Intertwining Trails

By Bethany Dvilinskas

Kinsley is the quiet, shy girl. Rhett is the misunderstood boy. They’re both paired with each other for the class overnight camping trip. Rhett lets Kinsley lead the way, not realizing she doesn’t know where she’s going. Kinsley finally realizes they’re lost and Rhett takes the lead. While the two of them are trying to figure the way out of the forest, they can’t, and have to stay in caves along the way. Rhett and Kinsley start to become closer while trying to find their way out, and Kinsley relying on Rhett to take care of her and her diabetes due to an injury she sustained. They both end up in a dangerous situation and don’t know if they’ll be able to be saved. Will Kinsley and Rhett be rescued before it’s too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781665521741

Bethany Dvilinskas

Bethany Dvilinskas started writing when she was nine years old. Throughout high school, she found her love of writing after encouragement from one of the English teachers. Bethany continued to plan and write novels until being able to self-publish her first novel at twenty-one years old called The Secret Five. Bethany went to community college and got her associates degree in Liberal Arts. Bethany took a couple years off to work and travel for work until getting a new job and was able to go back to school, where she is currently getting her bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and English with a minor in Psychology. Bethany was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of five years old. Bethany loves to spend time with her self-trained Diabetic Alert Dog, Jackson, his trusty sidekick cat brother, Loki, and advocating for Type 1 Diabetes research and sigma surrounding mental health.

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© 2021 Bethany Dvilinskas. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 03/31/2021

ISBN: 978-1-6655-2166-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-2167-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-2174-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021906817

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1     Kinsley

Chapter 2     Rhett

Chapter 3     Kane

Chapter 4     Kinsley

Chapter 5     Rhett

Chapter 6     Kinsley

Chapter 7     Rhett

Chapter 8     Kinsley

Chapter 9     Kane

Chapter 10   Blaise

Chapter 11   Rhett

Chapter 12   Kinsley

Chapter 13   Kane

Chapter 14   Rhett

Chapter 15   Kinsley

Chapter 16   Blaise

Chapter 17   Kane

Chapter 18   Rhett

Chapter 19   Kinsley

Chapter 20   Rhett

Chapter 21   Blaise

Chapter 22   Kane

Chapter 23   Kinsley

Chapter 24

Chapter 25   Kinsley

Chapter 26   Rhett

Dedicated to my father. Thank you for supporting

me and cheering me on. Miss and love you.

Dedicated to all of the teens growing up with Type 1 Diabetes.

I believe in all of you and don’t be afraid to let your voice

be heard. Keep fighting the battle and be strong.

CHAPTER 1

Kinsley

I sit in the second row fifth seat and no one else sits near me. It’s to be expected since I am still known as the new kid and who my father is. He became principal at the beginning of the school year and at Christmas became engaged to his girlfriend, who is an English teacher here.

Announcements start and it’s always the same; score of the basketball game, new club sign-ups, field trips, etc. Everyone else is talking amongst themselves during the announcements and not really paying attention. When the announcements are over, my father walks into the classroom with a boy. They go over to the teacher, Mr. Parrish, and start talking. Mr. Parrish points towards me and the boy starts to walk down the aisle. Everyone becomes quiet while he walks to the seat near me; many are staring while a couple are whispering.

As my father left, he smiles and winks at me, something he does so he doesn’t cause attention to us.

On Friday, we leave for the class field trip. It is a three day, two-night camping trip in Willamette National Park. We are staying in the Indigo Springs Campground and each site will have two tents with two people in each tent. You are getting into pairs. People start to look at each other. I have half of your names in this bucket and you will be picking a name out. No switching. I am handing out this paper of what you need to pack and if I put the bucket on your desk, you pick the name. After I’m done with passing out the paper, you will find your partner, and discuss your topic. After picking a topic, I will split you into groups and that will be the group you will have the campsite with. Let’s get started.

Mr. Parrish starts to walk around the classroom. I am looking over the packet we got about three months ago. I don’t want to go on this trip, but my father is making me go because he said I could make some friends and get out of my shell. I tried to get out of it but it didn’t work and my father signed the papers anyway.

When Mr. Parrish comes to my desk, he puts the bucket on the new kid’s desk behind me. I turn my head just a bit and watch as he sticks his hand in the bucket, grabs a piece of paper, reads it, and smiles widely at Mr. Parrish. The boy soon looks at me and grins. I sink low in my seat and read the list over.

Mr. Parrish stood at his desk in front of the class. He started to write a couple topics on the board. Now, find your partner and discuss which of these topic areas you would want to focus on. You will have to pick a subtopic of one of these. For example, if you want your topic area to be plants, you must pick the subtopic of trees, poisonous plants, or invasive plants. If you want animals for the topic area, you can pick nocturnal animals, mammals, or birds. Pair up and pick your topic. Everyone stood up and found their partner.

I sit in my seat and wait for my partner to come over to me. The boy behind me gets up and went over to Mr. Parrish. I am looking at the two of them talking through my eyelashes and hoping he isn’t my partner. The boy starts to walk back to his seat and instead stands at my desk and looks down.

I slowly raise my head and look up at his face. Kinsley Sperazzo? He asks. I nod. Looks like you’re my partner. He sits on top of the desk in front of me and hides his cellphone in his lap. Are you related to Mr. Sperazzo, the principal?

I swallow hard. Yes, I’m his daughter. The boy chuckles. What?

You’re so quiet and shy. Mr. Sperazzo is very outgoing and loud. I don’t do anything. Oh, I’m Rhett, Rhett Hoyt.

Are you new here?

No. He’s on his phone.

Well, I was thinking of focusing on plants, like fungi and how it grows. He is smiling while looking down at his phone in his lap. Rhett.

Huh, um, yeah that’s fine. He chuckles a bit and continues to play on his phone. Mr. Parrish comes over to us.

Rhett Hoyt, Mr. Parrish says sternly. Rhett looks up and sighs. Give me the phone and focus on the assignment. We leave in two days and you missed some of the class. Kinsley is one of my best students, you should be paying attention.

Mr. P, I know what is going on. I didn’t realize the trip was the week I came back. I thought it was next month. I’m sorry.

It’s fine, Rhett. You got lucky for having Kinsley as a partner, she is really smart in science. You will do fine on this project. She can even give you the list of items you need for the trip. Now what did you two decide on for a topic?

Rhett points towards me as he hands Mr. Parrish his cellphone. I was thinking about fungi and how they grow and the environment on where you find them.

Good. What about fungi and the climate? You figure out where you see the most and look around it at other plants. For example, moss, myth says moss only grows towards the north, but what about the climate around, is it rainy or sunny.

Okay, I believe that makes more sense than what I was saying. Thank you, Mr. Parrish, I say. He smiles and goes to the next group. Here, you can take this paper on what you need to pack. I have an extra one at home. Rhett takes it out of my hand.

Mr. Parrish finishes talking to groups and soon the bell rings. I will be sorting out pairs into groups tomorrow, so make sure you’re here.

I pack up my belongings and rush out of the room. Rhett glares at me as I walk out. I go to my locker to grab my other books and Kane comes over to me and pounds the locker next to me. I ignore him and he soon starts to make noises with his tongue.

Stop, I say. What do you want?

How’s Parrish’s class today? What do you do in there? He crosses his arms and leans against the lockers.

He assigns partners for the class trip this weekend. Kane nods. Are you almost done packing for the trip? Dad is checking everyone’s bags that morning ya know.

I didn’t even start. I was going to pack tonight after school.

Kane, you need to have certain clothes for this trip. Kerrigan is taking me to a get new jacket and backpack after school.

I want to go. Dad didn’t tell me this. I shrug. I’ll talk to Dad during lunch and see if I can get a new jacket too. That’s not fair you get one.

I’m the favorite, remember. He smacked my arm and I laughed. I stopped when I noticed Rhett walking down the hall with two boys from the football team.

Who’s he? Kane asks. Is he new here? I don’t say anything and sort of hide my face in my locker. Kinsley, what’s wrong with you?

I have to get to class, bye. I slam my locker shut and go to my history class while Kane goes to science class.

I walk into my history class and Rhett is sitting in the corner near the windows, right where I sit. I sigh and go to my seat, which is next to him. The teacher begins class and starts to write the notes on the board. Rhett isn’t paying attention to the class and just staring out the window.

After history I go to my locker once more and Ellie shows up. I grin and she smiles back. Who’s your partner for the field trip this weekend? She asks.

Rhett Hoyt. Ellie freezes and turns white as though she saw a ghost. Ellie, you okay?

He’s back? she whispers. Rhett’s back? I nod. No, Kinsley, you can’t be his partner. He’s not a good person. He was in juvy for a year. He was arrested on school grounds for possession of drugs and sexual assault. I can’t believe they let him come back.

My father would never allow a delinquent into the school.

Doesn’t matter. Rhett’s father is assistant mayor. The only way they could deny him is if his drug tests came back positive.

What about the sexual assault?

You don’t want to know. Let’s get to English. I close my locker and go to English class.

I’m not paying attention and am mostly thinking about how Rhett was in jail. Is it true? Did he really sexually assault someone? Is it just a cover-up and maybe he went away for something completely different? I don’t think going on this trip is a good idea now.

The bell rings and I sit in my seat. I am spacing out and wait until everyone is out of the room. Ms. Fowler comes over to me and asks, Kinsley, are you okay? I do a small nod and stand up from my desk. Hold it. Are you sure you’re okay? You didn’t talk all class and usually are engaged in class discussion. What’s wrong? She crosses her arms and waits.

You’ve been a teacher here for years, right?

Almost seven years, why? She waits. What’s going on?

Who’s Rhett Hoyt? I ask suddenly. She pierces her lips together and looks at the floor. Lindsie, you are going to be my stepmother soon and if you don’t tell me, I will go to Dad.

Rhett Hoyt was arrested a year ago, right before your father was offered the job as principal. Rhett tried to rape a girl in the woods behind the school and turned out he had drugs on him also and was under the influence. I believe that what Rhett did was not his fault. He’s a sweet boy and such a gentleman, he was one of my favorite students. I nod. Why are you asking about him?

No reason, thanks Lindsie, see you tonight. I wave and leave her classroom.

I have study hall and sit in the back of the library. At this school, study hall is a mixture of ninth to twelfth grade students and is either in the library or cafeteria. In my study hall, most of the students are friends and don’t talk to me.

I type into the search bar, Rhett Hoyt, and click on the first article and read it:

Rhett Hoyt, son of Assistant Mayor Edward J. Hoyt, was arrested Monday at Trinity High School. An unidentified student reported to a school official that Hoyt was seen walking towards the woods with a female and two male students, hearing about intentions to smoke and have fun.

Police arrived to find Hoyt and the female student together, Hoyt pinning her down to the ground. Police arrested Hoyt, the female, and one of the male students. Hoyt was charged with possession of drugs near school grounds and sexual assault. The female and male students were released.

My eyes widen and I click on the second article and read it:

The female that Rhett Hoyt was with the day he was arrested made a statement to authorities stating Hoyt forcefully kissed her. She stated when she pushed Hoyt away, that’s when he pushed her to ground and forced himself onto her. Since the statement was made, the female is not going to identified. Hoyt was sentenced to one year in juvenile detention with the help of rehabilitation services for his substance abuse.

After reading the article, I glance at the doors of the library and see my father with Rhett again. Rhett grins and walks to a table with three boys and high-fives them all. My father is pointing at Rhett and the teacher nods. After my father walks out the door, I close my laptop, put it in my bag, and stand up. Rhett and the boys stand up also and go to the teacher. I push by them and run out the doors.

Kinsley Sperazzo! I hear the teacher yell just as the doors are closing.

I run down the hall to my father. Dad, I say once I catch up to him. My father turns around and is surprised to see me.

Kinsley, what are you doing here? Don’t you have class?

I’m in study hall. Why are you walking Rhett Hoyt around?

It’s his first day back and I have to talk to his teachers. Why are you asking?

He is in every class with me and was assigned to be my partner for the survival trip this weekend. Do you know he was in jail?

Kinsley, he is a nice boy and loves talking to me. Don’t judge him on his past because that isn’t him at all. He is a very nice boy and was very nervous about coming back. Try and be his friend, he needs one, and I know you need one also. I sigh lightly. Try, that is all I ask, I nod, good. I love you, sweetie. I will see you at home. He kisses my forehead. And Kane is going with Kerrigan and you to get a new jacket and backpack for the trip. He talked to me this morning and Kerrigan has my credit card. If there’s anything else you two need, get it. He waved and walked away.

I looked back at my father and soon run down the staircase to where the technology rooms, boiler room, and the weight room are. While walking towards the boiler room, I bump into someone, and look up to see Rhett standing there.

Kinsley, right? He points at me. How are you? You just ran out of the library.

Yeah, had to talk to my father. I have to go, excuse me.

Wait, are you afraid of me? I shake my head.

I’m fine, Rhett. I have to go though, sorry. I continue walking and run up a different flight of stairs.

I go into the girls’ bathroom, take out a small bag, and prick my finger. I wait the five seconds until it beeps, look at the meter, and sigh. 237. I draw out three units of insulin into the syringe, pinch the skin on my stomach, and stick the needle into my skin. I put everything away, and wait in the bathroom until the bell rings.

At the end of the school day, Kerrigan takes us to the sporting goods store to get new jackets and backpacks for the trip. Dad also said we can get whatever else we want if we needed to. The only thing is that Kerrigan has to bring her boyfriend, Jonah, and I don’t like him, at all. He doesn’t act right at times and doesn’t like to talk much. I don’t understand why she’s with him because she is outgoing and loud and popular.

Kerrigan drives to the store. Who are your partners for the trip?

Ellie Arian, Kane says.

Of course she is, I say annoyingly and he laughs. My partner is Rhett Hoyt.

What?! Everyone yells at once.

Kinsley, he just got out of jail for sexually assaulting a girl at school. I can’t believe they are even letting him go on this trip, Jonah says sternly. Watch your back.

Jonah! Kerrigan hits his arm. Kinsley, if you have an issue being partners with Rhett, go to Mr. Parrish and ask him for a new partner. How does Dad feel about this?

You know how he is. He told me to not judge him on his past and look at him in the present. Kane chuckles and looks down at his phone.

Just talk with Mr. Parrish tomorrow after class. I nod. Kerrigan pulls into the parking lot and parks the car. We go inside the store and start to look around.

We go our separate ways in the store and I am roaming around the camping section. I decide to grab pepper spray, a small first aid kit, insect repellent, matches, and a big water bottle. I then go to look at the backpacks and stare at all the different ones. I start to get overwhelmed and don’t know what I am looking for anymore.

I begin to space out and my mind starts to race.

All I hear is screaming. I don’t know who is screaming but it sounds familiar, too familiar. I close my eyes and flashes of light come across my eyelids. I can hear tires screeching and metal crushing. I can see how day turned to night in a millisecond. I can feel the burning sensation in my leg. My torso feeling hollow. My heart beating faster and then slowing instantly.

Then her face is pictured inside my mind and the thought of her becomes intense. My heart sting and aches.

I open my eyes and look at the backpacks in front of me. My chest is rising and falling and my breathing is becoming rapid.

Kinsley. I hear and look to my left. It is Kane and he has everything he needs in his carriage. You okay? I shake my head. What’s wrong? He comes over and puts his hand on my shoulder.

I have these thoughts running through my head again.

About? He makes a face and I nod. He knows because he remembers too. It’s okay, Kinsley. He hugs me tightly. I miss her too but we need to keep our heads up, she wouldn’t want us like this. I nod and wipe my eyes after he lets go of the embrace. Do you have everything you need?

No, I’m trying to pick a backpack. There are so many. He laughs and glances at them.

Here, I’ll help you. He turns and starts to go through them.

CHAPTER 2

Rhett

After school, I walk to my father’s office in downtown Trinity. He’s assistant mayor and is constantly working, which makes our relationship strained. He was pissed when I got arrested but ever since I got out, he’s been trying to better our relationship.

I open the door to the town hall, walk down the long hallway,