyone seemed more than at home making new friends and reacquainting with old ones, and I sat on the periphery unsure of how to edge my way in. Marissa tried her best to include me, but people gravitated toward her. She pulled them in without even realizing. Me, not so much, and eventually, I slipped away and wandered down to the lake. It was close enough to still see the campfire, but far away enough that I wouldn’t be disturbed.

The water rippled gently, deflecting the moon’s glow. It was beautiful. Serene. I sat down at the water’s edge, and my hand searched the ground for a flat stone. When I found one suitable, I rolled it in the palm of my hand, over and over, feeling its smooth surface. It was perfect. Drawing my hand up, I tilted it slightly and gripped it with my thumb and forefinger. With a snap of the wrist, I sent the stone flying across the lake. It landed on the water’s surface and skimmed across. One. Two. Three. Before disappearing with a small splash.

“Nice,” a voice called from somewhere behind me, and a deep sigh reverberated in my body.

“Do you mind?” Blake dropped down next to me, his shoulder almost touching mine.

The proximity should have bothered me, but I couldn’t breathe, let alone move. His voice had pinned me to the very spot in which I sat.

“It’s really you. Fuck, Penny, I can’t believe this is real.”

I heard his words, but my eyes remained on the lake glistening before us.

“Say something, anything.”

“It’s beautiful out here.”

Those words were safe. Detached. If I said any of the things I really wanted to say, I risked falling apart into irreparable pieces.

Neither of us spoke again. The silence hung between us, thick and heavy, and I felt sure it was going suffocate me.

After what felt like an eternity, Blake said, “There’s so much I want to say. Things I want to explain, but I… this is, shit, I’m messing all of this up. I didn’t expect this.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Blake swept a hand through his hair and ran it across his head.

“I’ve missed you so damn much. It’s really you, Penny. My lucky Penny.” The pain in his voice was almost tangible. Something I could reach out and touch.

A single tear formed in the corner of my eye and rolled down my cheek.

And just like that, Blake Weston pieced together the broken parts of me, all while tearing them back down.

For the second time in my life.

Age 12

“H
ave you seen her yet?” Bennett asked me as we sat on the wall of the Freeman group home, our legs dangling beneath us.

“Another girl?” My face scrunched with disapproval.

That made five in the last year. They came, stayed for a few months, and left. Girls were always first out of here. A couple looking to adopt preferred girls, or at least that was what Marie liked to tell us repeatedly.

“Yeah, Mase saw her already. Marie has her in the house giving the grand tour,” he smirked and flicked his head back toward the house.

We both knew what the grand tour meant. A quick look around the house and then a rundown of what Derek and Marie expected of us while we stayed. House rules, they liked to call them. They expected each of us to do chores and keep our rooms tidy. But rule number one was to be seen and not heard, which was almost impossible given we were teenagers. Well, not me. Not yet. I’d just turned twelve, but in a year, I would be a teenager, and then I would stand up to the Freeman’s shit.

“Don’t go there, Blake.”

“What?” I shrugged kicking my feet on the sidewalk.

“You have that look again. You have to rein it in, dude. You’ve already been grounded three times this month. Don’t go causing trouble. It’s not worth it. Besides, I kinda like having you around. You might be the youngest here, but you have a good head on your shoulders.”

Pride swelled in me. Bennett was the oldest kid living in the group home. He was strong and protective of the younger kids, like me, and he knew all the ways around the house rules. I got along well with Mase and Peter, the other two boys, but I looked up to Bennett. I wanted to be just like him when I was older.

“Okay, Bennett. Sorry.” I ducked my head not wanting him to see my red cheeks.

“Hey, don’t apologize, okay? Just keep your head down and remember you won’t be in this place forever.” Bennett shoulder checked me and hopped down off the wall. “Come on, let’s go and meet her. You know what Amy can get like when a new girl arrives.”

I followed Bennett up the path to the porch and took a deep breath.

He was right; one day, I would be free.

And I was counting the years.