Page 5 of Never Will I Ever

Confusion is evident in my tone as I murmur, “Elijah?”

His lips lift in a smirk before he spins a picture frame sitting on his desk around to face me. Inside it is a photograph that can’t be more than a couple years old from Colin’s features alone. In the image, he’s standing beneath the Alpine Ridge sign hung over the entrance to the camp with a dark-haired kid who’s probably eight or nine.

“Elijah is my nephew. Who is also your dean’s son.”

All the wheels and gears in my brain come screeching to a halt at one tiny piece of information neither my father or I were aware of.

The dean has a son…and he attends camp here.

“I’m sorry…” I mutter, trying to wrap my brain around what is happening here. “After knowing everything—my mistakes at Foltyn, my father’s not-so-subtle scheming—you’re going to trust me with Dean Marshall’s son?Yournephew?”

There’s a gleam to Colin’s eyes when he nods. “That’s exactlywhyI’m doing it.”

Yeah, brain is still not computing.

And from the way Colin laughs, my expression must make it extremely apparent.

“The only place Eli hates more than being home with his father is here,” Colin states before he gives me awhat can you do?shrug. “He’s been coming for a few years now, but he doesn’t have fun. Usually spends most of the time alone or attached to my hip, rather than making friends with his peers. This is the summer I want to change that.”

I wet my lips, following his train of thought. But I’m not all that fond of the station it stops at. “So naturally, you’re blackmailing me into…what? Being his friend?”

Another deep chuckle bursts from him as he shakes his head. “Not at all. But I’d like to think of it as us doing each other a favor. A win-win, if you will. You keeping an eye on Eli for me and making sure he has a bit of fun this summer gives me one less thing to worry about while I’m running this place. In exchange, I’m more than happy to put in a good word for you with his father. And who knows,” he says, a slight twinkle in his eyes, “maybe you’ll make enough of an impact on the kid and he’ll do the same thing.”

Yeah, I highly doubt that. Kids have never been much of my thing, and I swear to God, they know it the second I walk in the room.

“I’ll do my best,” is all I manage. Because, honestly, what other option do I have at this point? I’ve been backed into a corner by my father, and now Colin is only trying to help me make the most of it.

Yet something about this whole situation doesn’t make sense to me.

My brows crash together in the center, and no matter how I try to work it out, I’m still left with one burning question unanswered.

“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but why would you help me? Knowing what I did, realizing my father plotted this whole thing to get me back into school… Why aren’t you just showing me the door?”

Colin’s head cants to the side as his dark eyes travel over my face, studying and analyzing it in the same way his brother did a few weeks ago. It’s the only time since I’ve met the man where I’ve trulyfelta similar vibe from him.

And, for whatever reason, he must see something in me hisbrother didn’t.

“I’m a firm believer of second chances, Avery. Doing a bad thing doesn’t automatically make you a bad person. But I do want to be sure there won’t be any issues here this summer. With campers or counselors who might…” He trails off, clearly making an effort to word his thoughts correctly. “Lead a different life than you agree with.”

“Never,” I reply, my head shaking vehemently. “That part of me is in the past, and I never intend to make the same mistake again.”

His face softens, and for the first time, I feel truly at ease with the circumstances I’ve found myself in. Or as comfortable as possible, considering I still know jack shit about kids, summer camp, outdoorsing, or the job I’m meant to do for the next eight weeks.

But hey, this is a start.

“Great, then just know I’ve set you up with a good group of kids,” he tells me, attention shifting to the file folder on his desk he’s already begun flipping through. “And you’ll be paired with Kal for the duration of the program. He’s one of the best counselors we have on staff and knows this place like the back of his hand. Hopefully, with him by your side, you won’t feel like a fish out of water.”

I nod. “Thank you, si— Colin.”

His lips quirk at my catch. “Very good. Now, during the month of June, we like to—”

Wherever the rest of his thought was heading is cut off by his office door opening without warning, revealing a brown-haired young man with an all-too-familiar face on the opposite side of the threshold.

Kaleb LaMothe.

My now ex-teammate from Foltyn, who also happens to be the last person I’d ever want to see here. Or ever again, if I had a sayin it.

After all, he’s the reason Coach—and in turn, the dean—found out about what I did with that stupid slideshow photo. If he’d never turned me in, I’d still be on the team and in school. Which means I wouldn’t have to spend most of my summer here when I’d much rather be…well, anywhere else.

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