She'd woken up early, at dawn, her eyes snapping open and a horrible feeling of dread clinching in her gut. She wasn't alone, she never was, but this particular morning, it felt wrong waking up next to a boy who was seeing someone else.

Oh God, what must Veronica think?

She slipped out from under the sheets silently and crept from the room in her pajamas, changing hastily in the bathroom and making her way quietly into the kitchen to make herself some breakfast.

For an hour, she read quietly, alone in the rec room with the jukebox playing softly in the background. When it was time for some fresh air, she was dressed modestly, a towel and a bottle of sunscreen and a book stowed away in her bag, along with a bottle of water and a piece of fruit for later.

You could never be too prepared.