Camp Red Lake

Chapter 32. Note

"Ohh..." I groaned lazily when I woke up. I felt a lot better. After I stretched, I glanced over to the couch where Croy had been laying last night. The thin sheet was carelessly draped on the floor and Croy was nowhere in sight. In his place, was a fresh change of clothes, a blue duffle-bag and a clean white towel. I smiled as I got out of bed and walked over to the couch.

After picking up my clothes, I made my way towards the bathroom. The infirmary was the only place in the entire camp that stored hot water. I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that. I indulged in the luxury of a hot shower. After such a long time, it was bliss. For almost 30 minutes, I stood underneath the running water, enjoying every second of my shower.

Before I realized it, the water began running cold. After I closed the knobs, I stepped out feeling refreshed and awake. A light knock on the door startled me as I slipped into my uniform. "Hazel?" I opened the door once I was finished and found Croy leaning against the wall. "Wow, I thought you went down the drain or something. You took forever in there." he teased.

"Shut up!" I said as I pushed past him. I picked up the duffle-bag and started packing my stuff. Croy stared at me from the other side of the room. After a few seconds of silence, I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes. He looked better than the day before. The bags under his eyes were nearly gone and his hair was wet and clean. "At least he looks better than yesterday..." I thought to myself as I continued packing.

"Hazel." he began as he made his way towards me. "Thanks for worrying about me last night." he said as he ran his fingers through his wet hair. "Doctor Lowell told me how anxious you were..." he trailed off. "No one's ever worried about me as much as you have. I'm really sorry I'm such a handful." He apologized as he rubbed the nape of his neck. I shook my head.

"You're not a handful Croy. If anything, you're always the one rescuing me. I should be the one thanking you." I said as I faced him. "Thank you, for everything. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be alive." I said as I shoved my hands in my pockets. Suddenly, and without warning, Croy tossed his arms around me and embraced me.

"Shut up..." he whispered as he crushed me to his chest. "Just don't leave me..." I buried my blushing face in his chest. "Are you okay?" he asked without letting go. I nodded as I studied him for a few seconds. My eyes widened when he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on my forehead. My heart nearly rocketed out of my chest. After that he pulled away and made his way towards the door. Just before stepping out, he turned to me with a crooked smile. "Let's get going twerp."

A few more weeks passed after the incident with my Illness. Everything was fine until that day; The day that everything began getting complicated.

(Ring!!!)

The bell rang signaling the end of 6th period. After I gathered my stuff, I made my way lazily out of math class. "I wonder if Croy's home?" I asked myself as I walked across the campus towards the cabin. I had a horrible headache. My book bag was so heavy it was making me hunch. Croy hadn't been to school all day and I hadn't seen him around much lately. When school let out, he wouldn't pick me up anymore. He had started doing drills before and after school.

Although Jason said that he was doing it to stay in shape, I believed otherwise. Croy was avoiding me. That's why he was keeping himself busy. He had started acting strange after my illness. We had stopped my training because he feared I would get sick again. Even though he never said anything to me, I had a feeling that he blamed himself for what happened that night.

When I got to the cabin, I walked over to my cot and dropped my stuff on it. I let myself fall backwards and stared up at the ceiling wondering where he was. After a while, I turned my head and glanced at the nightstand. There was a small piece of notebook paper folded neatly on top. I sat up wearily and took the paper in my hands. After studying it, I realized it was Myra's hand writing. It had my name on the front. After a few seconds of hesitation, I unfolded the note and read it.

"Dearest Hazel, please forgive Croy for the way he's been acting. He's had a lot on his mind and is too dumb to deal with it properly. Today is going to be an interesting day for you. I was walking through the field, thinking about a few things, when I ran into a certain someone and we started talking. The topic was your first kiss. After a lengthy conversation with this person, I realized that unless I do something about it, nobody else will. Which leads me to my first request. I need you to go to the spot where you had your first kiss.

Good luck girl, you're going to need it. Yours truly, Myra.

I arched an eyebrow as I glanced back to where I had found the note. The mask I had worn the evening of the dance was on the nightstand. It had a yellow post-it on the front.

"PS. you're going to need the mask. Be sure to put it on before you leave the cabin." I stared at the mask confused. I hadn't thought about that night for a few months already.

"I had forgotten about that, but why would Myra want me to go to the meadow...?" my thoughts trailed off. Anxiety coursed through me as I shifted on my cot. After folding the note and placing it in my pocket, I put on the mask and made my way out of the cabin.