"It's not too late to back out, y'know," My baby sister reminds me as she swishes her glass of lemonade around.

I watch her through the screen of my phone, which is propped up on the mount against the air vent, before turning my attention back to the road. My grip on the steering wheel tightens and I let out a sigh,

"This'll be good for me, Dahlia," The corners of my lips curve up slightly, "I need this, you know that."

She sets her cup down and leans close so her face covered most of the screen, "No person on Earth needs to watch over a bunch of stupid kids all summer long."

Her response is as sassy as any other fifteen-year-old's. I don't respond right away, keeping my eyes on the busy highway. Dahlia lets out a groan, taking her phone with her as she walks out of the kitchen.

"You mean, just how no person on Earth needs to religiously rewatch The Vampire Diaries annually like some sort of ritual?" I bite back, knowing the mention of her favorite show was sure to hit a nerve or two.

"Ugh, you just don't get it!" She rolls her eyes at me in the exact same way I do it. She really was a mini-me sometimes.

"Why are you calling me anyways? You should be out with friends or something." I ask, looking away from the screen.

"Summer's going to suck without you here...Why'd you have to sign up for this shit? There are other ways to go about this that don't involve driving miles away from home."

"I wanted to try something different." I respond simply, not feeling like getting too into the details.

"Y/N...I know you think being out of town for a while will help you get over--"

"Don't." I stop her, preferring we didn't bring him up ever.

"I'm just saying that avoiding it won't make things better faster--"

"Oh! You're cutting out. Bad service up here!" I quickly tap my finger on the red button, hanging up without another word.

Silence fills the car, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I observe the long line of trees stretching for miles. The quick views of the distant mountains and lakes makes me regret not taking the scenic route. But I chose to be practical and take the quickest route.

Dahlia wasn't the only person that was against my summer plans. My parents gave me a rough time about it, claiming I would hate it and would be begging to come back home within a week. Their doubts only fueled my willingness to go through with this.

Solstice Summit was the name of the camp I applied to for the summer. My parents used to bring me here during my summers back in elementary school, so I was familiar with the place. But this will be my first time attending as a camp counselor.

We had a quick training course a few weeks ago, going over core basics and expectations. Though, we won't be given our list of campers until we actually arrive.

This whole counselor thing I'm going to do is completely out of character, if I'm being honest. I've always had a way with little kids, but being outside and doing outdoor activities willingly was not like me at all.

But I have my reasons for pushing myself out of my comfort zone this summer. I graduated high school back in May and wanted to spend my last summer before college wisely. I figured going away for a while would do the trick.

Okay, I'm bullshitting.

My boyfriend of three years cheated on me with some girl whose name he can't even recall. What's worse is that I had to find out through my friends, who caught him getting touchy with her at a party I didn't even know he went to.

I've struggled with trusting others since I was small, especially when it came to my feelings. It took months of being friends with him before I finally said yes to being his girlfriend. But I suppose all those times I poured my heart out to him meant nothing. Three years down the drain.

I almost laugh at the thought, but not because the situation is humorous, but because I'm embarrassed I let him have so much influence over my own damn feelings.

Like I told Dahlia on the phone, I need this getaway. I need time to process and heal without my family and friends nagging in my ear and expressing their sympathies. It isn't like someone died, so why is everyone making a big deal out of it?

Perhaps my tendency to underreact to serious situations is some sort of defense mechanism.

But it doesn't matter how I feel. What matters is what I do with myself now that I'm alone—no. Now that I'm free.