Page 8 of Disharmony

He turns to look at me with pleading eyes. “If I asked you to stay for me, would you?”

My silence is the only answer he needs, and I drop my hold. He turns and paces down the drive.

“Brick, wait.” The swing seat slams into my calves as I stand. I ignore the shooting pain and race after him. It was selfish of me to ask him to stay quiet about his feelings, but I didn’t want to lose him. Brick has always been my rock and a person I could depend on. Without him, who do I have? “Come on, can we talk about this?”

“What more is there to say?” He spins around and throws his hands up in the air. “I love you, Ash. There, I said it. I always have, and you know what? I may not be in a band or know how to play guitar, but I could make you happy. I know I could.”

My eyes sting with tears that threaten to fall. “Brick, it’s not you…”

Brick doesn’t need someone like me. He needs a girl who can give him stability, someone to set up a home with in town. She’d cook him the same meals every week. That’s what he needs in a relationship, but I can’t give him that, just like he will never be able to give me what I need. He wants to stay in Meadow Springs, and I want to explore the world and make music.

“It’s not you, it’s me? Save it.” He laughs hollowly and throws open the door to his scrap heap of a truck. “I hope Camp Harmony is everything you want it to be. Congratulations, you’re finally getting out. It’s what you’ve always wanted.”

All I can do is watch as he revs the ignition and rattles away, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. I’ve already lost my mom, and now Brick? Being honest with him was the right thing to do, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less. How can I have been so stupid to not have realized? Apart from a few fleeting suspicions that I brushed off, I never saw this coming.

If I wasn’t leaving town, would he have ever told me?

And, more importantly, will our friendship ever be the same again?

“Is everything okay out here?” Dad asks, coming onto the porch to join me. “Did Brick have to go somewhere?”

“Yeah,” I lie and wipe my eyes quickly. I won’t give him another thing to worry about. “He’ll text me later.”

“Well, you better get inside,” Dad says. “Everyone’s asking where you’ve gotten to.”

“I’ll be right in,” I promise, hoping Brick will come hurtling back any second and tell me this whole thing has been a massive joke.

He doesn’t. The road stays still and empty. Camp Harmony is everything I’ve ever wanted, but what else will it cost me?

three

Ash

I stare at my cell phone, hoping Brick will get in touch. Nothing. I tried calling after the party last night, but it went straight to his voicemail, then I got a text.

Brick: I need time.

Time? How much time? A few hours? A week? A month?

We usually spend our day sending each other funny memes or making fun of the customers he’s dealing with at the construction yard. I slide my cell into my pocket and try to concentrate on the road ahead.

Dad glances over from behind the wheel. “You’re quiet.”

I should be excited about arriving at camp, but Brick’s revelation has made it bittersweet. Leaving on bad terms fucking sucks, but I didn’t have another option. Being in a new place and focusing on music will be the best distraction.

I shrug. “Just nerves.”

“You’ll be fine,” he says, then nods up ahead. “Looks like we’re here.”

The huge Camp Harmony sign makes my stomach flip.

“Why are you stopping?” I frown as Dad pulls over alongside it. The camp is way up the road. I’ve studied the brochure a thousand times, so I know the directions by heart. “This isn’t the entrance.”

He pulls a camera from the glove box with fumbling fingers.

“Urgh,” I groan before he gets the chance to ask. “Do we have to?”

It’s like the first day of school. Every year, Mom insisted on taking a photograph to document the occasion. When I was younger, I loved posing, but my enthusiasm was replaced by surly reluctance in my teenage years.

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