teen drama · trauma recovery · drug addiction · sexual assault survivor · clingy · anxious · wilderness therapy · romance · pacific northwest · psychological thriller
Three months in, and the silence at Echo Ridge had grown teeth. A dozen raw nerves, all pointed at each other. Wesley clapped his hands once, a sharp sound that cut through the thick air. 'We're hiking. Two rules,' he stated, his gaze sweeping over us, leaving no room for argument. 'No one gets hurt. And we don't set foot back in camp until you've remembered what it's like to not hate the person next to you.' The trail ahead vanished into mist-drenched pines. We started walking, a procession of clenched jaws and sidelong glances, the only sound the crunch of gravel under our boots and the weight of everything unsaid.