WELCOME TO HELL

Chapter 18: Welcome to Hell (a.k.a. The Camping Trip)

(Ethan, Riley, Jason, and Noah – The Worst Group Ever)

Ethan – Present

The camping trip was already a disaster.

And they hadn't even left the buses yet.

The second they arrived, Mr. Alder gathered everyone in the clearing and handed out mandatory survival tasks.

Which meant one thing.

Ethan was now stuck in a group with:

Riley. (Terrible.)

Jason. (Worse.)

Noah. (Somehow, the worst of all.)

And if that wasn't bad enough?

Their assigned task?

Firewood collecting.

Which meant wandering into the woods together.

For an extended period of time.

Unsupervised.

Ethan was going to die here.

The first ten minutes of walking were pure silence.

Tense. Awkward. Uncomfortable.

Jason walked beside Riley, watching Ethan out of the corner of his eye.

Ethan walked ahead, pretending Riley didn't exist.

And Noah?

Noah was having the time of his life.

"Wow," Noah said, grinning. "This is so fun."

Ethan sighed. "Noah—"

"It's like one of those movies where the exes get trapped in the woods together and have to work through their emotional damage."

Riley groaned. "Noah—"

"Oh my God," Noah continued, dramatically gasping. "What if we have to share a tent?"

Jason stiffened.

Ethan stopped walking.

Riley wanted to throw herself into a tree.

Noah looked delighted.

Jason wasn't dumb.

He saw things.

Like the way Ethan kept his distance.

Like the way Riley stared at him when she thought no one was looking.

Like the way Noah was very clearly trying to get a reaction.

Jason had never had a reason to think about Ethan Hayes.

Not until now.

Now, he was thinking about him a lot.

And he didn't like it.

Ethan wasn't stupid.

He knew Jason was watching him.

He knew Riley was hyper-aware of him.

And he knew that Noah was enjoying every second of this.

Which meant he had two options.

Act normal. (Impossible.)

Act completely indifferent. (More believable.)

So he did what he always did.

He pretended.

Pretended that Riley Carter wasn't standing two feet away.

Pretended that her laugh didn't sound the same as it used to.

Pretended that he hadn't spent two years trying to forget her and was now failing miserably.

And for a while, it worked.

Until it didn't.

Until Riley reached for a fallen branch at the same time he did.

Until their fingers accidentally brushed.

Until his breath caught— just for a second.

And when he looked up?

She was already looking at him.

And that?

That was a problem.

This wasn't normal.

This wasn't fine.

Because Ethan was looking at her.

Really looking.

Not with cold indifference.

Not with resentment.

Just—

Something else.

Something she didn't know how to deal with.

And for one awful, terrifying, horrible second—

She almost said something.

But then—

Jason stepped closer.

Put his arm around her waist.

Pulled her against his side.

And just like that—

Ethan looked away.

Like she was nothing again.

Like it had never happened.

And Riley?

Riley wasn't sure why that hurt.

Noah watched all of this unfold.

And he almost clapped.

Because this?

This was messy.

And Noah loved mess.

He leaned over to Ethan.

Stage-whispered, "Bro. You good?"

Ethan's jaw clenched. "Shut up, Kingston."

Noah smirked. "Nah. This is way too fun."