“You also told Mr. Mitchell you thought white holes existed. Clearly I can’t trust your opinion.”
“Hey, it’s a valid theory,” he retorted, but when she didn’t loosen her grip, he reluctantly put his arm around her shoulders.
“Sure it is,” she said in a patronizing voice as she took a small step forward. “Now, are you going to be stubborn or can we actually go?”
“Fine.”
He let out a sigh.
There was no point fighting it. Besides, what else could go wrong with his day? His dad was too besotted with his new wife to remember to collect him, his mom was on a cruise, destination unknown, and once again he’d made a fool of himself in front of Via Mackenzie.
He took a tentative step forward. The sooner this was over with, the better.
2
“Wait. Let me get this straight. You hid up a tree, and then when he came to talk, you fell on him and caused him to sprain his ankle. Have I missed anything?”
“Shut up, Zac.” Via threw the magazine she’d been reading at her brother’s head. He merely picked it up and began to fan himself.
“You know, Vee, if you want some dating tips you just have to ask,” he said as his phone beeped. He studied the screen and smirked. “One of my many admirers.”
“Poor girl. Tell her the doctor should be able to prescribe something for her to get over it.” She stood and retrieved her magazine. It was National Geographic and there was an article she wanted to finish reading.
Also, she most definitely did not want to be having this conversation with her brother. It was messing with her denial process. Especially the part where Hudson had sprained his ankle. Or that somehow he was now at least a foot taller than last time she’d been near him and smelled of cinnamon.
She frowned. Those last two facts were irrelevant. But the sprained ankle? That was a problem. She’d managed to get him back to his family cabin and immediately got the site nurse, who’d confirmed the sprain and praised Via for helping him.
Hudson hadn’t said a word about what had really happened. Merely that he’d tripped and Via had been nearby.
Her mood didn’t improve.
“Ouch. That’s harsh.” Zac dragged his gaze away from his phone and gave her a quizzing stare. “Though I never understood why you’re still mad at him. It happened years ago, and it was just a bra. Not the end of the world.”
No. It had only felt like it.
She sat back down and shut her eyes. She’d never told Zac about the panic attack that followed. Or Frankie.
She was already Zac’s boring sister who spent all her time studying. Knowing she was a freak would draw more attention. And so she’d let people think she was crying in the bathroom stall, instead of what she’d really been doing. Trying to calm her mind. Get her breathing under control. Stop from passing out.
It seemed the lesser of two evils.
When she opened her eyes, Zac was still waiting for an answer.
“I’m over what happened,” she lied with a casual shrug. “Which is why this sucks. I’d much rather my past stay exactly where it was. Damn you, quantum mechanics.”
“Seriously? You’re sciencing me now?”
“Quantum mechanics argues my past, present, and future can and do exist all at the same time. But that’s just a theory.”
He blinked and gave a dismissive shrug. As if what she’d said was mildly interesting, but it was time to consign it back to where it had come from. She sighed.
“Here’s a crazy idea. You could make peace with him. It could be the start of a beautiful friendship,” Zac said while simultaneously scrolling through his phone.
“Not going to happen.” She folded her arms.
It wasn’t even losing out on first prize at the science fair—though that had burned. It was the fact everyone had looked at her. Two years later she still got called Kitty because of the tiny cats on her bra.
And it had all been Hudson’s fault.
He’d dragged her out of the background where she was comfortable and made her a laughing stock. It was hard to explain to her brother just how overwhelming she found it. Especially since he lit up when he was the center of attention. The more the merrier. But Via wasn’t like that.
There was silence between them, but finally he gave her a smile.
“Fine, little sis. I’ll leave it alone. But, for the record, I always liked Hudson.”
“You also liked putting marshmallows up your nose. Your judgment is flawed,” she retorted but gave him a grateful smile. Most of the time her brother was exasperating, but she knew he had her back. “Thank you for trying to make me feel better.”
“Always.” He held up his fist for a bump, and she rolled her eyes but returned the gesture.
“Ah, there you both are.” Their mom appeared in the cabin doorway holding a couple of folding chairs, while their dad followed armed with a large plate of hamburger patties and a bowl of salad. “It’s time for the camp BBQ. And—” She leveled a stern glare at Via “—no getting out of it.”
“Don’t be too hard on her, Jen,” her dad chimed in. “If she hadn’t been around, poor Hudson would have been stuck where he was. Though I’m still not clear on how you hurt your hands.”
“I stumbled when I was helping him,” Via quickly said. Logically it didn’t make sense, but it seemed to satisfy her parents. Good. No way did she want to go into the whole tree incident. She gave Zac a warning glance and he shrugged, letting her know it was her business.
She let out a sigh and followed the rest of her family to the outdoor seating area of Camp Doom. Most of
