Chapter Three
Krista
The Next Day
I am so fucking bored. We have sat in this camper and done a lot of nothing, and I am going out of my mind.
We don’t feel comfortable interacting with anyone, and there are too many people here to feel comfortable wandering.
We’ve just stayed close to the camper and minded our own business.
There is some weird shit going on here, but it’s better than being around Austin, I guess.
We have played card games most of the time, but there isn’t much to do.
This was a last-minute trip, so we didn’t have time to plan everything.
We don’t even have a cell signal to reach out and check on things.
We are just trusting that Dad and Maverick have a handle on things.
Worst case, we leave and try to stay away from Austin.
I groan and lie back on the seat of the picnic table. “I’m so bored,” I say.
“Want to go down and watch the fireworks?”Brady asks me. “They should be starting soon.”
“Can we?” I ask, popping up. “Are you joking?”
“No, we can,” he says, pulling me up to stand. “I’m sorry that there isn’t much to do. I didn’t realize we wouldn’t be able to at least stream movies.”
“Once things settle, we will take a real trip and relax,” Luke says, walking around the table.
“I just don’t like that Austin still has so much control,” I say. “I feel like I can’t relax, and I hate it.”
“I know. Hopefully, we won’t be here long,” Luke says, gently kissing me. “The bonfire is at eight, I think, and then fireworks at nine thirty. We have some time before that, so why don’t we walk up to the falls? It’s quieter up there, and it will give us something to do.”
"Uhm.." I hesitate. The fear is still there. It's not too overwhelming, but it's there. The idea of leaving the camper sits wrong in my chest.
“We don’t have to go,” Luke says, like he can read every thought flickering behind my eyes. He leans against the truck, arms crossed, watching me carefully—not pushing, not teasing. Just there.
“Trail’s not far. In and out. Easy," Brady says as he nudges a rock with his boot.
Easy. There is no such thing as easy anymore.
I glance over my shoulder at the camper like it might disappear the second I turn my back on it.
It’s cramped and hot and boring, but it’s ours.
It’s contained. It feels… controlled. Out there?
Out there is space. Trees. Blind spots. Places someone could be.
My stomach twists into knots thinking about one of them getting hurt for me.
“We can stay,” Luke adds quietly. I almost say yes, and let myself sink back into that tiny, suffocating bubble where nothing changes, and nothing heals. I’m so fucking tired of being afraid. I am tired of never living or experiencing anything out of fear.
“I don’t want to stay,” I say, quietly, mostly as if I am talking to myself. I straighten my shoulders, forcing something that feels like confidence. Or maybe it's stupidity. “I want to go.”
Brady’s mouth tilts into a small grin. It's not cocky or smug. It's just… proud.
“Alright, then,” Luke says. “Waterfall it is.” He pushes off the truck and reaches for my hand like it’s the most natural thing in the world. No hesitation. I take it because this is my new normal. This is what my forever with them will look like.
I hear the waterfall before I see it. A low, steady roar that cuts through everything else. It grows louder with each step until it fills the space in my head, drowning out the constant hum of anxiety that never really goes away. By the time the trees open up, it’s all I can hear.
And then... God, it’s beautiful.
Water spills over a rocky ledge in a wide, shimmering curtain, crashing into a clear pool below. Sunlight catches the spray, turning it into something almost glittering. Mist hangs in the air, cool against my skin, and the sound… It’s overwhelming in the best way. I step forward without thinking.
“Careful,” Brady says, his hand hovering near my lower back.
“I’m fine,” I breathe, but my voice comes out softer than usual.
Because I am. For a second, I just stand there, staring.
Memories of Austin hurting me replay through my mind, but they don't hurt as badly when I stand here.
How can I be afraid when the world holds such beautiful places like this?
Have I really lived my life with Austin terrified, when I could have walked away to experience things like this? Like safety and silence?
I slip my hand from Luke’s and move closer to the edge of the pool, crouching down to dip my fingers into the water. It’s cold—shockingly so—and I suck in a breath, laughing under it. Like actually laughing. The sound feels foreign coming out of me.
“Holy shit,” I murmur, trying to downplay what I am feeling.
Brady chuckles. “What?”
“It’s fucking freezing.”
“Then get in,” Luke says, already tugging his shirt over his head.
“You’re fucking insane," I laugh, shaking my head.
“Probably,” he agrees easily, kicking off his boots. “But you didn’t come all the way out here to just look at it.”
He steps into the water like it’s nothing, barely reacting to the temperature, and wades in until it reaches his waist. Brady follows a second later, hissing under his breath.
“Okay, that’s cold,” Brady admits.
I laugh again—louder this time—and it feels… good. God, it feels so good.
“Come on,” Luke says, holding out his hand to me.
I hesitate. It's not because I don’t want to, but because I do.
There’s that split-second instinct that whispers and says don’t be vulnerable, don’t let your guard down, don’t let him find you.
Luke doesn’t push. He doesn’t rush. His hand just stays there.
Finally, I take it, and he pulls me toward him.
The cold hits me like a shock when I step in, stealing the breath from my lungs, and I gasp, clutching onto him instinctively.
“Jesus!” I laugh, half panicked, half exhilarated. Adrenaline is rushing through my body now.
“Told you,” Brady says, grinning. I move deeper, slowly adjusting, until the water laps at my thighs, my hips, my waist. My body fights it at first, muscles tensing, breath coming quick, but then…
something shifts. The sound of the waterfall wraps around me.
The cold fades into something almost numbing.
The tension in my shoulders loosens, just a little.
Then a little more. Luke’s hand slides from mine, giving me space, and I don’t panic when he lets go.
I just… float there. Breathing. Existing. Not waiting for the next hit. Not bracing for the next word, the next accusation, the next moment where everything goes wrong. I'm just… Here.
“I don’t remember the last time I felt like this,” I say quietly. Neither of them speaks right away. I don’t think they want to chance that this happiness is temporary and beyond it is something darker.
“I feel…” I swallow, searching for the right word. “Light. Like... Like I can actually breathe without it hurting.” My chest tightens, but not in fear that I feel. “I forgot what that felt like.”
Brady steps a little closer, but he doesn’t touch me. Just stands there, close enough that I know he’s there if I need him. “You don’t have to forget again,” he says.
I shake my head slightly. “It’s not that simple.”
“It never is,” Luke agrees gently. “But it’s not impossible either.”
I look between them, water dripping from my hair, my skin, everything feeling raw and exposed in a way that isn’t terrifying for once. “You don’t look at me like I’m broken,” I admit.
“Because you’re not,” Brady says immediately.
I huff out a quiet laugh. “I kind of am.”
Luke tilts his head. “You’re hurt. That’s not the same thing.”
That… hits harder than I expect. I look away, blinking quickly, staring at the water as it rushes past like it could carry everything away with it if I let it. “I didn’t think I’d ever feel normal again,” I whisper. “Or even… close to it.”
Brady finally reaches out, his fingers brushing lightly over my arm, giving me time to pull away if I want to.
“You’re doing it right now,” he says softly, and maybe it’s stupid. Maybe it’s temporary. Maybe it’s fragile as hell. But standing there, with cold water rushing around me and sunlight catching in the mist, with them close enough to steady me but not cage me… I believe him.
Brady positions himself in front of me, and Luke is behind me, his hands gently holding my waist. I close my eyes, and we take this moment in. Time passes around us, but we stay in this moment in time to cherish what my first glimpse of freedom feels like.
Eventually, we do get out. Now we are even colder, because we didn’t prepare to get into this frigid water.
The trail back feels different. It's quieter and heavier. Halfway through, I pause. “Wait,” I say suddenly, and both of them stop instantly.
“What?” Luke asks.
I glance down at the ground, frowning. There’s a crushed cigarette near the edge of the trail. I stare at it for a second too long. Brady notices. “Something wrong?”
“You don’t smoke,” I say.
“No,” he replies.
“Neither do you,” I add, looking at Luke.
He shakes his head. The cigarette sits there, half-buried in dirt with a small trail of smoke curling off of it.
Memories of burns searing into my flesh bubble up in my mind, remembering how I screamed when he pressed it into my skin.
“It’s probably nothing,” I say quickly, even though something in my gut twists hard.
Brady nudges it with his boot, eyes narrowing slightly. “Probably,” he agrees, but neither of us sounds convinced, and no one is willing to step out of the happiness we just created in that water.
By the time the camper comes back into view, the weight of this trip settles back on my shoulders. It’s not as heavy as before, but I certainly didn’t miss it. Joining it is this feeling… What if we had stayed a little longer?