At first, we'd played kid games, and it had just been the local girls: Melanie, Jenny, Gabby, and me. As we'd gotten older, the group of girls had expanded to include Kelsey, Brooklyn, Rachel, and other girls. They'd snuck in alcohol, and we'd spent hours playing Truth or Dare or Never Have I Ever.
I had hated both games. The truth made me look naïve and inexperienced, and the dare made me look like a wimp. As for Never Have I Ever…well, I'd never done anything, so once again I felt like a fool. Not that anyone had paid much attention to me, not when my sisters were around. Their stars burned bright, and it had been easy to hide in the background.
Melanie had gotten really pissed off at me one night for letting them take over. But she didn't understand what it was like to have sisters who were prettier and smarter. It was different having an older brother. There was no competition between her and Drake. Although Melanie had shared that she often thought Drake was the favorite, which was something I could relate to. It was another feeling that had bonded us as friends.
I let out a sigh. Before coming to the island, I'd vowed not to let myself travel back to the past. Now, I was literally doing just that.
I'd been to Jenny's house a million times in my youth, and the side path to the backyard was as familiar as my own hand. I put in the code for the gate and walked into the yard, moving through the trees with a growing feeling of trepidation.
When I got to the treehouse, I climbed up the ladder and crawled inside. The memories were even worse here. I had to draw in several deep breaths to quell the panic running through me. It was just a treehouse. Nothing to fear. But it wasn't the house that was bothering me, it was all the memories.
My gaze ran around the room, which had a roof and plastic windows. Gone were the throw rugs, blankets, and colorful pillows that I remembered. There was, however, an old bookshelf filled with some of our favorite books. I ran my finger along the dusty volumes and smiled a little. We had had some good times in this treehouse.
Looking away from the books, I saw the quotes we'd written on the walls, the love hearts with our names intertwined with boys' names, most of which had been scratched out whenever one of our romantic fantasies ended.
My breath came quicker as I saw my name matched up with Ben. I'd just put Ben's name there so no one would realize my obsession with Drake. I think that Melanie might have suspected, but she'd said nothing, and neither had I.
Melanie had several hearts on the wall—which wasn't surprising. Melanie, Jenny, and Gabby spent time in the treehouse all year long, while I'd only been here in the summers.
I remembered most of Melanie's crushes. At one point, she'd also liked Ben, but then it had been all about Dillon. When summer came, she'd turned her fantasies to the Chadwicks—to Gage and Carter. There was even a heart featuring her and James.
But none of those hearts had become relationships. They'd just been crushes.
It was a little surprising that Alex's name had never appeared in any of the hearts, because he'd definitely had a crush on Melanie. That was a little odd. Had Melanie ever liked Alex? I couldn't remember. But I remembered how broken up Alex had been after she disappeared. He'd shed tears for her. I didn't think any of the other guys had done that.
I heard someone coming up the ladder, and Jenny crawled through the open door a moment later, scuffing her dark-blue pants on the dusty floor. She had a cardigan sweater over a silk blouse, and her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. There was tension in her eyes, in the taut line of her mouth.
"Thanks for coming," she said.
"No problem." We sat cross-legged on the floor as we'd done a million times before. "This is weird. We're too old to be in here."
"But it still feels safe, doesn't it?"
That seemed like an odd choice of words, but I couldn't dispute that being here felt safe, like we were kids again, like we were hidden away from the world. "What's going on, Jenny?"
"I'm worried about Kelsey."
"So am I. But why did you want to talk to me in private?"
"I need you to tell me if I'm crazy."
“About what?”
"Kelsey asked me to meet her in Seattle about a month ago to go over the wedding plans. The wedding is a significant amount of money for our venue, so my boss was fine with me going to Kelsey. I met her and your mom at a restaurant. After our meeting, your mom left, but Kelsey stayed behind to take a phone call. I went out to my car to head home, but then realized I'd forgotten my phone. When I returned to the restaurant, I saw Kelsey cross the street with Carter. He had his arm around her, and they walked into the Halcyon Hotel together." Jenny let out a breath after the rush of words. "It looked…odd."
"Are you saying that Kelsey and Carter were having an affair?" I couldn't believe it. Or could I? I'd witnessed an intense conversation between them on the ferry. But Carter was Gage's brother. The idea made me nauseous.
"I'm just telling you what I saw," Jenny said. "What do you think?"
"I—I have no idea what I think," I stuttered. "Carter and Kelsey? Are you sure?"
"I'm sure they walked into a hotel together. I'm not certain of anything else." Jenny paused. "I don't want to think that Kelsey was messing around with Gage's brother, but she wasn't one to worry about stealing someone else's boyfriend."
Now Jenny sounded angry, and my gaze narrowed. "Kelsey stepped on your toes, didn't she?" I looked at the heart on the wall that had Jenny and Carter together. "With Carter?"
She followed my gaze, then shrugged. "I liked him for a while. But we were never together. Have you spoken to Carter since Kelsey disappeared?"
"He came to the house with Gage this morning. He looked upset and anxious." I paused. "Why did you want to tell me this story?"
"I'm…afraid."
My body tightened. "Of what?"
"I don't want to say. It's too ridiculous."
I could read the truth in her eyes. "You think Carter had something to do with Kelsey's disappearance?"
"Do you?"
"No."
"Okay, good. Then I'm just adding two plus two and coming up with five."
My mind raced. Was she on to something? "Maybe you're not being crazy," I said with a frown. "If Carter liked Kelsey, maybe he wanted to force her to rethink her decision to marry Gage?"
"How could he force her? By holding her against her will? That doesn't sound like Carter. And where would he even put her? He's staying at his parents' house."
"I don't know. You're the one who came up with this idea," I said.
"Not that idea. If Carter and Kelsey were involved, maybe she ran away or went to one of her friends. Maybe she just needed time to think about whether she was marrying the wrong brother. That's the theory I came up with."
"I like your idea better, but when Gage called her friends this morning, they said they hadn't seen her."
"Maybe they wouldn't tell Gage."
"I suppose that's possible. Have you talked to Gabby about this? Does she know you saw Carter and Kelsey together in Seattle? She's married to Carter's brother. Maybe she would have some insight."