“You’re not! I can see this on your mind all of the time! Sleep!”
“I get eight hours a night, Kayla. I don’t need more rest.”
Okay, it’s more like six hours, but that’s still enough. It’s more than I used to get around exam time when I’d cram in last-minute studying until midnight.
“Maybe we can arrange for you to see one of the counselors?”
My jaw drops. “Are you serious? You don’t believe me?”
“I’m not saying that. I think you’re right and someone is pranking us, but I don’t think there’s anything more to it than that.”
“But what if there is more to it?”
Kayla tilts her head the way you do when you think someone is ridiculous. “Like what?”
“Like it’s Lillian and she wants us to pay!”
“For what? We didn’t do anything to her. If anything, it was her fault.”
Her words chip away at my sanity. Kayla is mostly right, I suppose.
“Hey, it’s okay. I understand why you think all this stuff, Esme. You just want to protect us.”
“I want to come into town with you guys tonight.”
Kayla stands up and sighs. “If you promise to rest now, I’ll wake you before we go.”
“Thanks.”
She leaves the room, and I climb up to my bunk and settle in.
I close my eyes, listening to the faint sound of terrible guitar playing and laughter.
They all sound so happy out there, without a care in the world.
Sighing, I turn onto my side and take my cell from under my pillow. Maybe I can find Lillian on social media. All I know is her name and that she lives around here. That might not be enough, especially if she doesn’t state exactly where she lives, but it’s worth a try. If I can get in contact with her, then maybe I can fix whatever she’s angry about.
If there even is anything.
This still could all be random, just bored kids from town looking to get their kicks by spooking the campers.
I commit each face of a girl named Lillian who lives in this area to memory. None of them look like the girl who Kayla and I saw ten years ago, but yeah, ten years is a long time. She could have changed a lot, dyed her hair, gained or lost weight.
Kayla will worry if she knows I’m still obsessing, but I hate that we’ve potentially hurt someone. Whatever really happened that night, I want to make it right.
An hour later, the cabin fills with girls. I listen as they chat excitedly about the guitar lesson. I didn’t hear anyone playing well, but that’s the point of learning, right? You’re terrible until you’re not.
Kayla creeps into our room and whispers, “You awake, Esme?”
I sit up. “Yep.”
“You feeling better?”
She asks that as if I’ve been ill. There is nothing wrong with me. “Much better,” I say to appease her. “Is Andy in his cabin?”
“Yeah, and the counselors with the night off are all in the staff cabin playing cards. They invited us, but Tia said we wanted to take a walk and then use the multiuse cabin for dodgeball. I was sure they were going to bust us then. Who wants to play dodgeball?”
“It’s good for aggression,” I say, and climb down the ladder.
“Are you feeling aggressive?”
“What? No. I was just saying. I don’t want to play dodgeball. I want to kick your ass at air hockey.”
“As if.”
I grab my jacket and pop my cell in my pocket. “Let’s go.”
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly nervous that we’re finally doing this, but a rush of adrenaline keeps telling me it’s a good idea.
Even if I don’t find Lillian maybe I’ll experience this little thing called fun. I’m in dire need of getting away from camp for a while. The isolation could be the reason for my latest stretch of paranoia.
Everything is worse when you’re trapped.
16
Olly, Jake, Tia and Rebekah are waiting by the multiuse cabin, which is the closest to the man-made path between town and camp. It isn’t really a path, but instead a thin strip of mud that’s been trampled down.
We’re all assuming it was made by CITs wanting to get out for the night. No one but me—hello—seems to think it could also be used by people from town coming in.
“Your headache gone?” Olly asks. He steps close to me.
“Yep, I feel great.”
“Let’s go then!” Tia cheers quietly.
“We’re doing a lap of the lake first, right?” I ask. “The counselors think we’re going for a walk.”
Rebekah nods. “Good idea, Esme. Let’s make it look like we’re good little CITs.”
She looks happier now than I’ve seen her since we arrived.
I link arms with her as we walk, despite wanting to be near Olly.
“How are you doing?” I ask.
She smiles tightly. “Me? Oh, I’m fine. This is cool and scary. Should I be scared? Are you?”
Laughing, I nudge her with my shoulder. “Breathe. No one has ever come checking on us before. There’s no reason why they would now.”
“That’s true. I still feel like a criminal, though.”
“Actually, it’s not a crime what we’re doing,” I inform her.
We do one lap and stop by the shrubs that are doing a poor job of hiding the sneaky little trail. Kayla and Tia are animated, talking loud and fast.
I look over my shoulder. The camp looks deserted, like one of those creepy abandoned theme parks, but without the roller coasters. Above the lake a large bird glides in a circle and crows.
“Let’s get out of here,” Jake says. “Coast is clear.”
He ducks between the bushes and Kayla follows straightaway. Rebekah takes a breath, but she doesn’t have time to chicken out: Tia grabs her hand and pulls her along.
“Shall we?” Olly asks, nodding to the trail.
Biting my lip, I grab his hand and we disappear into the bushes.
He doesn’t let go of me, and I’m not about to complain. His hand is warm; his grip firm yet gentle. He feels safe, which is nice since I haven’t felt that today.
We walk quickly through the forest. Jake has a flashlight, but he’s keeping it low to the ground in case anyone sees us. It’s not that dark, but as we go deeper, we lose a lot of light.