Final installment of Sleep Away has officially started!
(:
I thought I'd hurry and get this up for all of my amazing lovely reviewers:)
Please pick up. Please pick up. PLEASE. PICK. UP-
"Hey this is Cam, sorry I missed your call, leave me a message and I'll get back to you. 'Kay thanks...uh, bye!"
I sigh. "Hey Cam, it's me. I know I've left like six messages for you this week but you don't ever pick up...or return them. And you don't reply to my emails, my tweets, my pokes, my inboxes, my AIM. Nothing. If you didn't update your Facebook status regularily, I'd think you were dead. I just wanted to know if you were coming-"
BEEP.
Oh. Cut off. Again.
"Massie, honey, are you ready?" My mom pokes her head in my room. "Derrick loaded all your bags, he's waiting in his car."
"Ready," I force a grin. I do a quick check in the mirror (even I have to admit I look pretty fabulous) and run down the stairs to kiss Mom and Dad goodbye.
"Will you write?" Dad asks as I peck him on the cheek.
"I'd say yes, but we both know I'd be lying," I kiss my mom. "Besides, you can't read my printing."
"Have fun," Mom says, smoothing down a random fly away hair. "It's your first year as a counsellor. Try and take the job seriously, okay?"
"Okay," I roll my eyes. "Derrick'swaitinggottagobyeIloveyou!" I shout quickly, flying out the door. "Derrick!" I tackle my boyfriend in a giant hug, even though I saw him three days ago.
"I missed you," he squeezes me.
"I missed you too," I say, getting into his huge black Hummer. Ugliest vehicle on earth, swear to God. I cringe every time I get in it.
"Ready for a good summer?" he backs out of my driveway.
"Ready for an excellent summer," I giggle, opening up my text inbox.
massie: hey ladies! me and D are on our way!:)
claire: i'm on the plane :/ i wish it would fucking land!
dylan: oh c, shut up. we all know you're not in that much pain -you have hot hotz with you ;)
claire: hey shhh! he's my hot hotz. and he's currently snoring!
olivia: todd's coming right, c?
claire: unfortunately yes. why?
massie: hey guys, do any of you know if cam's coming back? i mean we talked a little during winter break and then he never showed up at spring break and i haven't heard from him at all
dylan: someone told me he wasn't..
massie: who?
dylan: uh cam. But he said that back in april so who knows?
Sigh. See, last year around the end of summer when I got back together with Derrick, things got awkward between Cam and me, so much to the point that he ignored me. He left before I could say bye, and hasn't replied to anything I send him. Over winter break, spent at Claire Lyons' estate in LA, he left early and didn't really talk to me. Then he didn't even show up during spring break.
And I have no idea what happened that made things bad between us.
Just as I'm about to power off my phone, it rings again. SKYE H. flashes on my screen to I touch answer.
"Hey!" Skye Hamilton chirps in my ear.
"Hey," I mumble, definitely less enthusiastic than her.
"What's wrong?" Skye asks worriedly.
"Just...you know," I sigh, not wanting to bring it up around Derrick. And Skye -who got to come with us during Spring Break, luckily- knows all about the Cam thing, even though she hadn't been present at camp this year.
She won't be there this year either, but she'll be two towns over, working at this really cool jewellery store. And as a bonus, Skye even gets to help design some of the jewellery. If I wasn't being a CIT, I'd definitely be joining her.
The reason Skye gets to leave Westchester for a whole two months is because there's a cancer clinic in that town, and if anything goes seriously wrong, she can just zip over to that. But nothing will go wrong, she's been cancer free for...what, two months now? After we got back from spring break in April, she caught some infection and had to be hospitalized again, but hadn't been back except for check ups and blood tests every two weeks.
"I see," she says and I can picture her nodding, blue eyes wide.
"Is that Skye?" Derrick whispers from beside me.
"HI DERRICK!" she yells, causing me to wince away from the phone.
"HEY SKYE!" Derrick yells back, causing me to wince again. Do they not realize how much my head is pounding?
"Anyway, I just wanted to call to tell you I hope you have a great summer! Have fun and don't let the little brats get too out of control."
"Please, S, they have me to look up to!"
"Then you'd better get someone else to help you! If they're looking up to you, they'll definitely be out of control! You almost got us kicked out your first night, remember?"
We laugh and I can slowly feel my headache melting away. "It's going to be a great summer. I wish you were coming though."
"Hey, write me!" Skye says firmly. She doesn't believe in feeling bad over not going to camp. "You have the address of my aunt's right?"
"I do," I confirm. "You'll be getting progress reports weekly."
"I better! And you'll be getting four bracelets to give to the girls once I find cute enough ones! It's been almost three years, it's time to give up our current friendship bracelets, don't you think?"
I finger the braided pieces of purple and gold string encircled around my wrist. The gold's lost its shimmer and shine, the purple's no longer dark and majestic and the whole thing just looks ratty, dull and tired. "I guess," I murmur.
"Don't worry, I'll find something fabulous! But I gotta go, mom's ready to drive me. Love you! Tell the girls I love them too! Bye!"
"Bye Skye!" I giggle at the accidental rhyme. "Have a great summer!"
"She sounds good," Derrick says as I turn my phone off.
"She is good," I say firmly, wrapping my hand over his on the gear shift. "Just like this summer's going to be."
"MASSIE!"
"CLAIRE!"
"MASSIE!"
"CLAIRE!"
"SHUT UP."
Our shrieking match is interrupted by a very handsome Josh Hotz, who throws a tennis ball lightly at me and pegs me in the shoulder.
I rush into the thin, tanned arms of my best friend Claire Lyons. Inhaling her signature scent of coconut tanning oil, Bumble and Bumble Curl Defining spray and DKNY Be Delicious perfume, I squeeze her tightly.
Derrick and Josh do that weird guy thing where they bump fists and nod at each other, but I can tell they're glad to see each other. Claire and I live on different coasts, me in New York and Claire in Cali, but Derrick and Josh live in whole different countries!
"You look amazing!" Claire gushes, giving me the once over. I spy her pink and gold lanyard looking even rattier than mine.
"You look better," I say, hugging her again. "Is anyone else here?"
"No one that matters," she rolls her eyes. "Just Todd and Danny and some losers."
I grin but then pull Claire closer. "Is there something going on with Todd and Olivia?" I murmur in a low voice.
"I wouldn't know," she mutters, clearly not loving the possible idea of her best friend and brother dating. "Olivia always refuses and Todd and I just don't talk."
"Block," Josh appears beside us, grinning his megawatt smile. Oh god, what a hottie.
"Hotz," I grin back, hugging him too. Last year at this time, I never would've thought I'd be hugging Josh Hotz, let alone happy to see him. But last summer I finally saw who he actually was and why Claire was so in love with him.
"The year's been good to you," he compliments, but I don't feel creeped out like I did all his previous compliments.
"You're one to talk," I slap him on the stomach as Claire wraps his arm around her shoulders.
"So guess who got lucky to lead together," Derrick comes back from reading the list of where we all are staying and counselling. "Claire Lyons and Massie Block, counsellors of cabin fifteen."
"Yes!" Claire cheers, grinning. I have to clench me teeth together to keep from grinning too hard. The only way this summer would be better was if Cam would be here-
"And I'm counselling cabin twenty-one with Fisher," he mutters, clearly pissed. Poor Derrick, I know he hates Cam.
Wait. Cam.
"Cam's coming to camp?" I ask, feeling my spirits lift. "Really?"
"Really," a new, familiar voice that sends happiness throughout my stomach says. The four of us turn to the door to see Cam Fisher standing there, bags in hand. "Hey."