MERRIELYNN.
The annual school camping trip was supposed to be an escape.
A chance to forget about the suffocating walls of Pinnthorpe, the whispers, and the tension that seemed to follow me everywhere.
Instead, it felt like I was walking into another trap.
We arrived at the campsite late in the afternoon, the fading sunlight casting a golden glow over the towering trees and the sprawling grounds. The air was crisp, carrying the scent of pine and earth. It should’ve been calming, but I couldn’t shake the unease that had settled in my chest the moment I got off the bus.
I’d kept my distance from Cormac since the party.
After everything—the rescue, the silence, and especially the threatening photo—I wanted nothing to do with him. He had disappeared from my life for two weeks, which was
