Meet Me After Class

Chapter 64: The Cabin Part 2

I stumbled into the kitchen, still half in that early morning fog of semi-consciousness. The orange juice carton was sitting out, so I poured myself a glass. Mom and Dad were already at the table, Belle with them, talking a mile a minute like usual.

"...so I was thinking I could volunteer at Pine Crest State Park for the month before classes start," Belle was saying matter-of-factly between bites of toast. "Get some credits out of the way."

Mom furrowed her brow . "But I thought your plan was to work at Cup n Saucer?"

Belle waved a dismissive hand. "Well, I need extras, Mom. Audrey mentioned the park ranger program, and it just seemed way more useful for whatever I want to major in."

I tensed at the mention of Audrey's name. And Pine Crest State Park flooded my memory—specifically our senior year field trip when Adam and I got separated from the group during a freak thunderstorm. The ramshackle cabin.

The memory slammed into me. In that little abandoned cabin, with the rain pounding on the roof—that first kiss, the awkwardness that followed—I didn't fully know then that everything would change between us.

My heart was pounding a million miles an hour all over again. I set down my glass of juice with a thunk, not trusting my shaking hands.

Without a word, I turned and rushed back to my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. I sank down to the floor, hugging my knees as hot tears burned my eyes.

Two years and hundreds of miles couldn't dull the connection I still felt to Adam. I had not changed. I was the same mess of unraveled feelings and overthinking that I'd always been—the only difference now was that Karen was here. And I was hurting in a way that felt inescapable.

Sobs tore through me as I curled into a tight ball on the cold hardwood of my bedroom floor. My mind was a personal torture chamber, projecting vivid scenes of Adam and Karen on an endless loop behind my eyes.

Karen was so perfect that even my own sister couldn't help but rave about how awesome and genuinely nice she was whenever her name came up.

Karen was like, perfect. The kind of girl even my hard to please sister couldn't help but rave about whenever her name came up. "She's like, a literal saint," Belle had gushed more than once.

I could see them so clearly—brooding Adam finally paired with someone as genuinely warm and sunny as Karen. They probably made an adorably mismatched couple, going on long romantic hikes and having languid picnics bathed in golden sunshine. Karen laughing at something wonderfully sardonic Adam said, her head thrown back in delight as Adam smirked softly...

Shut up, shut UP! My hands fisted in my hair as I cried even harder, trying to wrench the images from my mind. I felt unhinged, like I was coming apart at the seams. The pain was a living thing, slashing me open over and over.

In the hazy aftermath of an emotional storm, I found myself giving in to the exhaustion that weighed heavy on my bones, collapsing onto the floor in a heap of frayed nerves and unshed tears. The world blurred into a whirlwind of despair as I drifted into an uneasy slumber, my body seeking comfort in the oblivion of sleep.

When I finally woke up, it was to the soft touch of pale light creeping through the curtains, casting a faint glow in my room. Time had passed like it always does, with the midday sun stretching shadows across the floor.

A reckless idea sparked in my brain and before I could think twice, I was snatching my mom's car keys from the ceramic bowl by the front door. With hands trembling hard enough to barely hit the right letters, I tapped out a message on my phone.