Chapter Sixteen

~ Remy ~

This was not how I planned to spend the last day of my vacation. The drive back to the university took so long, my ass was numb by the time we pulled up in front of my dorm.

On the upside, I was riding with Vanya. It could have been much worse. I could have been stuck with Brad and Margot. They had been fighting since Vanya and I had returned from our little trip to the hot springs, only stopping long enough for Brad to glare at me.

He seemed to do that a lot. It was creepy. Brad was acting as if I had betrayed him in some manner. Considering I hated the man, I didn"t see how he could ever think that I would have anything to do with him.

Carmine had stayed behind as he requested, but Charlie said he would pack his stuff for him. Charlie wasn"t sure he was coming back up, though. I suspected that had to do with Cindy.

"Where can we get boxes?" Vanya asked once he found a parking spot.

I actually had no idea.

"Maybe there are some out by the dumpster," I replied. "People are always moving in and out so there has to be some somewhere. We can ask the resident aid."

It wasn"t like I had that much to pack. The room came furnished. Mostly it was clothes, study material, and personal effects.

"Let"s see what we need and then I can get the boxes while you start packing."

I nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Before I could open my door, Vanya grabbed my hand.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Remy? Dropping out of school is a big thing. This is your future we are talking about."

"It is, which is why I"m doing it. If this thing fades, I can always come back, but being here right now is not a good idea. We both know that."

I shuddered to think of what could happen if one of us shifted in front of other people. At least at the campground, we could hide in the cabin or run off into the woods. Here, there were eyes everywhere, even cameras, and that was even scarier.

"If one of us shifted against our will and someone got it on camera, we"d make the evening news for sure." I didn"t even want to think about what would happen after that. "Everyone has cameras nowadays."

"Yeah," Vanya said, "Let"s not do that."

I snorted out a laugh.

"Let"s make this quick. The less time spent in the public eye, the better."

I couldn"t agree more. "It shouldn"t take more than a couple of hours. I don"t have that much stuff."

Yeri and Hudson were waiting for us when we climbed out of the truck. Yeri had driven the jeep back and returned it to the rental agency on our way back. Hudson had brought his truck. Having two trucks was actually a good idea, especially since they were both king cabs.

"Charlie went to pack up his stuff. He said he"d grab Carmine"s stuff once he was done packing his place," Yeri explained. "He"ll call as soon as he"s ready to go."

"What about the others?" Vanya asked.

"I"ve got to be honest with you, Vanya," Yeri said, "I don"t think Brad is going to come back to camp."

We knew the girls and Levi wouldn"t as they hadn"t been affected like the rest of us so they had been left out of the invitation to return, but Brad staying behind was concerning.

"He knows where the camp is," I pointed out. "If he gets caught, he"ll turn us in to save his own skin."

I had no doubt about that, not a single one. Brad was an ass and he wouldn"t even think about betraying us to save his own life. He might even volunteer the information.

"When we get back up there," Vanya said, "we can hide the vehicles. It won"t stop people from coming to the camp, but it might slow them down, give us time to hide."

I frowned, not liking the way this conversation was going. "We need to have a secondary spot where we can hide some supplies in case we have to bug-out."

Vanya"s eyebrows lifted. "Bug-out?" he asked. "How do you even know what that is?"

I snickered at the shocked look on his face. "I read it in a book." I refused to tell him that it was an erotic gay romance novel. There were just some things Vanya didn"t need to know.

"That area is riddled with caves," Vanya stated. "We can look around and find something."

"I"m hoping it won"t come to that, but it might, especially if Brad squeals." He"d throw us under the bus at the first sign of trouble. "Let"s just get packed up so we can get out of here as fast as we can."

My skin was starting to crawl.

I wasn"t sure if my growing anxiousness came from worry over what Brad might do or just being around so many people—and so many different scents and sounds—but I wanted to go home.

Home.

Boy, had that word taken on new meaning in the last few days. I"d been to archeological digs all over the world. I"d visited the sites of most of the eight wonders of the world. I"d bounced between three of the houses my parents owned in different parts of the world for many years.

None of them felt more like home than that stupid campground that barely had running water. I glanced at Vanya. Maybe it was the people in that stupid little campground.

Something to think about.

We went up to our dorm room and looked around, trying to gauge how many boxes we would need. I did still have my suitcases so I could pack my clothes in there. The rest could go in whatever boxes Vanya could find.

While Vanya went downstairs with Hudson to collect said boxes, Yeri and I started gathering our stuff, deciding what to take and what to leave behind. Some of it could be donated to others in the dorms. Other stuff would just have to be tossed out.

I grabbed my suitcases out from the top of the closet and laid them on the bed. It didn"t take more than a few minutes to empty out my dresser and the clothes hanging in my closet. It wasn"t like I had that many. I tended to wear the same thing most of the time. Jeans, T-shirts, and hoodies.

Worked for me.

I let out a huff of resignation when I looked at my desk. I was not the most organized person. Not the messiest, but definitely not the most organized. My desk looked a biohazard zone.

Fuck it!

I started organizing everything into neat little piles that could go in the boxes once Vanya brought them back. I"d go through them and sort out them out once we got back to camp.

I glanced toward the door when someone knocked and started to go over to answer it. The door opened before I could reach it and Vanya and Hudson walked in with several boxes.

"This was all we could find."

There were a little less boxes than I would have liked, but I would make it work. "These will do."

I started placing the little piles of stuff I had created into the boxes one by one. As I filled them, Vanya set them by the door. Hudson was doing the same for Yeri.

When someone knocked at the door again, I glanced at Vanya. "Maybe it"s one of the others."

Vanya walked over and pulled to door open. My eyebrows shot up when Levi pushed passed him, rushing into the room. The man looked frazzled. His shirt was un-tucked and his hair looked as if he had been running his fingers through it. It was the pale face that truly concerned me.

"Levi, what"s wrong?" I asked. We weren"t friends necessarily, but I didn"t hate the guy like I hated his best friend.

"Man, Brad has lost it," Levi said as he started pacing the small room. "He"s gone totally crazy."

My eyes darted to Vanya.

"What do you mean?"

"He called the cops, man." Levi pulled more of his hair up by thrusting his hand through it. "He called the cops and told them some stupid story about you kidnapping Remy." Levi"s eyes lifted to Vanya. "I think they believe him."

"Why in the hell would they believe him?" I asked. "Vanya didn"t kidnap me and he knows it."

"You don"t understand." Levi shook his head. "Ever since we went camping he"s been acting weird."

Oh no.

"Weird how?" I prodded.

"Look, I don"t care who you fuck. That"s your business. I know I never really said anything when Brad went off, but..." Levi shrugged. "It"s just hard to say anything to him when he gets something stuck in his head, you know?"

Not really, but whatever.

"I always thought he was straight as an arrow, especially when he kept going off on you, but since we went to the camp, he"s been acting like you"re his boyfriend and you ran off with Vanya."

Oh, I was aware.

"I have never, ever, had any interest in Brad." I wanted that made very clear. "Whatever is going on with him is all in his own mind."

"I know, which is why it"s so weird that he called the cops and reported that Vanya had kidnapped you. Hell, he"s not even returning Margot"s phone calls. He dropped her off at her dorm and just drove away. She was so pissed."

"And you know this how?" Vanya asked.

"Olivia and I rode with them, remember?"

Not really.

"But that"s not the point." Levi started pacing again. "The cops are on the way."

"So, they are on their way. So what?" Vanya said. "Once we explain what is really going on, they"ll probably arrest Brad for filing a false police report or something."

"You don"t get it, man. Because Brad"s father is loaded, people tend to listen to him when he says something and right now he is shouting. With his father"s clout behind him, they are going to believe him."

If I denied Brad"s accusations, I don"t see how they could. Yes, it was my word against his, but I was supposed to be the kidnap victim here. Wouldn"t they believe me?