Chapter 6

Our lack of survival skills was starting to show, and we hadn't even made it to the campsite yet. "What do you mean you don't know where the turn off is?" Sascha's panicked voice filled the car.

"I mean the internet dropped out a kilometre ago and the GPS on my phone is no longer tracking us." What else could it mean? I paid attention to the roads we passed since the connection cut out and was matching what I saw with the map that no longer functioned on my phone. I was quite certain our turn off was the next one on the right.

Sascha shook her head. "Maybe this was a bad idea. We are so not cut out for camping."

"We're going to be fine," I reassured her. "We have everything we need, I think, and once we're there, I'm sure Dale can help us with whatever we panic about next."

I looked into the backseat of Sascha's little Toyota. We went shopping on Thursday night to get sleeping bags and had come home with a few extra things. We now had an esky, which was currently filled with alcohol and snacks, as well as a camp light for inside the tent. Our pillows and overnight bags were there as well. I'm pretty sure we overpacked, but we wanted to be prepared for anything. Besides, we would leave our second bags in the car and no one would be the wiser.

"Turn right up here," I instructed when I spotted the small gap in the tree line. We were driving through a dense area. Luckily, it was only midday, and we could see everything clearly. When Sascha made the turn, I started getting some seriously creepy Wolf Creek vibes.

The bush was incredibly dense and there were dilapidated wooden signs with the faded names of bushwalks and their distances. There was also an empty car parked to the side of the narrow dirt road.

As if she read my mind, Sascha asked, "Are you sure this is the right place?"

"Mhmm," I mumbled, not wanting to formally admit it in case I was wrong. "Just keep going. I think it's at the end of this road." I hoped it was at the end of this road.

Thankfully, it was. A group of cars was parked at the end, just outside an open gate. We drove through that gate, not sure what to do, and just to stay safe. We spotted Dale almost immediately and a wave a relief ran through me.

"You made it," he greeted proudly as we stepped out of the car. Sascha ran straight into his arms.

"Barely," I muttered.

"Let's grab your stuff and put it in the tent. Justin set it up for you earlier."

Of course he did. At the mention of Justin's name, I felt my usual heart phenomena start up, but I didn't pay as much attention to it now. After our little coffee date on Tuesday, or whatever it was, he managed to catch me off-guard a second time. Yesterday, he brought me another coffee and we spent an hour sitting and talking by the soccer field watching the EU team train. We didn't speak about anything major, but it was nice. He also took it as a chance to hype me up about camping in the bush. It made me a little nervous, although I'm sure he was joking about most of it.

After that, I was fully prepared to see him today.

Everyone else arrived yesterday, so I wasn't surprised to see a completely set up campsite. To ensure I could come over the weekend, I had to swap my Saturday shift with a Friday one. The others didn't have that problem and Justin told me they were heading here on Friday afternoon for an extra night.

There were five tents set up in a circle, plus a swag, which I learned at the camping store was a one-person mini tent that you couldn't even sit up in. It didn't look very comfortable. There was a river about fifty metres away and I could hear the hum of a loud engine.

"Where is everyone?" I asked curiously. It was a small village without residents.

"They're out on the water." He checked his watch. "They'll be back in soon. I had them drop me off earlier so I could be here to meet you."

"Aww," Sascha cooed. "So sweet."

That was something at least. I shivered imagining what it would have been like to arrive at an abandoned camp. The Mick Taylor nightmares would be horrendous.

Dale led us to a small orange tent. "Alright, ladies, this one's yours. It's a two-person, and the air mattress is already blown up." He left us to sort out our space and went to start the fire. It was already cold and the temperature would drop even further tonight.

"This is sort of cosy," I said as we sat on the double mattress and unrolled our sleeping bags. The mattress barely fit inside the tent, and we had to squish our bags into one corner so there was space to slide out the zippered door. We had no qualms sharing a bed, plus the proximity would provide extra warmth.

"It's sort of fun," she added perkily. "Oh, do you think we'll make s'mores tonight?"

I shook my head. "Doubt it. Isn't than a North American thing?"

Sascha shrugged. "You're asking the wrong person."

When we were satisfied with the comfort of our new accommodations, we slipped out of the tent. I zipped it up and turned just in time to see a Jeep towing a boat drive by the camp. I didn't know any of the guys sitting in the boat, but I did recognise Darcy and her friend Emily. Great.

"Ellie. Snakes!"

I yelped and jumped away from the tent. "What? Where?" My heart almost beat out of my chest as I spun on the spot looking for them.

She started laughing. "I meant zip the tent up properly or the snakes will get in."

My shoulders slumped in relief as Sascha lent down to fix the zipper. "Do not yell the word snake when there's no snake!" I growled.

"You know," another voice started. I jumped and spun around. "If you ever do see a snake, don't make any sharp or sudden movements." It was Justin, and he was laughing.

My annoyance quickly faded because he was standing there in board shorts and a life jacket. And the jacket was open. And I could see his naked chest beneath it. And it was gorgeous. At least, what I could see of it was.

I contained my shock at how good he looked in this odd outfit and turned on the attitude. "This is your fault."

His laugh deepened. "My fault? How's that?"

"Well, if you didn't tell me lies about snakes and funnel webs and I forget what else, then perhaps I wouldn't have had that reaction."

He disagreed. "Yes, you would. And I didn't tell you any lies. It was all true."

Well, that may be so, but I wasn't going to admit it now.

"You girls hungry?" he asked once the chuckles subsided. "We're about to cook a late lunch."

"I'm famished," Sascha announced. I'd almost forgotten she was there.

Justin left and I watched him walk away. He ended up at the Jeep that towed the boat. He took the life jacket off on the way and gave me a really nice view of his back.

Sascha shoved me in the shoulder. "When you're done drooling, should we go and sit by the fire?" she asked with a telling grin.

I rolled my eyes but joined her. Three embarrassing moments in about three minutes. That must be a record.

Camping turned out to be as chill as I expected. While no one went fishing, there were plenty of other activities keeping everyone occupied. The guys from the boat I didn't know were the old friends of Dale and Darcy's brother. Their names were Seone and Lewis, and they started a cricket game after lunch. Some of the guys played cards on the picnic table, and Darcy decided she wanted to whip up some cocktails, which was kind of fun. I even enjoyed sitting around drinking the vodka and guava juice concoction and gossiping with the girls, including Emily.

The time passed quickly and soon enough everyone was sitting around the fire trying to keep warm. That's also when the stories about Daniel started. Sascha informed me earlier about how he died five years ago—an overdose. I didn't get much more that, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know, but it was why we were here. Dale and Darcy camped annually because this was one of Daniel's favourite places.

Everyone spoke about how light-hearted and funny Daniel was, and how he was one of the most ambitious people they knew. It made me wonder though, why someone who was supposedly so happy would take a lethal amount of whatever it was he took. Was Daniel an addict? Or did he do it for another reason?

That thought stirred up some other memories and I removed myself from the main group. Sascha watched me walk by and I sent her a small smile to let her know I was fine. I sat on the picnic table just outside the ring of camp chairs circling the fire. It was close enough for me to hear the conversation but far enough that I could get a little privacy.

That privacy didn't last long, but I didn't mind Justin joining me. He was watching me from across the fire, and after getting up to grab another beer from the esky, he walked over to sit with me.

"Need a refill of whatever that is?" he asked, pointing to the cup in my hand. It was the guava vodka drink. He sat down on the tabletop and an awkward tension filled the few inches between us.

"I'm all good," I told him and took a sip. My cup was still full.

"So you're over here hiding from the snakes then?" he asked, trying to make a joke. It was a half-hearted attempt. He could sense my mood. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't think such happy stories could be so depressing."

We sat in silence for a little while. Justin was gazing at the fire, but it was clear his mind was somewhere else.

When he spoke, it wasn't what I expected. "I was the one who found him," he admitted, looking away from the fire to the bottle in his hands.

"Daniel?" I whispered.

Justin nodded. "It was here. Another mate and I came camping with Dale's whole family. No one noticed Dan disappear the night before. In the morning, I took the dog down to the bank to run around and he was there."

I was in disbelief and didn't know what to say. I reached over and placed a hand on his arm. "That's horrible. I'm sorry."

He looked down at my hand, but I didn't pull away. "Everyone thought he drowned until they found the drugs in his system."

"Isn't it traumatising to come back here every year?" I couldn't even imagine what it was like to see what he saw.

He sighed. "It was the first couple of times. I'm okay with it now. Coming here, spending weekends wakeboarding and hanging out, was his favourite thing to do."

I still didn't know what to say, so we sat in silence again. I was the next to speak, and I told him something very few people knew.

"When I was fifteen," I began quietly, "I tried to find my birth mother." Justin turned to look at me, but he didn't say anything, so I continued. "I was going through this nobody loves me phase, and I had a lot of anger back then, so Dad helped me find her."

"Did you ever get to meet her?"

I let out the deep breath I was holding in. "No. Eventually the agency tracked her down, but it was too late. She passed ten years earlier. Her name was Grace and she had me at seventeen. I'm the same age now that she was when she died of an overdose. She was a heroin addict." My eyes were starting to water so I looked up at the dark sky, willing them to dry up. They did. I never spoke about this part of my life, and this was why.

When I looked back at Justin, he was watching me curiously, or maybe it was with pity. He hesitated before asking his next question. "What about your birth father?"

I shook my head. "He doesn't exist. His name isn't on my birth certificate."

Justin's eyes widened. "Wow. I don't... I just..." He was at a loss for words. It seemed we both had that problem tonight. "I'm going to hug you now," he eventually said. "If that's not what you want then, you know, push me off the table or throw your drink in my face or something."

His words brought small smiles to both our faces. I thought we could each use a little comfort so I didn't protest when he put his arm around me. I even leaned into his one-armed hug. And then we sat there, staring at the fire, both lost in our own memories.

...

"Sitting alone again?" Justin questioned as he plonked down on the camp chair next to mine. It was well past midnight and the fire was starting fade.

"Not intentionally this time." I gave a half smile to let him know I was okay now.

"Almost everyone's in bed," he stated. "Not tired?" Darcy and Emily retired to their own tent ten minutes ago, as did one of the other guys. It was just Seone, Justin and me left by the fire. Seone was almost asleep in his camp chair.

I glanced back at my tent. "Well, if bed was an option right now, I'd probably be there." Justin raised a brow in confusion. "Sascha's in there, with Dale," I confirmed, trying to hide my grievance.

"Oh," was all he said.

"So, I'm out of options until they resurface. And I'm not sure I want to sleep on that mattress now anyway." That was the truth, and it made him laugh.

I shrugged. What could I do?

"Okay, here are our options," he began. He stood up and started pacing in front of me like he was contemplating a serious problem. "Option one; you wait and then sleep in the tent with Sass. That could be a while though. They might fall asleep. Option two; you can sleep in Dale's swag." He paused to think about that for a moment. "Personally, I'd avoid that one. He's spewed in there more than once in the past. Plus he might try to crawl back in there at some point."

Gross. No thanks.

"The third option?" I asked, knowing I definitely wasn't sleeping in the swag.

"You sleep in my tent and I bunk in the Jeep. I've got a spare sleeping bag so it's not a problem."

I think I was more shocked by this offer than the idea of Dale trying to curl up beside me in his swag. "I can't let you do that."

"Well, I'm not letting you be uncomfortable in the car." He crossed his arms as if that was the final say.

I thought about our situation for a minute, and then made an offer I never imagined I'd make to Justin Hart. "Or," I began slowly, standing up to show him I was serious. "We can both sleep in your tent and neither of us has to be uncomfortable." I held my breath, waiting for his reaction.

If he had one, he was good at hiding it. "Are you sure you're okay with that?" he questioned carefully.

I nodded, hoping my next words sounded confident and not awkward. "You have a spare sleeping bag, right? It's basically our own little bed each, just on the same air mattress."

"Makes sense," he agreed. "Well, okay, if you're ready for bed, you jump in there and I'll go grab that sleeping bag."

This could end up being a horrible decision, but I couldn't let him sleep in his car. Everything would be fine. Hopefully.

When we were both zipped up inside his dark tent, he asked, "did you want to sleep head to toe?"

I giggled nervously. "We're not five, Justin, we don't have cooties."

"Fair call." He slipped inside his sleeping bag. "Oh, did you need something to sleep in?" He looked pointedly at my jeans.

"Um, no it's okay." Was he offering me his clothes? I had a spare bag in the car. The problem with that was the keys to said car were in the tent with Sascha. "I'll just unbutton them or something."

Once I was zipped up inside my own sleeping bag, I decided jeans really weren't comfortable to sleep in. I reached down to wriggle them off inside the bag. Justin wouldn't see a thing. When I pulled them out, he was staring at me with wide eyes.

"Problem solved?" he asked in a tone a of voice I'd never heard from him. He sounded unsure of himself.

"I'm good," I chirped. "Perfectly comfortable. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Ellie Bean," he whispered.

I was far from perfectly comfortable, turned away from him and right on the edge of the mattress. But I was fairly calm considering I was spending the night in the same bed as Justin Hart.