"When that last drink actually tasted like you might win a fight with a bear."

-IAmArankai

Chapter 4

I stayed over at Petra's for the night. Early the next morning, I woke to find her half dressed, sitting on the edge of the bed, her phone in her hand. She was frowning at her phone, typing quickly. Sensing my eyes on her, she looked up.

"How'd you sleep?" She asked softly, her eyes barely concealing worry that she seems to wear like a second skin.

"Great." I reached for her, pulling her into my arms. "Is everything alright?"

She was nodding before I even finished the sentence. She locked her phone and tossed it aside. "Yeah. It's just Greta. She wanted to let me know something."

"She gonna bite my head off for staying over? She seems protective of you."

"Not especially protective." Petra kissed my cheek. "She seems to like you. If she didn't, you would know."

"She said something to me...when you went to get her charger. I wondered about it."

She grimaced. "Oh, god...it can't have been good. What did she say?"

I considered not mentioning it. But, there's nothing to lose from talking it out with Petra. Keeping secrets won't help the progression of the relationship, even if they seem inconsequential. "To watch out for your ex, essentially. That he's not what he seems."

Petra sighed. "Yeah...I guess that's true. It's nothing you need to worry about, though. Jason isn't going to find me. He thinks I left for Seattle."

"I hear what you're saying and what you actually mean." I hooked my finger under her chin, turning her head up. I kept her gaze. "If he's the kind of person that you wouldn't be...safe around...tell me."

She pulled back, her eyes almost cloudy. "I can handle him."

She started to get up. I grabbed her hand before she could get too far. I waited till she met my eyes to speak. "I don't doubt that. Just...If you ever decide you don't want to shoulder this alone, I want you to know you can ask."

Her expression was unreadable for a tense moment. When she finally smiled, the cloudy expression melted. "I'll remember that. But...at the moment...I need your help with something a little different."

"Oh?"

Grinning, she pushed me onto the bed and straddled me. Before we could get too far, someone knocked on the door. Ava seemed more startled than the situation warranted.

"Who's that?"

"Probably Tori. That's her signature knock." I sighed. "Ready to face the woods?"

She still looked nervous. "Your friends are important to you...what if they don't like me?"

"Tori likes everybody. It's not statistically possible, but she manages it. Andre will like you if you offer him food or have good taste in music."

"Alternative and punk rock okay?"

"He'll love you." I sat up. Sitting her on the bed, I put on my pants and headed for the door. Grabbing my shirt on the way, I was partway through buttoning it when Petra ran past me, dressed, and threw open the door.

Tori practically skipped in. She hugged Petra. "Great to finally meet you! I'm Tori. This is Andre."

"And these are for you." Andre reached around Petra and handed me a change of clothes and my black leather hiking boots.

"Thanks. Just a second."

I slipped in the bedroom and changed. When I returned, I found Petra offering them coffee and toast. I accepted some.

"So, where are we walking?" Andre asked.

"We could just take the Jackson Lake trail. It's only two miles." I suggested.

"Only!" Tori balked. "You didn't say this was gonna be a hike!"

"It's a really easy trail, Tori. Kids can do it." I teased.

She groaned. "Fine...Just don't leave me behind if I fall down."

After we ate, we collected our water bottles and some basic supplies before heading for the trail. In the early minutes, everyone was high spirits. Tori wanted to hear all about Petra. Likes, dislikes, favorite flower, birthday.

"Love reading...dislike elevators...violets...November first."

"Dislikes elevators?" I had to ask.

"Tight spaces...not for me." Petra shivered.

"So, no caving." I took her hand at an incline and helped her up it. Andre did the same for Tori, practically dragging her.

"Absolutely no caving." She looked back at Tori. "She okay?"

"I'm fine!" Tori wheezed. We stopped at a point where the trail split. There was a marker specifying the left circled back towards the lake, rounding out the trail we were presently on. The right went further into the woods. "How long have we been hiking?"

"Fifteen minutes."

"That's it? It feels like it's been an hour!"

"Hey, no harm in resting." Andre assured Tori. He led her over to a large rock and sat on it with her. "After you catch your breath, we can catch up with them or head back the way we came. Your call."

"I'm sorry." Tori frowned. "I really need to walk, more. You two fine with continuing without us?"

"Sure. If you are." I looked at Petra.

"I'm good with that. If it's just us, let's try out the other trail. If it's too long, we can turn around."

She took my hand as we headed further into the woods, taking the right fork. We kept a steady pace, alternating between little talks and quietly enjoying the scenery. The path slowly got darker as the tree cover became more concentrated.

"We should turn around." I paused.

"I'm sorry. I figured this path was okay."

"There's probably a reason it's not as paved, like the other trail was." We turned around and slowly made our way out of the thick cover. When we were nearly back to a bright point, I spotted something large moving through the trees. I froze, grabbing Petra's hand. She started to speak.

"Ssh!" I reached into my pocket, only to remember the bear mace I usually carry is with Andre. A cold chill dropped down my spine. The large figure emerged about thirty feet away. A bear. This one smelled the air and huffed, clearly irritated by our presence.

Petra adjusted her stance. "Beck...What do we do? Where's the mace?"

"With Andre and Tori...I'm so sorry."

"Shit..."

The bear walked forward, still huffing. I raised my arms and yelled, my shout echoing off the trees. While it did take a step back, it didn't retreat. It stood up on its hind legs, ready to meet the challenge. Slamming down on its paws, it bolted for us.

I was moving across the road faster than my mind could work. Grabbing Petra, I lifted her up to the branch of a tree, about six feet off the ground. I grabbed hold of it and hoisted myself up, barely managing to escape the bear's immediate grasp in time. It managed to barely scratch the skin of my calf.

I sat up on the branch. "Climb!"

Petra didn't have to be told twice. She made her way up the tree another several feet, me trailing behind her. Reaching a larger branch, we both sat on it and looked down. The bear was still there, sniffing around the base of the tree, trying to decide if getting to us is worth the effort.

I adjusted how I was sitting, leaning my back against the tree. I grunted as my leg slipped, nearly sending me down. Petra grabbed my arm and righted me. I pulled her close.

"Are you okay?" She whispered, her eyes wide.

"I'm fine." I winced. My leg, already bleeding from the bear scratch, burned as debris from the tree's bark got in it.

She looked down at the bear. To our great relief, it wasn't climbing. Though, it did look like it was considering it.

"I'm calling the park service." She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and dialed. She explained to them the situation. "They said not to move. They'll track us through my phone."

She stayed on the line while we waited. Several minutes passed. Petra continued to look me over. "That looks really bad."

We nearly jumped out of our skins when a fog horn blasted through the trees. The noise frightened the bear, effectively scaring it away. A jeep stopped below us, containing two rangers. They positioned a ladder, using bungee cords to latch it to the tree. One at a time, the rangers helped us down. First, Petra. As I was taken down, the ranger explained why the bear may have attacked.

"People have been feeding them. It's causing a huge problem. Some of the adolescent bears think they can get more food by strong-arming campers."

"Definitely not us." I leaned on him as we made it to the ground. Piling into the back of the jeep, I found the back set up like a little impromptu first aid station.

"No, I think it's the out-of-state campers."

While my leg was bandaged up, the other ranger drove us back to the cabins. We found Tori and Andre on the porch. They looked spooked as I was helped out the back by the medic ranger.

"Bear." I answered simply.

"Geez!" Andre hurried to take my other arm. They got me inside and over to a couch. Jade was sitting in the corner of the seating area.

"What happened to you?"

"Thought it'd be fun to climb a tree." I said sarcastically, the pain starting to set in. I shooed everyone away and got myself situated. "It's not that bad. I just need some pain killers."

The ranger handed me an acetaminophen pouch, a couple ice packs and some replacement gauze before heading back outside. Taking the pain pills, I rested one pack on my leg while Tori went to store the other in the freezer. Andre pulled the mace from his backpack and handed it to me, remorseful. "I should've remembered to return this."

"The bear was too upset. It wouldn't have made a difference. Climbing the tree was our only choice." Petra reassured Andre on my behalf.

"Wait...you were chased by a bear?" Jade raised her voice. "I didn't think they would actually come out of the woods! Who's stupid idea was the hike?"

"The nice little walk was my idea." Andre still looked guilty. "It turned into a two mile hike that Tori couldn't finish, so we split up."

"It's nobody's fault." I sighed. "I'll probably avoid going too far in future. Ten minutes or less."

As everyone calmed down, Jade finally looked over at Petra. "You the girlfriend?"

Petra seemed to be working to avoid glaring at Jade, surprising me. She had the good grace not to ask if Jade's the ex, like I would in her place. Instead, she nodded. "It's been a long time."

"You actually remember me?" Jade looked away.

"You don't tend to forget your first death threat." Petra pinched her lips, eyes down, like she hadn't planned to say what she did.

"What do you mean?" I asked her, my tone coming out sharper than I intended.

"Nothing." Jade stood up, avoiding my eyes. She clearly knows exactly what Petra is talking about.

"I asked Petra. Death threat?"

"We've all gotten death threats from Jade." Tori tried to lighten the mood. "It's practically a rite of passage."

Petra stood quickly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that."

I took her hand, silently pleading with her to stay.

Jade started talking quickly. "Tori's right. I threaten everyone."

"What did you say to her?"

Petra took a deep breath. "It was ten years ago. It doesn't matter, anymore."

I sat the ice pack aside and forced myself to stand. Looking Petra in the eyes, the exact truth hit me. I turned on Jade. "So, you didn't just block her. She never reached out to me because you threatened to harm her? Is that it?"

"It wasn't a big deal..." Jade seemed actually sheepish.

"Easy for you to say." Under other circumstances, I'd just be upset. But, around the time this happened, Petra lost her brother. She lost her brother and she lost her friend. I do remember calling Petra on my mom's phone. Not just mine. She didn't answer. She probably thought she couldn't. Then, she left the state. "You do realize, other than you, I had no friends. It was Just Petra and her brother. You took it upon yourself to cut every non family connection I had until high school."

Jade's old anger wanted to come out and take over. That much is clear. To everyone's surprise, she looked down. Her voice came out thick, like she was on the verge of crying. "I'm sorry, Beck."

My anger dissipated. She actually means that... "You know...this is the first time you've ever apologized to me. I mean...really apologized."

"I am sorry." Jade whispered. She seemed to hesitate as she adjusted the way she's standing. Looking at Petra again, she sighed and walked upstairs. Her bedroom door shut quietly.

The atmosphere in the room slowly lifted. Petra took my shoulders and encouraged me to sit down again. She propped my leg on the coffee table and returned the ice pack to it.

"I can handle this." I assured her, pulling her onto the couch beside me.

"We took the longer trail because of me." She frowned.

"You couldn't have known."

"None of us could." Tori assured Petra. "We all made mistakes on this. But, ideally, the bears wouldn't bother us. Feeding them can cause so many problems. I'm honestly angry at whoever did."

The front door opened. Cat and Robbie walked in, both in tears. Robbie walked past us, up the stairs and shut himself in his room. Cat collapsed in a chair, sobbing.

"It's over...we broke up!"

"Oh my god..." Tori rushed to her side. Sliding into the chair with her, she hugged her. "What happened?"

"He proposed..."

"It's earlier than he said he would." Tori rubbed soothing circles on Cat's back. "You said no?"

Cat nodded, sniffing. She seemed to stiffen as Robbie returned downstairs with his suitcase. We all got up.

"You're leaving?" Andre tried to stop him.

"Just..." Robbie whipped around. "...I have to go. I can't stay here."

"Robbie, I'm sorry..." Cat cried fresh tears. Robbie looked at her hopefully.

"So, you'll marry me?"

Cat shook her head. "No..."

His face scrunched up. He let out a high pitched sob, like he used to in school. Grabbing his things, he looked at us. "Will one of you take me home?"

"I will." Andre offered. He took the suitcase while Robbie left to wait outside. Andre gave Cat a hug. "I'll talk to him. It'll be okay. Just look after yourself. Spend time with Tori."

Tori held onto Cat. "I've got her. Drive safe. Get back before dark."

"Will do." Andre took Tori's hand, giving her a look that might have only registered to me. She looked back at him, happy for the silent connection, but missing the deeper meaning.

Andre grabbed his phone and left. When he and Robbie were gone, Cat fell back into the chair, curled in a ball and cried. We gathered around her. Even Jade came down to investigate. On the sidelines, I kept Petra beside me. She seemed to pick up how protective we are of Cat and made herself useful, going into the kitchen and making her a cup of juice. Cat drank it, getting some sugar in her. It helped her calm down a little. Enough to stop shaking, at least.

"Can I ask why you said no?" Jade tried to get some answer out of Cat.

She shook her head. I pulled Tori aside and explained to her what Cat told me. Tori whispered back. "Does she mean she doesn't trust him with her heart?"

I shrugged. "Not a clue."

"I'll try and talk to her privately, when we go to bed. I already got her to agree to share my room, tonight. She shouldn't be alone."

"She's in good hands. It's Robbie I'm worried about. He looked devastated."

"Ssh. Don't let Cat hear that." Tori seemed to be thinking hard about something. "Let's try to spend the rest of the week talking to Cat. See if we can get them back together."

"I think we should find out exactly why Cat doesn't trust Robbie." I pointed out. "If it's bad enough to warrant Cat shutting him out, it's enough to warrant concern."

"Like he hurt her?" Tori looked appalled.

"No, I honestly doubt that. Like he probably has been neglecting her needs. Robbie has always been a little obsessed with Cat. But, now that they're together, can that be translated into something more substantial?"

Tori nodded along. "I get it...I would go over to Cat's place regularly. Robbie was always there. Even after they started dating, it felt like Robbie was more invested in having Cat in his life than the other way around. I'll broach the subject carefully. Maybe, Jade will help me."

Jade had left Cat's side long enough to overhear Tori's suggestion. "It's a good idea. We'll camp out in the living room."

"The sectional sofa can be arranged into a rectangular sleeping space." I pointed out. "It's the same style as the one my parents have."

"If we're gonna do this, it's gotta be a proper girl's night. Boys stay upstairs." Jade ordered.

"Andre and Beck will keep out of the way. What about Luke?"

"He'll stay scarce. I'm pretty sure he's at the recreation center." Jade shrugged. "If he can't keep himself entertained, he can go back to L.A."

Tori raised a brow. "Okay...Hey, Cat? You, me and Jade are gonna have a sleepover in the living room. We'll eat snacks and watch your favorite movie on Netflix."

"Aquamarine?" She cheered up slightly. "I love mermaids..."

Tori looked at Jade. "Fine by me. You?"

Jade grumbled. "I guess..."

I took a few more steps around the room, testing out my leg. It's sore, but not to the point I can't use it. Taking Petra's hand, I quietly led her to the door, leaving Jade and Tori to cheer up Cat. Outside, Petra smiled. "It's really sweet, how good of friends you all are. Even with Jade...you're kinder than I would be."

"I'm still sorry." I pulled her in for a quick kiss. "If I'd known that's why you didn't answer my calls..."

"It's in the past. It won't mean anything to dwell on it." She pulled me towards the tree line. "I'm the one who should be apologizing, anyway...I did encourage you to take the longer path. You could have gotten seriously hurt if you didn't get us up in that tree so fast...You really saved me."

We paused on the porch of her cabin. We kissed longer, slower. When we pulled away, I found her eyes closed, a smile on her lips. "What would you like to do now?"

"I could use a shower." She shrugged. "You can take one with me, if you want."

I grinned. Grabbing my hands, she pulled me inside.

Later that night, as Petra and I laid in bed, we listened to an owl somewhere in the trees. Its calls came in through the cracked open window.

"They're gonna have live music on the last night, for the firework show."

"Speaking of live music, we should check out a concert." Petra sat up. "I forgot there's gonna be a Live Inaction concert in October. We should totally go."

"I love them." I grinned. "Does that mean you won't be tired of me, if we're already making plans for next month?"

"I swear I won't." She leaned back down and kissed me. "So long as you can deal with me nearly feeding you to bears every now and then."

"I'll take my chances." I pulled her back down, throwing the covers over us.

For our fifth day at the campgrounds, we all decided to go back to the bonfire, Petra included. As we prepared for the outing, I asked Petra to run up to my room and find a jacket for herself. As the weather cools, her flannels aren't cutting it.

"You two seem to be doing really good." Tori leaned in, her voice low. Jade seemed to be avoiding everyone in the corner of the room, her eyes on her phone. Getting up abruptly, Jade left the cabin, Luke on her trail.

"We are." I glanced up the stairs, wondering what's taking Petra. "You guys go ahead. I'll meet you there."

"Don't take too long. All the good food will be gone." Tori took Andre's hand and linked arms with Cat. The three left.

I gave Petra another minute before heading upstairs. I found her sitting on my bed, a paper in her hand. Her eyes scanned over the words.

"What's that?" I pointed. She gave me a wary look.

"It's from Jade." She shoved it in my hands.

I smoothed out the crumpled page.

Beck,

I owe you an apology. Actually, I owe you about thousand apologies. We both tried to hold together something that was broken. Our relationship was the first thing I ever truly wanted. I wanted you the way you wanted me. I would've done anything to save it...even hurt you.

You stuck by me, regardless. You made me happy. You still do. I still have the gold rings. Mine and the one you dropped at my feet, five years ago. I still have the letters you wrote, the pictures we took and the memories. Five years of memories.

If Petra is what you want, I'll try to understand. But...if even the smallest part of you still wonders if we could be together, let me know. Even if it's just for the night. I'll take whatever word or touch you give me to my grave.

I still think we could love each other again...

Jade

My jaw practically dropped as I finished the letter. It began somewhat reassuring. In the end, she essentially offered to cheat with me. I crumpled the letter.

"I can't believe she wrote that." I muttered. Petra kept her eyes on the floor. I sat by her, trying to get her to look at me.

"I guess I didn't really comprehend just how close you and her could be. Five years..."

I grabbed Petra's hands, not liking were this conversation seems to be heading. "And five more years not speaking to her at all."

"I've never been with someone longer than a year, so I may not know how these things can work...but, is there a possibility that you might still think of her that way, however small?"

"What?" I leaned away, taken aback.

"It's an reasonable question. You two were close enough to have rings."

"So were you and Jason. I don't hold that against you."

She flinched. Standing, she started heading for the door before spinning towards me. "I didn't want his ring. You know that."

"Why are you angry with me over a letter I didn't even know existed until you found it?"

"I'm not angry." She glared. "I'm confused. I don't know what I expected. But, yesterday—when you were arguing with her—I could see something. There wasn't any malice, even though she hurt you like that. You didn't even seem truly angry."

"I was angry. As far as malice...I don't feel any towards her. It's hard for me to feel any hatred when I know what she must be going through."

"That's a concerning amount of empathy. She hurt you, Beck."

"I hurt her, too." I confessed, my tone low. "I spent a little more than the first year of the relationship intentionally making her jealous. I was an immature kid that played with her feelings. I'm the first to admit I didn't respect my relationship with her until after I caught real feelings. I'm not proud of that...I'm really ashamed how I behaved. Even when we were breaking up at graduation, I did apologize to her. I meant it."

"Okay, okay..." She shut her eyes for a moment, looking almost pained. "I get it."

I took Petra's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I have a past. You do, too. But, I don't feel a thing for Jade, except maybe pity. I won't pretend to have more malice than I actually feel. If you need me to hate my ex as much as you seem to hate yours, I don't know what to tell you. I'm too old to be holding grudges."

She opened her mouth, as if to gasp, but nothing came out. I wanted to eat my words as soon as they were out of my mouth. Ripping her hand out of mine, she stormed down the stairs and out the door. I stood there, shocked.

Why did I say that..? I basically called her immature for hating her ex...an ex that sounds more and more like he was emotionally abusive.

I ran down the stairs, chasing after Petra. I made it to the edge of her hard by the time she slammed her door shut. I ran up and knocked, begging her to open up. I apologized through the door, but she remained silent.

Damn it.

I sat on her porch, waiting for what felt like hours, hoping she'd let me in. Eventually, it became so cold, I had to go back to the cabin. I found Jade returned, her music player in her hands. She raised a brow. "I forgot this. What happened? You look like hell."

I looked over my shoulder. "I don't want to talk about it."

Jade seemed almost hopeful as she grabbed my sleeve, stopping me on my way to the stairs. "I hope this isn't about my letter. I just wanted to apologize."

"You have a weird way of apologizing." I couldn't help but glare. "Just leave me be. I need to be alone."

I pulled my sleeve out of her grip and headed up to my room. As I laid in bed, I listened to her shuffle around downstairs a bit. When she finally left, I shut my eyes and did my best to ignore the world.

Later that night, after my friends made several attempts to coax me out, I finally agreed to sit in the kitchen and eat something. Tori made everyone else sit in the living room, giving me some privacy. She sat a plate in front of me, clearly concerned.

"I don't know what happened, but I'm here to listen."

"I said something pretty awful to Petra..." I buried my face in my hands. It took Tori nudging my elbow with the plate to remember I need food. I took a bite of the burger.

"What did you say?"

"It's pretty bad..." I couldn't bring myself to explain just how much of an ass I was. Luckily, Tori didn't press it.

I ate another bite. Relieved, Tori squeezed my shoulder. "Don't neglect yourself. I'm here for you. We all are."

"How are things with Andre?" I murmured, trying to change the subject.

Tori blushed, a good sign. "Good...Really good. I take it he told you before he told me?"

"Yes." I smiled into my cup of water. "He's had it bad for you."

Her face lit up like a firework. A smile formed that would've probably made Andre's legs cave out from under him. "Really?"

"Don't look so shocked. I'm not an idiot. You feel the same."

"Yeah...I didn't realize anyone knew."

I finished my burger and water. "Thank you. I'm sorry if I've been worrying you. I just...I really like Petra. I hope I can apologize to her."

Tori's reassuring smile didn't budge. "I think your chances are good. I've seen how she looks at you. She seems like a really cool person. The kind that, after a couple days, will talk things out. Give her some space. It'll work out."

"That might be your optimism." I sighed. "I'll try, though."

A car noisily pulled up to the house, surprising all of us. Tori and I were barely out of the kitchen when the front door flung open, revealing Robbie. He shuffled on the porch, a rental car behind him. Taking a breath, he stormed in. Cat was on her feet in an instant.

"Look, Cat, I tried...I tried to understand. But, I don't. I don't get why you're doing this. Why are you acting so weird? This isn't like you. The Cat I know wasn't so scared of being with me."

"You know nothing about me, Robbie." Cat surprised us all by looking...not angry...but close.

"Of course I do. I've known you nine years! I know who you are. I know what you want. I know you love me."

"I do love you, Robbie..." Cat's eyes filled with tears. "But, you're wrong. You don't know me. You just think you do."

"I know you!" Robbie insisted, his voice pained. "You're my Cat. I've always known you."

"You know who I was." Cat seemed to struggle to articulate these emotions. "Who I am now...you don't. You've spent the last two years acting like you have me figured out. Like what I actually want isn't up for debate. You just assume. I don't know what version of me you think you're looking at, but she doesn't exist, anymore. She hasn't in years."

"Is it the timing..?" Robbie dropped his tone.

"It's everything. You assume too much. You assumed I'd want to move in with you right after we started dating. I had to keep avoiding it. You assumed when we'd want to start having sex. You assumed I'd want to share a room with you, here. When's the last time you actually asked me?"

Cat looked around at us, clearly surprised with her own honesty. Robbie's face dropped like a lead balloon. "I want to understand you, Cat. I'm trying to be a good boyfriend. I want to marry you. To spend my life making you happy. Why can't you see how much I love you?"

"Why can't you see how much I need you to be patient? It's not a race. If you'd just taken some time..."

"I can do that!" He reached forward and took her hands.

Cat gently pulled away. "I'm sorry, Robbie...You should go."

Robbie cried openly and loudly, devastated to the point he couldn't possibly care who's around. It took several minutes, but he eventually did leave. Andre and I stepped outside with him.

"Robbie, wait up." Andre stopped him at his car door. "Take a breath. Don't drive off while you're this upset."

"I need to get out of here." Robbie was practically hyperventilating.

"Andre's right. You need to calm down, first." I stood in front of the rental car's driver door, blocking it.

Robbie sobbed. "Why? Why is she doing this?"

"You can't just assume things about her, Robbie. Cat has valid reasons for her choices. You have to respect them."

I stared at the tree line, fully understanding how relevant those words are to me, too. I assumed, naively, that whatever happened between Petra and her ex wasn't so bad as it seemed. In my bones, I know I'm wrong. Somehow, he hurt her. I cannot be surprised with her shutting me out when I insinuate she's blowing things out of proportion.

Robbie followed Andre back to the porch, to sit and talk. I stood nearby, deep in my thoughts.

"Do you get it, man?" Andre pat Robbie's shoulder. "You can't hold the girl on this imaginary pedestal. She's a very different person since high school."

Robbie nodded sullenly. "Yeah...Do you think there's a chance she'll take me back?"

"If you show you can change." Andre didn't look like he believed his own words. "Maybe..."

While miserable and defeated, Robbie did manage to calm down. When he finally drove off, he looked a lot more level headed. Andre and I watched him go.

"Sad as it is...this confrontation needed to happen." I said softly. Even from here, I could hear Cat's panicked voice as she talked to Tori and Jade.

"It did. It's just sad. They were supposed to be the dream couple. The ones that were gonna stick together till the end."

"They still could be. It'll have to happen on Cat's terms. She pointed out some pretty concerning things Robbie had been doing."

"Yeah...The girl may need therapy, if I heard her right. That had to be a stressful two years. Robbie needs to continually be reminded of what reality is. I think he needs therapy, too."

He does. It should be a requirement."

"It should. Therapy for both of them, then think about restarting their relationship." Andre nodded along with his own words.

Tori stepped outside. "The camp store closes in fifteen minutes. Will you walk me? Cat needs ice cream."

"Yeah." Andre took her hand and they left.

I stared at the treeline. Opening my car, I pulled out a notepad and wrote Petra.

Petra,

I am so sorry for what I said. Your ex isn't like mine. He was so much worse. You don't deserve to have your experiences belittled like that. Please take all the time you need to think. I hope, after that, you still want me around. I really care for you.

Beck

Folding up the letter, I headed over, picking the few wildflowers that have managed to brave the weather. I sat the note and the flowers on her porch, weighing it down with a rock from her garden. I thought I saw the curtains in her kitchen window flutter slightly. Staring a little longer than necessary, I gave up and headed back to my room.