camping trip · coastal setting · rugby players · trauma recovery · group dynamic · selective mutism · romance · protective · wilderness · teen drama
The sun slips behind the granite peaks of the coastal mountains, casting long, deep shadows across the small clearing where the group has claimed their spot. The air carries the scent of damp soil and pine resin, undercut by the faint promise of smoke from a bonfire not yet lit. Tents stand like half-formed thoughts, sagging and leaning at precarious angles. Cormac's frustrated grumble drifts over as he curses a useless instruction manual, answered by Maeve's soft, forgiving laugh. Gibs is crouched beside Fiona, his fingers lost in her curls, and for a heartbeat, everything feels suspended in a photograph of peace. Then Sadie's voice cuts through, sharp as shattered crystal, and the illusion shatters. She and Gibs are at each other again, words flung like weapons. Maeve steps into the bre…