SAGE
Rolling onto my back, I groaned and rubbed my temples. It felt like a jackhammer was attacking my brain. I didn’t even remember how many drinks I’d had last night. Peeking my eyes open, I watched the brown ceiling fan spin in slow circles. I jerked in surprise when Alex’s arm rested on my stomach.
“You okay?” he asked, his voice hoarse from sleep.
“Besides the hangover from hell?” I chuckled and then winced as my head throbbed.
“Last night…” He turned over in bed to face me. “I lost it when that guy put his hands on you. I’m not sorry about what I did. But I hope I didn’t scare you.”
Running a hand through my hair, I glanced back at the fan again. “It didn’t bother me.”
He caught my wrist, pulling my hand away from my hair. Sighing, I turned to look at him. He raised an eyebrow, releasing me and running his hand down my arm.
“You’re a horrible liar.” He shook his head and laughed as he pulled me closer.
He was right. I couldn’t lie to save my life. My worst tell was touching my hair when I lied. When I was a kid, Lacey would always lie for me because I could never get a false word past my dad without him knowing. And Alex knew me just as well as my dad had before he got sick.
“Alex, you didn’t scare me,” I promised him. “It surprised me, that’s all. You’ve never acted like that.”
“I’ve never seen a man push you before.”
“My knight in shining armor.” I rolled my eyes but shot him a smile. “But just letting you know, I can take care of myself.”
“I’ll always take care of you, Sage.”
“I know.” I gave him a quick kiss before forcing myself to get out of bed. Damn, I was only twenty-one; hangovers shouldn’t be this bad already. My head stayed in a fog as I slipped on some clothes.
“I’m going to go check on Lacey,” I told Alex as I slid on my flip-flops.
“She was really embarrassed about last night,” he muttered, looking a bit guilty. “She didn’t do anything. It was me who made the scene.”
“It wasn’t that. It was how Jamie stormed off. He just left her there. I don’t know. I was starting to like him until he did that.”
“He was wasted. I’m sure he feels bad.”
That was Alex. Always trying to see the best in people. A trait I didn’t have. Second chances weren’t in my vocabulary. That’s probably why Lacey and Alex were the only two people I spent time with. I had no interest in making new friends who could possibly hurt me. My small circle was enough.
“Once I get back, we can get ready to leave,” I said, pulling the door open and squinting into the bright sun.
“I’ll pack up while you’re gone,” Alex replied, looking ready to fall back to sleep.
I ran to the lobby and grabbed two coffees before heading toward Lacey’s room. With a cup in each of my hands, I raised my foot to knock on the door right as Jamie rushed out and nearly plowed into me.
“Sorry, sorry,” he apologized as he reached for the coffees to make sure they didn’t fall.
“It’s fine,” I replied curtly, not hiding the fact that I was upset.
“Sage, I’m sorry about last night. I’ve apologized to your sister so many times already. I was actually going to get coffee to surprise her with when she woke up.” He glanced at the two coffees in my hands. “Guess you beat me to it.”
I sighed. “Look, Jamie, I like you. But how you treated my sister last night, just leaving her at the bar, made me think differently.”
I was being honest with him, just like I was with everyone else. I didn’t care if Lacey loved him; he wasn’t going to treat my sister badly.
“I know. When I drink, I lose my temper a bit,” he said sheepishly. “I regretted it right after I left.”
“Yeah, well, I just don’t want to see my sister hurt.”
I moved toward the door, going rigid when he grabbed my arm. I narrowed my eyes when he tried pulling me closer. After noticing my reaction, he stepped back hastily and raised his arms.
“Sorry. I really like her. And I want you to know that. I love spending time with her, and I’ll do what I can to make up for this. I was an idiot.”
I gave him a hard look. He seemed sincere, but I didn’t know him well enough to fully believe him after this one conversation. We’d just have to see how the rest of the trip went.
I shrugged. “My sister is a big girl. She can choose who she wants to see. But I can choose to kick their asses if they don’t treat my sister right.”
Jamie nodded and mumbled something about getting food before he scurried away. Honestly, I’d prefer to not deal with him anymore. But we still had a few days to spend up north, and I wasn’t going to let him ruin our vacation. As long as he didn’t treat Lacey like that again, I’d keep my mouth shut.
* * *
A couple of hours later, we checked out of the hotel and got back on the road. The truck was silent, with some tension from last night still in the air. Lacey had been quiet all morning, and even though she had a smile plastered on her face, it was obvious she was still upset with Jamie.
My stomach twisted with nerves as the Mackinac Bridge came into view. Fiddling with my seatbelt as Lacey drove onto the bridge, I kept my eyes on the roof of the car to avoid looking at the water below. As much as I loved coming up north, I was terrified of bridges. It didn’t matter that I’d gone over this one countless times before; the fear never lessened.
My dad once told us about how a car was driving during high winds and got swept off and landed in the water below. I knew the odds of that happening were almost zero, but that didn’t stop my pounding heart and sweaty palms. The smooth ride became bumpy as the concrete beneath us turned into metal grates.
Alex’s hand wrapped around mine, and I shot him a tight smile. He was well aware of my fear, especially when I wasn’t the one driving. After what felt like forever, the road smoothed out again, and my jumbled nerves were replaced with excitement. Trees lined the highway for miles, and I sucked in a deep breath, letting my body relax.
Reading a sign as we passed it, I grinned. Hiawatha National Forest. The forest was so large it took up the majority of the Upper Peninsula. If anyone wanted to escape from real life, this was the perfect place to go. Cell phones didn’t work out here. There was no bustle of large cities. Just nature and silence. And it was just what I needed.
After driving for over an hour, we stopped at a small market to stock up on food and ice. The guy behind the counter rang up our items as he made small talk.
“This your first time camping up here?” he asked.
“I’m the only newbie in the group.” Jamie laughed. “It’s beautiful up here.”
“Yes,” the man agreed, putting our food in a bag. “Just be careful. Lots of wildlife in these parts.”
Alex nodded. “Especially where we’re staying. Up by the bay.”
“Now we get to guess where the campsite is,” Lacey interjected, glancing at Jamie. “I told him we wouldn’t have signal up here, and we should have printed off the directions. But someone didn’t listen.”
“I didn’t realize how cut off from civilization we’d be.” Jamie shrugged. “We’ll find it.”
The man handed the bags to Alex. “Where are you staying?”
“Campland Bay,” Alex answered. “We shouldn’t be too far away—”
“That’s just down the road,” the guy interrupted. “Stay on this road, and you’ll see a sign for it. Enjoy your vacation.”
We thanked him and got back on the road. Jamie peered out the window intently as Lacey drove. After about forty-five minutes, I was beginning to doubt the guy at the store knew what he was talking about. I was hoping we’d find it soon. Spending an entire day in the car wasn’t on my list of things to do on vacation.
“There.” Alex pointed to a small sign. “That has to be it.”