“Reese—” I use her first name to put us on equal ground; something I’ve never done before “—he’s special. I thought at first it was because of who he reminded me of, but there’s so much more—”
“Do you trust my assessment?” she interrupts.
My foot lays heavy on the accelerator as I climb higher up the incline. “Of course.”
“Then you know how dangerous this situation is for you. This particular student is too much of a challenge for your first year, hell, your first week in the field.” She takes a beat. “It’s my professional opinion that, if you truly want to help this youth, you need to step aside as his counselor.”
A white-hot cinder sparks in the hollow of my chest. It burns as I swallow. “I understand,” is all I say.
“Do you, Ellis? You need to make me believe this, or else I’ll have to—”
“I promise,” I say. “I understand. I don’t want to jeopardize my career.”
“You’ve come so far,” Dr. Leighton encourages. “I’m so proud of you.”
Words my mother never voiced before she left this earth. The fire in my chest consumes. I let the road ahead guide me, not thinking about the destination.
“I’ll do the right thing,” I assure her.
“I know you will.”
The sky purples with the setting sun as it gradually dips behind the mountain top. The trees become dense as I travel around the bend. I should turn around, go home. But I’ve yet to explore my new town, and I’m curious where the road ends.
I’ll do the right thing.
Is the right thing really to walk away from Carter? Who else will understand him on the level that I do? Sometimes, the right thing is speaking up, going against the majority rule, and embracing the unknown, the danger.
A break in the tree line appears, so I ease my foot off the pedal. There’s a clearing off to the right. I flip on my blinker—even though I’m the only car on the road—and turn onto a worn pathway carved between the wooded boundary that separates the edge of the mountain from the road.
I curse as bare branches scratch my Audi and claw the windows. The teeth-grinding screech tearing along the silver paint grates my nerves, but I keep going until I’m through and the clearing opens up around me.
The site is breathtaking. Even in the dim evening light, there’s a shimmering twinkle from the lake water reflected onto the side of the mountain. A high ridge shapes a rock outcropping into a crescent, and just below, a flat plateau overlooks a small cascading waterfall.
I grab my phone and leave my car, needing to get a closer look and take a picture. As I follow the narrow trail around the rocky embankment, I can see where campfires have burned out. Charred remains left to smolder against the rocks.
A smile tugs at my lips as I imagine teens coming here to make out. It reminds me of the beach hangout where I first met Jeremy. Although that memory is now tainted. My smile falls.
I perch my thigh against one of the large boulders, wishing I had a change of clothes in the car, as I angle myself to get a picture of the sky at sunset. A loud rumble startles me, and I nearly drop my phone down the ravine. “Dammit.”
The roar of a motor grows louder. I push off the boulder and wait to hear the vehicle pass, but it only gets closer. Deciding the mood has been spoiled, I start toward my car—and am immediately halted by the sight of a black motorcycle coasting up next to my Audi.
The rider wears a helmet, but I know—I just know—who is beneath the visor. I know, because I’ve stared at that same bike on his social media page for days.
Carter revs the engine once before he switches it off, kicking out the stand to lean the bike. He removes his helmet and hangs it on the handlebar. I watch, mesmerized, as he scrapes a hand through his dark hair, his eyes fixed hard on me.
My stomach is one tightly threaded knot. “What are you doing here?”
His mouth quirks into that sinful grin. “I followed you.”
I open my mouth to say…something. But I’m speechless. This situation is absolutely unfamiliar. I don’t know what to say, what to do—what to even think. I’m the one who has been fighting my urges to follow him. I’m doing everything within my power to behave…and here he is, the devil of temptation.
And we’re alone.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I say, Dr. Leighton’s words bleeding through. I grip my phone in one hand, my keys in the other, as I carefully step my way across the rocks. “You should leave. Or…I’ll leave.”
My nerves are on fire. My skin ablaze. My heart thumps wildly inside my chest. I can no longer hear the birds in the trees. “That stunt you pulled in the auditorium…and then not showing up for your session today…”
“You told