The forest spat them out one by one—Jessica first, smug and unbothered. Then Lucien, silent and alert. Kelvin trailed behind, clearly worried.
As they stepped into the clearing near the camp entrance, they stopped short.
Naya sat on a plastic chair a few feet away, slumped but upright, arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her clothes were dirty, her knees scraped, and a thin trickle of dried blood marked her temple.
Lucien's stomach dropped.
"Naya—" he rushed over, already digging into the nearby first aid kit.
She didn't move, didn't look at him.
He knelt beside her, unscrewing the cap of the antiseptic. "Hold still, this'll sting a little—"
"I can do it myself," she said, flat.
He blinked, confused. "It's fine, just let me—"
"I said I can do it myself!" she snapped, louder this time, sharp enough to cut the air between them.
Lucien froze.
Jessica raised a brow and crossed her arms. Kelvin stood awkwardly behind, unsure whether to step in or vanish.
Naya stood slowly, ignoring the ache in her legs. Her eyes never met Lucien's.
And before he could say another word, she walked away.
No limp. No look back.
Just distance.
Naya walked without really seeing where she was going. Her legs moved on their own, guided by muscle memory and the desperate need to be anywhere but near Lucien. Near her.
The camp dorms loomed up ahead. Rows of temporary cabins, thrown together for the school trip—stiff beds, fluorescent lights, and shared bathrooms. It didn't matter. It was shelter.
She pushed the door open.
Inside, Nora sat cross-legged on her bed, flipping through a magazine like she was trying to kill time. She looked up instantly when she saw Naya.
Her smile dropped.
"Naya? What happened to your leg?"
Naya looked down like she was seeing the bruises and cuts for the first time. "It's nothing."
"You're literally limping."
"I said it's nothing."
Nora stood, approaching slowly, concern deepening. "Are you sure? You don't look—"
"She kissed him."
The words came out soft, cracked, but heavy. Like they'd been buried inside her, fighting to get free.
Nora froze. "Wait… who kissed who?"
Naya's hands trembled. Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "Jessica kissed Lucien. And he didn't push her away."
A tear slid down her cheek. Then another.
Nora's breath caught in her throat. "Are you sure that's what you saw?"
"I saw them," Naya said. "She looked right at me before she did it. Like she knew I was watching."
Nora sat down beside her, slow and careful, like Naya might break. "Maybe you caught it at the wrong moment. Maybe he was just… surprised or something."
Naya shook her head. "He didn't even look shocked. He just… let it happen."
There was a long, awful silence.
Nora reached out, placing a hand gently on Naya's knee. "Are you okay?"
Naya stared ahead blankly. "I'm not."
Her voice broke completely on the last word.
"I fell down a hill, I got lost in the forest, I thought I was going to die out there. And the whole time, the only thing I wanted was to see him. Just to know I wasn't alone. And when I finally found him…"
More tears now. Quiet, steady. Naya didn't try to wipe them away.
"I thought I didn't care anymore. I thought I'd moved on. But seeing that—seeing her with him—"
Nora pulled her into a hug, tight and wordless.
Naya didn't resist.
"I hate that it hurts," Naya whispered.
"You don't have to hate it," Nora murmured. "You just have to feel it. And I'll be right here while you do."
They stayed like that for a while—quiet, still.
Outside, the camp buzzed with voices and laughter. But in that small room, there was only the sound of breathing and the weight of betrayal still sinking in.