Pine Creek Campgrounds, Colorado

“So um… I’m sorry about last night.”

Aden wasn’t really sure when he got to sleep, but he had woken up to Corey opening her bedroom window again. It had stopped raining sometime in the night, and a breeze brought in the damp morning air. He felt a little lighter with that smell.

She convinced him to have breakfast before leaving, so they shared bowls of yogurt and granola over a painful silence.

Corey broke through it with her apology, staring at her food to avoid accidently meeting his gaze.

Aden copied her, finding intense interest in his food as he replied, “Don’t worry about it.”

“I didn’t mean to pry.” She reiterated. For the fifth time.

“I know. It’s fine.”

“Ok.”

When Aden returned from changing to his own, dry clothes and packing up his things, Corey was speaking with someone on the front porch. He approached with her shirt in hand, but stayed quiet to not interrupt their conversation.

“Can’t you just bring the usual?”

“I need an inventory count, Deelee. Where’s your mom?”

“I dunno, I think she went to town early this morning. Maybe she left a note.”

It was the stranger that saw Aden first from over Corey’s shoulder, bringing him into the conversation with a smile. “Hi there.”

“Oh. Mannie, this is Aden.” Corey handled introductions, taking her shirt back from Aden when he stopped next to her.

“Ah, the nomad.” The boy grinned teasingly as he reached out for a handshake, and Corey rolled her eyes when Aden glanced at her with curiosity.

“I told him you were passing through.”

Aden nodded, putting on a polite smile as he adjusted his bag on his shoulder. “Yeah, I gotta get back down to the city today.”

“So soon? You’re an abnormality. Normally when people come up here we can’t get them to leave again.”

Corey offered a bit more of an explanation to the interaction, after catching the bit of confusion on Aden’s face. “Mannie is the only other “regular” around here. His dad’s company delivers goods to us and the rest of the campsites.”

“Known Corey since she was running around in diapers.” Mannie added.

“Oh my fucking god, shut up. You probably weren’t even potty-trained yourself.” A hint of color bloomed across Corey’s cheeks, and Aden couldn’t tell if it was from annoyance, or embarrassment.

“Feisty as usual, I see.” He laughed when she rubbed her eye with her middle finger. His next words were towards Aden, further explanation. “Here collecting orders today.”

Corey interjected with a whine. “Yeah, you’re a day early.”

“Come on, don’t give me that. It was on the schedule, what do you want from me? I need your orders, or you guys won’t get a delivery until next round up here.”

“Can’t you come back tomorrow instead? Please, Mannie?” She had grabbed at his arm and pushed up on the balls of her feet for extra begging effect.

He groaned, trying to shake her off. “No. Not happening. My dad will bitch me out if I bend the rules for you guys on the first fucking day.”

Corey instantly put on an exaggerated pout. She was surprisingly good at playing the helpless female part, considering how drastically opposite it was from her normal behavior. Aden couldn’t help smiling a little when Mannie narrowed his eyes in distaste for her dirty tactics.

He caved, but just a little. “Ok, fine. I’ll tell you what. I’ll come back here later today, after I go to the other campgrounds. That gives you all day to get the order together.”

Corey’s frown sprung up into a grin. “Thank you, Mannie!”

He rolled his eyes, but the smirk on his lips said he was obviously as charmed with her behavior as Aden had been finding himself since meeting her the afternoon before. “Hey, and while we’re at it, you could hitch a ride with me down back to Durango if you wanted, kid.”

Aden blinked as he was pulled back into the conversation, realizing he had been distracted by Corey’s triumphant grin. “Oh. Uh. I mean, I don’t have a problem walking, I don’t want to be a bother.”

Mannie laughed. “I’m going that way anyway. The company would be nice.”

It would save his feet from another twenty mile hike, and probably some time as well. He wouldn’t get down to the city before sundown on foot, that was for sure. “Yeah, alright. Thanks.”

“Cool. I’ll come back this afternoon then.” He turned to head back to his truck, calling from over his shoulder, “Get the order ready, Corey.”

She was already brushing him off, waving him away. “Yeah, yeah.”

Mannie left with a salute to both of them, leaving Aden and Corey alone in each others company again.The space between them grew instantly awkward the moment his truck was out of sight.

“So… is there something I should see here before leaving then?” Aden asked, after just standing there became unbearable.

Corey tilted her head to glance at him, a timidness to the movement. She considered for a moment, before smiling and giving a nod. “Come on.”

She led him down the edge of the creek and then off into the woods along a winding trail which they followed for a while in silence. Then, she veered off into into the forest, climbing over rocks and roots and waiting up for him to follow. They walked for a decent amount of time. Enough time for Aden to vocalize his curiosities.

“Is this the part where you kill me? Out in the middle of the woods where no one can hear me scream?”

Corey smirked, pulling a branch aside to help Aden pass. “You caught me.”

“I have to admit, it’s a clever set up. Scope out the loner runaway and take them “out back”.” Aden realized the hint he had given her with his words: runaway. He watched from the corner of his eye to see her reaction.

She kept her face as a casual grin, but he could tell she had filed away that word for later. “To be fair, you knew I was crazy.”

Aden chuckled. “To be fair, you didn’t hide it very well.”

Her eyes gleamed with a laugh. “I’ll make sure to tone it down next time. Thanks for the constructive criticism.”

They had been working their way up a small, rocky hill, and after a few more minutes they were approaching the cusp of the peak. Corey finally offered an explanation of her intentions. “So you wanted something worth seeing before leaving, and you liked the lake so much, I thought it was only fair that you get the best view of it.”