14. The Last Night

I don't know how long I sat in that same spot overlooking the lake that once held all of my favorite memories. It might've been a few minutes, it might've been a few hours. Either way, it was long enough for me to completely forget all the good things that happened there and replace them with all the bad; being manipulated into jumping off the cliff; almost being caught by my mom and Joe; being humiliated and rejected by the cutest, sweetest boy who I mistakenly believed actually liked me.

After that realization hit, I had to get out of there. Fast.

I had made my way back to the bonfires miraculously just fine, and when I sauntered up to the group of five people who were the only ones still awake, I noticed that Zach and Tina were nowhere in sight. I tried not to think about where they were or what they were doing, but my mind likes to torture me. So, I did. And it was not pretty.

"Cammie?" Jonas asked as I sat down next to him at one of the bonfires.

"Jonas?" I asked in disbelief. No offense to Jonas, but I had thought that he would've fallen asleep hours ago like Liz had. "I didn't know you were still awake."

"It's all the late night experiments. They've prepared me for this challenge," he explained with a tired chuckle. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you for a while. I figured you were part of that mass of sleeping bodies over there." His head tilted in the direction of where my roommates and Grant had fallen asleep before Zach and I went on our walk. The glow of their fire had dwindled since no one was awake to keep it going, and I could barely make out who was who. No wonder he thought I might've been over there.

"I was," I tell him, turning back to our own fire pit, "but they all fell asleep on me." I purposefully omitted the part where I had left with Zach and that's why he hadn't seen me, but if Jonas noticed the big time gap in my story, he didn't say anything.

He just simply nodded. "Where's Zach?"

Hearing his name stirred up this anger I didn't know I felt towards him, but I tried to hide it and casually answer Jonas like nothing ever happened. "I don't know," I snapped at him, mentally hitting myself for letting my distain slip into my voice. So much for keeping it on the down low.

From across the fire, I heard Hannah call out to no one in particular, "And where is Tina?"

At the recognition by everyone else that the two were missing, the anger began to rise again. Now everyone knew they were together, and I had to clench my jaw to keep myself from snapping at all of them.

"Is he missing again?" Jonas asked, sounding completely baffled that the infamous Zachary Goode would disregard the rules and do whatever he wanted.

With a hearty laugh, Dillon answered, "It's just like Zach to keep disappearing into the woods with a different girl each time, huh?"

I stiffened at his comment. I didn't even want to think about why that was just like Zach. Was Blackthorne close enough to the city where Zach could've snuck off to in order to meet girls often? Just like I had with Josh?

That thought made my stomach heave. Him being as crazy about some other girl as I was about Josh didn't make that s'more I had hours ago sit well in my stomach.

I forced my body to relax before anyone noticed, but the look that Dillon had given me told me that he had. His brow furrowed as he looked down at me, almost as if asking me if everything was okay. I just ignored it.

Joe appeared behind me, announcing to the small group, "If Mr. Goode and Ms. Walters are missing, then—"

"We're not missing," Zach said, walking out of the woods with his hand tight around Tina's. I don't know if he looked in my direction or not, because I was trying extremely hard not to look in his. I don't know what I would've done if he ignored me like he never even cared.

Someone did, however, look at me.

Jonas looked from Zach and Tina's connected hands to me, and then back to them as if trying to figure out some unbreakable code. The confusion on his face was not lost on me, and Zach must've noticed it too because he quickly turned away from Jonas's questioning looks.

"Mr. Goode, Ms. Walters," Joe started, his voice as stern as always. "Please come with me."

As the three walked down the path, Hannah whispered to the rest of us, "What do you think will happen to them?"

"Who cares?" Dillon asked, his voice relaxed. "Two less people to compete against."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes, but Hannah let out a loud scoff as she looked at him with disgust written across her face. "Cause you're going to win anyway," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

While those two argued back and forth, Jonas leaned over to me and whispered, "Cammie, are you okay? You don't look too good."

Well, wasn't that an understatement. My stomach was nauseous, my head was pounding as questions kept swirling around it, and I was just so tired—from the challenge as well as from the drama.

But I didn't tell Jonas any of that.

I simply turned to him and said, "I don't feel it, either. I think I'm just going to go to sleep. Maybe I'll feel better in the morning."

At that, all eyes focused on me as if I had grown a second head.

"Whoa," Dillon said, looking down at me like he was deeply concerned. "Are you dying? Because I'm pretty sure even under those circumstances you wouldn't forfeit a challenge."

He was right. It wasn't like me to give up and not fight for the win. But like I said, I was tired, and besides Jonas, there wasn't anyone still awake I really cared to talk to. Add that onto all the drama and questions I had been torturing myself with, staying awake to win some silly challenge no longer seemed worthwhile.

I shrugged my shoulders and nonchalantly explained, "If I'm sick, there's nothing I can do about it," before standing up and making my way back to my sleeping friends.

I was halfway there when I heard footsteps following close behind me. "Hey, Morgan, wait," Dillon said as he caught up to me.

Although nothing good ever came from talking to Dillon, I stopped and let him fall into place beside me for reasons that are beyond me. Maybe I really was sick?

"Everything okay?" he asked as he stood before me, giving me the same look he had given me back at the fire. I wasn't sure if I liked the feeling that someone cared, or if I was really annoyed that of all people, Dillon was the one who cared.

"You mean beside the nauseous feeling in my stomach and the pressure in my head from this disastrous cold?" I asked, staying true to my story of being sick. "Yeah, everything's perfect." I began to turn and walk away again, but he was right there to stop me.

"You may be feeling all those things, but it's not because of some cold," he said, giving me a look that told me he knew the truth and that I should just give up the act. A small smile appeared, and that cute little dimple found its way to his cheek when I stood there silently, not responding. "Is this because of Zach and Tina?" he asked, his voice and eyes softening.

I hated that he knew me so well. Was I that transparent that everyone could see my emotions? Or was it just Dillon that could see through me like he had x-ray vision?

After a moment of weakness, I put on my best annoyed face and fell back into my stubborn ways, refusing to let him see through me anymore. "Honestly, Dillon, you're the last person I want to talk about this with," I told him, actually beginning to feel annoyed that he was stopping me from enjoying peaceful sleep like my roommates, who were snoozing only a few feet away.

"Fine," he said with a hint of playfulness to his voice, "let me go get Hannah and you two girls can talk it out."

I tried to give him a look that told him I wasn't amused by his joke, but it was kind of funny considering if Tina wasn't around to hate, he knew Hannah would be the next best thing. I was ashamed to have let a small smile creep across my face.

My harshness softening, I assured him that it was nothing, but I could tell that he didn't believe me.

Thankfully, he didn't push for the truth. Instead, he said, "Okay, well, whatever this nothing is, don't let it stop from you from winning. If I were you, I would use this nothing as fuel to keep me going. Don't let the prick win by throwing in the towel. Show him you don't need him and kick this competition's ass."

As much as I loved his advice, I didn't want him to think that he had any effect on me. And I certainly didn't want to have to dedicate my win to him. So, as stubborn as ever, I looked up at him with a bored expression and asked, "Are we done here?"

Chuckling and shaking his head, he answered, "Always a tough nut to crack, huh Morgan?" With that, he turned and walked away, leaving me to go off by myself.

Using the anger that I had for the slut Tina and the asshole Zach, I was able to stay awake easily for the next few short hours while everyone else quickly drifted off. And the last thing I saw before I was announced the winner was Dillon's smirking face as he looked at me through heavy lids.

The next day, I spent the entirety of it sleeping off my win and ignoring everyone. Sadly, that included my roommates. They tried to talk to me a few times, but I just claimed to be too tired to do anything. I wasn't in the mood to relive the whole humiliating scene with my friends, even though I knew eventually I would have to tell them.

It wasn't until a few days later when I was sitting at the window in my room, staring out it aimlessly, that Bex had finally asked me directly about what happened that night.

"Cammie, are you alright?" she asked from the doorway, almost as if she was afraid to get too close to me.

I looked away from the window and up at my best friend, as much as it killed me to look at the concern etched on her face and knowing I had caused it. "What are you talking about? I'm fine," I told her, knowing she wouldn't believe me.

"I mean," she started as she walked in and sat down next to me, "you've been acting different since the overnight challenge. So, what is it? What's bothering you?"

With a lazy shrug, I answered, "Maybe I've just thrown off my sleep schedule and I'm trying to recover still." I wanted to tell her the truth, honestly, but saying it out loud would make it too real. And I liked pretending it was all just a dream.

The look on Bex's face told me that whatever it was that I was keeping from her, was definitely real, and that I was going to be telling her right then and there. "So, you think this is because you're tired?" she asked in disbelief.

"Could be."

"Is that why you've been acting weird with Zach, too?" I knew she must've known what happened that night, and that question told me that my suspicions were correct. Now, she just wanted to hear me say it.

But I, Cammie Morgan, am definitely the most stubborn person I know, so saying it was out of the question. "I haven't talked to Zach. How could I be acting weird with him?"

"Not talking to him is weird." Her eyes softened and her tilted, letting me know that she was about to get deep and emotional on me—something she knew I hated. "Cammie, talk to me. We're best friends, you should be able to tell me anything."

With a sigh, I finally caved. "Zach and I kissed."

"That's great," she answered, her voice still soft. "So, why are you so sad about it?"

I rolled my eyes before meeting hers, knowing she knew the reason why. I mean, it seemed like that was all anyone talked about at dinner and during activities—the only reasons I ever left the cabin. Everyone knew Zach and Tina were a thing, so I don't know why Bex was pretending she didn't. Once our eyes connected, I told her, "Because his girlfriend interrupted us."

Her face actually looked quite shocked. Maybe she didn't know about the happy couple. Although, it seemed like she would have to have lived under a rock in order to not have heard all the gossip floating around camp. I barely even left the cabin and I still heard the rumors fly. "Girlfriend?" she asked, still in disbelief and shock.

I nodded. "I guess him and Tina are a thing now."

"Tina?"

"You seriously haven't seen them around camp or heard the rumors?" I asked, my turn to be shocked. Again, how she hadn't have known by now was beyond me.

"Come on, Cam," she began to explain. "We all know Tina loves to start shit. So, I never believed the rumors. And Zach seemed like an extremely intelligent guy. To date Tina, you have to be dumber than a bag of bricks."

"Sounds about right."

She leveled her gaze at me, then asked, "So, what? You're just going to hide in our room all day?"

"We leave tomorrow," I told her. "I don't see a reason why I should waste my time with these boys."

"Because we leave tomorrow," Bex repeated, only her statement sounded more sympathetic than mine did, putting emphasis on every word as to really drive it home that that was the reason I should be outside playing games and such. "This is the last chance we have to spend any time with these guys. Come on, let's go have fun, and then we never have to see them again."

The last part of her statement was the only reason I agreed to going to the goodbye-carnival Joe and the camp had set up for us. I could pretend to have fun and act like nothing was bothering me for one more day. After that, I was homebound and free from any sights of the asshole who ruined everything.

And I think that thought was what made my smile all the more real.

The goodbye-bonfirehad still been alive when I decided being happy and having fun was becoming more and more challenging and emotionally draining. I had left my roommates, telling them that I was heading back to the cabin and going to bed; that the day's activities had worn me out. Which wasn't a lie, if you think about it. It just wasn't for the reasons they thought.

When I reached my deserted cabin, I quickly changed into my sweats, instantly becoming comfortable. It hadn't even been two minutes since I was completely changed that I heard a faint knock at the door. Or I thought I heard a knock. It was so quiet I wasn't sure if I had imagined it or not. So, I stood still and silently listened to see if it happened again, and practically jumped out of my skin when a second, heavier knock ricocheted throughout the wooden space.

I answered the door hesitantly, not knowing who would've followed me back and why. Even though I had no idea who it might've been, I was definitely not expecting who it was.

Zach stood there, leaning against the door frame with his head hanging and his hands in his pockets, looking utterly defeated and almost scared.

By the look in his eyes when they met mine, he wasn't expecting me to answer the door.

"What do you want?" I asked, not as harshly as I had intended, but still pretty callous nonetheless.

"I want to talk to you," he told me, his voice strong and unwavering as ever. I guess my glare and uninterested body language wasn't enough to scare him off.

"I don't think we have anything to say, Zach," I said, shivering at the feeling of his name rolling off my tongue. I hadn't talked to him in a few days, so his name felt almost foreign.

Although just seconds before he had stated he wanted to talk, now he stood there silently just staring at me. His eyes traced my face, almost as if he was trying to read a language he had never seen before. His eyebrows crinkled just barely as he asked, "Are you mad?"

I was dumbfounded. Was he seriously asking that question? I gave him a skeptical look, completely amazed by his ignorance.

"Yeah." Mad was actually an understatement, but I refused to give him an explanation. He didn't deserve one.

"Are you mad at me?"

And my astonishment grew even bigger. Seriously? Did Zach get hit on the head a few times and forget everything that happened at the lake a few nights back? Nothing else explains how he could possibly be so confused and not already know the answers to these questions.

I stared at him in bewilderment for a few moments before giving up and shaking my head softly. "I'm just going to go to bed," I told him, beginning to shut the door in his face.

Unfortunately, his hand stopped me from closing it entirely as he braced it against the hard wood. "I want to talk to you," he repeated, this time understanding how hard it might be to do so considering my anger towards him.

"That's not a good idea right now, Zach. I'm just going to go to bed." I turned around and began walking back in the direction of my room, leaving the door open. I wasn't going to try and fight it closed with Zach's hand pressed firmly against it. Instead, I continued on my route to my room and called over my shoulder, "Close the door when you go."

Zach, apparently becoming impatient waiting for an invitation to talk like he wanted, yelled after me, "I never lied to you, Cammie! I do honestly care about you."

I stopped midstride, barely three steps away from my bedroom door. I spun around to face him, completely baffled by his outburst. "You care about me?" I asked incredulously. I took a few steps toward him, the anger I had been hiding inside threatening to come out. "Tina is a horrible person. You've even witnessed the kinds of things she says to me. If you honestly care about me, you wouldn't be with her."

He opened his mouth only to close it again without a word. The look the swept across his face told me he wanted to say something, but he was holding back. His jaw clenched as he swallowed hard, and I could tell he was mentally arguing with himself on whether he should say it, or just keep quiet. Eventually his eyes drifted away from mine and his voice softened, even if his facial features didn't. "I didn't do this to hurt you, Cammie. It was never my intention to—"

"So, you're just naturally good at it, then?"

His eyes snapped back to mine, obviously surprised and hurt by my comment. "Gallagher Girl—"

"Save it," I interrupted, suddenly too exhausted to argue. "I'm going to bed."

"Gallagher Girl, please!"

"What?!" I snapped, wishing that I had never opened the door in the first place. Nothing good was going to come out of this argument, and I knew that no matter what either of us said from now on, it was just going to make the situation even worse.

By the way his eyes were looking at me, pleading, I could tell he was trying to make me listen. But I refused to waste any more time on him. I wasn't going to fall for any of his tricks again.

"Is this the part where you use that Goode charm of yours to convince me that you dating Tina, of all people, is not a big deal? That you do honestly care about me and all of this is just a misunderstanding?" I asked him, narrowing my eyes as if challenging him to deny that was exactly what he was doing.

"Is that what you think of me? That I'm trying to manipulate you?" he asked, sounding almost angry at the accusation.

"Aren't you?" I shot back, refusing to coward away.

"I guess this is the part where I ask if you're going to stick around to find out?" he replied, his eyes searching mine for some kind of response. His head tilted slightly, and when I hadn't answered, a small spark appeared in the darkest green part of his eyes. It was like déjà vu; the look, the words, the tension in the air—all of it was practically the same as it was the first night at camp when he said he was going to let me get to know the real him. That's when I remembered my answer, and how huge of a lie it was back then. But not this time.

I shook my head, sighing. "No. And this time I mean it," I told him, watching his face fall. As mad as I was at him, I couldn't help but feel a slight pang in my heart at the sight. It was something I never thought possible; Zachary Goode was heartbroken.

"Zach, please," I begged, looking away from his saddened eyes. "Just go."

"Cam, I…" his voice caught, and even though I couldn't see it, I could definitely hear him struggling to keep it together. With a hard gulp, he tried again. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Gallagher Girl. Please, believe me that this thing with Tina is—"

"Whatever, Zach," I interrupted, deciding to end this once and for all. "You can date whoever you want, because as of tomorrow, we don't ever have to see each other again." I gently placed my hand on his firm chest (something I instantly regretted) and softly pushed him out of the door frame and onto the front porch. Even though his body was pure muscle and he could've easily planted his feet on the ground and prevented me from moving him, he didn't resist my nudging, as if the energy to do so was too much for his hurting heart.

I closed the door slowly and softly. When it was finally shut, I turned and leaned back against it, banging my head against the hard wood in frustration. I couldn't help it; for the first time since the incident at the lake, tears swelled in my eyes.

But I refused to let myself cry over a boy like Zachary Goode.

I sucked it up, and finally did what I'd been claiming to do all night—I went to bed.

Wow, so none of you guys liked the whole Tina surprise… I'm one of those people who don't always like happy endings so I thought it was a brilliant idea… then again I know all the details so ;P

What did you guys think ?! I was going for like a dramatic-slash-heartfelt ending here cause that's the kind of stories I like…not all butterflies and rainbows lol I think a good story has its ups and downs and you never really know what to expect…

Just so you all know, this fanfic is almost over…just like a few more chapters and it'll all be wrapped up ! I know exactly where I'm taking this and I can't wait for all of you guys to read it ! (:

Shout out time !

MackyWacky17: I'm sorry about your heart… and I'm sorry I probably did nothing to fix it ):

Awesomegirl3362: I'm glad you liked the surprise plot twist (: makes me feel better about it lol

ForeverInMyOwnWorld: I do have something planned, I promise ;)

Miaadventure: haha I really liked your rant lol and I wish I would've written it like that cause that sounds like an awesome revenge story, but I do have something else planned, so stay tuned ;)

Tennage Gallagher Girl Spy: I'm glad you like my other story as well ! I feel like that one isn't as popular because it's about like, murder and all that stuff, so thank you so much (:

716647: I do have a good explanation ! I just can't tell you yet !

Asianpotato: they're definitely not going to make up right away, as you can tell lol and thank you for review (: I appreciate it !

Plain-Is-Prettiest: haha well I'm sorry you're mad at me, but I stand by what I wrote and Zach is definitely dating Tina… and I agree that it was a jerk move for him to do that to Cammie, but in his defense, he has a really good reason for it.

OhNobody: here's your update ! hope you enjoyed it !

Lanoon: oh no… I'll make sure to say nice things at your funeral.

BooksLover2000: Haha I'll keep a lookout for it

Frosted Rock: aw I'm glad that you were looking for my fanfic story (: that makes me feel so eeeee (:

Cammie: haha your comment made my day lol

Mrclarinet: no don't cry ! it's just a story !

BooknMovieLover: I totally agree with you on the fact that it's chapters like these that keep the story interesting !

Erq217: here's your update ! and I'm really good at cliffhangers lol

Theoringinalgallaghergirl: haha yeah that kiss was probably my favorite part of this entire story to write… I'm glad you liked it too (:

So for those who are very angry about the Tina/Zach relationship, I responded to a review a while back, like a few chapters ago, that you all probably read but didn't exactly know what the heck I was talking about at the time, but it definitely pertains to this situation and if you went back and read it now I think it would all calm your guys' fears lol but I'm not going to say it directly here because I don't want to give too much away (: