-Devin-

A few hours later, he heard a knock on his door. Hoping it would be Avery, he hurried to open it, but it was Peter.

"Hey Devin," Peter said. "We heard about Avery's new job and we're all celebrating in the kitchen. I hope you'll join us. That was a big thing you did for Avery. I wish you hadn't ruined his project in the first place, but I appreciate that you fixed it and found a way to get him involved in something bigger."

Devin nodded. "He deserves it."

"Damn right he does."

"I'll be there in a few minutes," he told Peter. "I appreciate you letting me know about it."

As he watched Peter walk back to the main building, he felt good that he'd at least earned Peter's respect for this. He wasn't sure how the others had reacted and if they'd ever forgive him. He knew Sam probably wouldn't.

When he made his way over and entered the kitchen, he saw a ton of food on the table, including a cake and champagne. As he approached, he got nods from Amanda and Marc, and Avery turned and waved at him, a huge smile on his face.

He got some food and sat away from the rest of them, just watching. He was pleased to see Avery so happy. He was also glad that everyone was supportive of Avery, even though it meant Avery would be leaving the camp. But it'd be hard not to love Avery and want the best for him, so he couldn't imagine their coworkers acting any differently.

When he finished his food, he took one last long glance at Avery, and then he quietly slipped out of the building and went back to his cabin. His work here was done. He picked up his bag that he'd packed earlier, left the key in the cabin, and began walking down the gravel road that led into the camp. His last day had been a week ago, and he had signed everything and been cleared to leave, but he'd asked to stay on an extra week. He hadn't finished Avery's project yet, and he knew he wasn't going to leave until it was done.

After walking about a quarter mile he found his dad, who was surveying the creek.

"Hey, dad."

Logan turned around and smiled at him. "You ready to go? I've got a few more measurements to make and then I can pack up."

He nodded and set his bag down so he could help his dad with the final measurements. He could tell his dad was proud of him and impressed that he was helping without being asked, but even that knowledge couldn't cheer him up. He had been trying not to think about leaving and what it meant, but now he couldn't stop his thoughts from racing. He might never see Avery again, and even if he did, it wouldn't be the same. His time at the camp felt like it had been a lifetime. He didn't know how he was going to go back to his normal life - a life without Avery.

As he and his dad put the surveying equipment and his bag in the back of the SUV, he felt like someone was squeezing his heart.

"You say your goodbyes?" his dad asked.

Lying, he nodded.

"I bet you're happy to finally be getting out of here."

"Yeah," he said. Another lie.

"I know this wasn't ideal for you, but I was hoping you'd get something out of it. It seems like you did, even if it took a couple months. You did a good thing today, and I'm proud of you. Avery seems like a very bright, motivated young man."

"He is. You won't be disappointed."

-Avery-

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so happy. Everything had turned around today - his project was done, he'd been able to share his ideas with someone who could implement them, and he'd been offered a job. He couldn't believe it.

He knew everyone was disappointed he'd be leaving, but they didn't show it. They were all thrilled for him, and Peter had been in a good enough mood to invite Devin. He knew he should talk with Devin and see if he could bridge the distance between him and the others. 

Besides, he still had a lot of questions for Devin. He didn't know why Devin had kept the fact that his dad owned an engineering firm from him, or that he worked for his dad. He didn't know how long Devin had been working on rebuilding everything or how he'd managed to keep it a secret. Although, looking back, it was starting to make sense why Devin had seemed so tired the past couple weeks.

He turned, but Devin was no longer sitting at the table. He looked around the room but didn't see Devin anywhere. Maybe he had gone back to his cabin since no one was talking to him. He felt a bit guilty that he hadn't tried to include him in the conversation earlier.

"Hey, I'll be back," he told the others. "I'm going to find Devin. I think he went back to his cabin."

"Does he really need to be here?" Sam asked.

"I invited him," Peter replied. "I know how we all feel about him, but he did do a good thing for Avery."

"Yeah, after ruining everything," Sam said, rolling her eyes.

He left them to debate about Devin's actions and jogged over to Devin's cabin. He knocked, but the door opened slightly when he did.

"Devin?" he called, sticking his head inside. He was perplexed when he saw the cabin was completely empty. That was odd.

He walked back to the main building and went straight to Mitch's office.

"Avery! How's your celebration? I was going to come in and grab some cake."

"It's great. I can't thank you all enough for everything you've done for me. But I was wondering where Devin is. He was in the kitchen not too long ago, but I just went to his cabin to find him and it's empty. What's going on?"

"Oh, he left. It was about time too. He'd overstayed his assignment by a week."

Puzzled, Avery sat down. "What are you talking about?"

"Devin was supposed to leave last week, but he wasn't done with your prototypes yet. He stayed on to finish everything and bring in his dad's firm, but he told me he'd be leaving with his dad today."

He nodded slowly, trying to process this information. He was surprised that Devin had stayed any longer than he'd been required to, especially since everyone was ignoring him. He was also upset that Devin had left without saying goodbye. How could he do all of this and just walk away? Devin had told him that they'd talk later.

"He didn't say goodbye," Mitch said, more of a statement than a question.

"No, he didn't." Frowning, he looked up at Mitch. "Could I have a couple days off next week? I want to talk to Devin and go see my parents."

"Of course. Do you need to borrow a truck?"

"Could I? I know it's a long way to drive -"

"- And I know you're a careful driver. Take whatever time you need."

"Thanks, Mitch. I really appreciate it. I'm going to miss having you as my manager."

"We're all going to miss you. I hate to be losing my most enthusiastic, reliable employee, but you deserve every opportunity that comes your way."

"I promise I'll come back to visit."

"You better."

He wandered back out to the kitchen. Everyone was sitting around, cake and champagne in front of them.

"Devin didn't want to come back?" Amanda asked.

"He's gone." Dejected, he sat down.

"What do you mean 'gone'?"

"He left with his dad."

"Thank God," Sam said. "Finally."

"How could he leave without saying goodbye?" he wondered aloud.

"Did you really expect anything different from him? Let's just be happy that he's gone. It's another reason to celebrate."

Right now, he didn't feel like celebrating. Not without Devin. Devin was the reason for all of this, and it didn't feel right not to have him around. He also thought that they would have had a chance to talk and work things out. He wasn't the type of person to hold a grudge, so leaving things unresolved didn't sit well with him. Even though he had been upset with Devin for what he had done to his project, he had still wanted to say a few things to him before he left the camp.

"I know you all are happy to see him go, but he and I were friends for a while. I do care about him."

"Only you could care about someone who's basically the devil," Sam said.

"He turned it around at the end," he said, defending Devin. "And it's my choice whether or not I forgive him. You all don't have to, but I want to. I'm going to see him in a few days."

"Avery, don't. He's not worth it. Nothing good will come from it," Sam warned, and he could tell that she wasn't just talking about him and Devin being friends.

"Why don't we drop it," Peter said gently. "Let's celebrate Avery instead."

Grateful, Avery smiled at him. As much as he wished Devin were here, he knew he needed to worry about him later and try to make the most of his time with his coworkers now.