Smoke Screen

Chapter 27

For the rest of the week, Tony and Layla hung out together every chance they got. Though there were only a few days of camp left, they still enjoyed their time together. Hanging out with him quickly became Layla's favorite part of her day. She did not care about the rest of the summer camp or the campers. She just wanted to be with Tony.
    When they ran out of things to do at camp, they sneaked into the woods around the campus to explore. Around Tony, Layla had a hard time keeping up a cold look or hard expression. With everything he did and said, he made her smile.
    It made Layla slightly scared. She had never been this happy. She could not help but think about when it would all go away. It was sure to happen sooner or later.
    Something was going to happen. Tony would stop liking her and maybe even start hating her. Then he would leave and she would be alone again.
    She hated the thought of that. She did not want to lose him. But she knew it was inevitable. Everyone always left. That was how it always was.
    Why would anyone want to be friends with her? For some reason Tony did, but she knew that was sure to not last long. Still, she was going to make the best of it and enjoy the time they had together, no matter how short that would be.
    "Are you okay?" Tony asked, snapping Layla out of her thoughts.
    She looked up at him, giving him a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."
    He did not believe her but smiled back anyway. "Good." He said. "I had fun this week. How about you?"
    "More than I thought I would. Except for the part where I almost drowned."
    "Yeah, that's definitely not in my top ten for this summer camp." He said, shaking his head.
    "And what is?" She asked, curious of what his answer would be.
    "Hmm." He thought about it for a moment. "The food, the bonfire, hanging out with you, when you woke up after I pulled you out of the lake, and when you finally became my friend."
    "That's only five. What about the other half?"
    This time Tony did not have to think about it at all. "Everything we did together. I couldn't rate them though, they were all the best."
    Layla rolled her eyes. "Of course you wouldn't be able to make a top ten list correctly."
    "Well, what's your top ten list?" He asked.
"Ten is too much." She said.
"Then how about top five."
She had to think about it longer than him. "When the long car drive was over, the food was good I guess, rock wall climbing, archery, and exploring the woods." She said.
"What about me?" Tony asked.
"What do you mean what about you?"
"Didn't you like hanging out with me?" He gave her a fake hurt look.
Layla looked away, feeling a bit awkward. "Let's just say that's the other five."
"That's cheating." He said.
"It's exactly what you did!" She said as she sent him an accusatory look.
"Well I... yeah. Fine. I'll let it slide this time." He said. Layla rolled her eyes but could not stop herself from smiling.
Around them, the other students were gathering around with their suitcases. Some of their parents had already arrived and they were happily catching up with each other.
Layla rolled her eyes at the cheerful display of parental love. It made her sick.
    "Are your parents on their way?" Tony asked her.
    "It's just my dad." Layla said shortly.
    "Oh." Tony was not sure what else to say.
    Layla checked her phone. She had texted her dad several times, reminding him that the summer camp was over and asking if he was going to pick her up. None of her messages had been read.
    "And it looks like he's not coming. What a surprise." She said dryly as she put her phone back in her pocket, giving up on waiting for a response.
    "If you need a lift you can catch a ride with me." Tony offered.
    "Did you drive here?" She asked.
    "No, My cousin Dom dropped me off." He said. "He should be here soon."
    "Do you think he'll mind?"
    "No, not at all." He said.
    "Alright, that'd be nice." Layla said. "Otherwise I have no idea how I'd get home."
    "We don't want that to happen." Tony said. "Are you all packed yet?"
    "Pretty much."
    "Do you need help bringing it out here?"
    "I've got it. I'll be right back." She said before heading to her cabin. It was completely empty other than her suitcase that sat on her bunk. All of the other campers were already all packed and probably reuniting with their families.
    Layla could not care less. She was glad that her dad was not going to pick her up. If he did she knew the ride home would have been just as awkward as the ride there.
    It only took her a few minutes to gather her stuff and put it back in her suitcase. Before zipping it up, she pulled out her vape and breathed in a few puffs of sweet smoke. She smiled as she felt herself relax more.
    She despised the thought of going home, but tired to keep it out of her mind. She was not home yet so it was best for her to not let it bring her down. Her dad was sure to go that for her later.
    Putting her vape in her pocket, she zipped up her suitcase and hauled it out of the cabin. When she made it back to where Tony was, she saw that he was standing next to someone.
They were both smiling and talking as they put Tony's suitcase into the car that was parked near them. Layla figured that must have been Dom.
She slowly approached them and Dom smiled in a welcoming manner when he saw her. "This is your friend?" Dom asked Tony.
"Yeah, this is Layla. Layla, my cousin Dom." Tony introduced them to each other.
"Nice to meet you." Dom said.
"You too." Layla gave him the best smile she could muster. Tony grabbed her suitcase and threw it into the trunk.
"You two ready to get out of here?" Dom asked. They both nodded and got into the car.
As they drove, Tony happily talked with Dom, telling him everything that happened. Layla could tell that the two of them were close. She was slightly jealous. She wondered what it was like to be so close to a family member.
For most of the drive she just gazed off out the window. She wished that the ride would last forever, but unfortunately it came to an end faster than she wanted. Her heart sank as she looked out the window at her house. She was home.