Chapter 16

"Savannah, what are you doing?" Grant pushes through the trees, shirt and curls in disarray. He stares at Jacey and me sitting a few yards from the ledge, tears streaking our faces.

I push myself up, wiping my face with the hem of my shirt like a three-year-old and leaving dirt tracks. "Nothing. Just wanted to look."

Grant's gaze travels to Jacey, who's turned away from us, knees pulled to her chest. Like she's simply gazing out at the view.

He examines me, unconvinced. "Well, come back down." Hand outstretched, he steps closer. "You practically gave Mr. Davis a heart attack."

Guilt pinches in my chest. "I'll apologize." I glance back at Jacey, statuesque on the outcropping. "Let me catch up with you."

He gives me a skeptical look.

"I'll be down in a minute," I say, holding up an index finger. "Promise."

His head falls back in frustration, but he turns and plods back toward the woods.

When he disappears into the trees, I sink back down beside Jacey. "I have to talk to Abby."

Jacey's eyes dart to mine. "Abby? What does she have to do with any of this?"

"Noah says they were tight before Piper's fall. That they were always whispering. Maybe she knows who Alex is. Or who had an issue with Piper."

Jacey shakes her head. "Abby has no idea what was going on. If Piper never confided in me or Noah about the threats, she never would've told Abby."

"What if all of it happened after the dance? You and Noah weren't exactly speaking to Piper those last few days."

She inhales, and her fingers fiddle with a hole in her pants. "If you talk to Abby, she'll just make up a story. She's a drama queen."

"I mean, technically, she's an opera queen. It's a lead, Jacey. The only one we have."

"I just don't want you to waste your time." She shrugs like it's no big deal and starts to braid her hair over one shoulder.

But a wariness causes my muscles to stiffen. Why is she so against me talking to someone who could help us get to the truth?

"I'm not going to do anything this second." I stand, dusting gravel off my pants. "I have to apologize to Mr. Davis and convince Grant that I'm stable enough to stay on this trip." It might be hard to believe after the way I just flirted with death on the cliff's edge.

"I'll come with," Jacey says, letting the braid fall loose. She stays at my side as we walk through the weeds, like a friend accompanying me back.

Only it feels like I'm being monitored.

Grant must've trusted that I'd be right behind him, because he's back in the water when we make it to the bank. Sam and Abby are down there too.

Drained, I find my stuff beside Grant's by the pool's edge and plunk down onto a patch of gravel. I remove my shoes and socks and dip my feet into the cold water, leaning forward to let the mist catch my face. Nearby, Jacey and Noah sit on a slab of granite, sharing a snack. On the other side of the river, I spot Mr. Davis digging through his pack. Alexandra is over there, too, resting on an elbow and writing in a notebook splayed out on her lap.

I reach for my pack and scrounge through it for my water. As I tug it free, a shadow falls over me.

"Everything good?"

I use my hand to block the sun. Through my fingers, I catch a wink of metal. "Don't tell me you thought I was going to jump too."

"I don't really know you well enough to determine what you will and won't do."

I roll my eyes.

"Noah told me about your sister," Tyler says, running a chain through his fingertips. "I'm really sorry."

"Thanks," I mumble before moving the bottle to my lips. Of course, the one person I don't need to speak to is the friendliest. I guzzle the cool water, suddenly realizing how thirsty I am.

In front of us, the river roils, just like my mind. I'm dizzy. I have to get to Abby, the girl who didn't want to talk in the woods yesterday.

Tyler walks away, but a moment later, he drags his pack over and dumps it next to mine. "Want some trail mix?"

My stomach is a little rumbly. I hold out my palm, and he shakes cashews and dried fruit into it.

I cringe. "Where's the chocolate?"

"This is the true outdoorsman's version, not the child's."

"Well, it looks like squirrel food."

"Adds to the experience." He tosses back a small handful.

I try to smile, but my body feels like it just finished a triple-header. That climb up the waterfall drained every last ounce of my strength, leaving me with a bone-deep fatigue.

"Sure you're okay?"

I venture a peek at him, and his dark eyes stir up mixed feelings in me. Part of me could pour out my soul to this person, and the other part tenses like a gopher on alert. "Why are you always asking me how I'm doing? You said it yourself—we don't know each other."

"My mom said I should try to make friends."

At first I think he's serious, but his mouth curves up at one corner.

"Think you could use your magical sleeping bag stowing abilities to roll me up and tuck me away somewhere until this weekend is over?"

Tyler's head tilts, like he's considering it. "Sure, but it sounds painful."

"Time to pack up!" calls Mr. Davis, who's wading through the shallows toward us, wearing his pack.

I return my water to its storage pouch, and Tyler offers me a hand. I peek over my shoulder at Grant before accepting it, a red ember of guilt burning in my belly.

***

I keep trying to get Abby alone, but she and Sam have been surgically linked since the river.

Overhead, the stars sparkle through the treetops, and in front of me, the fire is waning. My phone is still off, but I'm guessing it's well after one a.m. Mr. Davis has long since gone to bed. I lift my head from Grant's chest. His eyes are distant, reflecting the flickering flames. I hate keeping this Piper stuff from him, but I can't have him dragging me back down the mountain early.

Across the fire, Sam and Abby show no signs of prying themselves apart. Near them, Jacey sits beside Noah, chatting quietly. She yawns but doesn't head off to bed.

Suddenly, Sam stands up, helping Abby to her feet. I straighten, ready to hustle over and cut her off on her way to her tent. But Sam slings an arm around her, and the two amble away together. Like he's a freaking Uber dropping her off at her doorstep.

I grind my teeth. How am I supposed to intercept her now?

New plan. "I'm off to bed," I say, leaning over to kiss Grant.

"'Night," he murmurs, breath warm against my skin. No offer to escort me to my tent. Despite the fact that a wolf could easily leap through the camp and carry me off. Probably.

Away from him, I shiver. The cold night air carries a memory of last year's soccer tournament with Grant. The one where things spiraled out of our control. The one that started with a note passed from his palm to mine on the bus, telling me to meet him at the pool at midnight. The one that ended with both of us soaked and frozen, but not caring as our lips finally met for the first time, his hands warm on my skin.

A red-hot sweep of desire runs through me, and I glance back. But Grant's still facing the fire.

I take a deep breath and drop my hands, letting the cold consume me as I trek to the tent.

As soon as I'm zipped inside, I hear the door opening again. I shine my flashlight over Jacey.

"I'm so tired," she says through another yawn.

"Yeah, me too. Except I have to go back out there to talk to Abby. Just waiting for her bodyguard to go off duty."

Jacey starts to climb inside her sleeping bag. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I'm sure it's the only idea we have."

"What if she was the one threatening Piper?"

I open my mouth to argue, but she cuts me off. "Just hear me out. What if that's the reason they were always whispering? Maybe Abby was the one trying to bully Piper into quitting, or even…into other things."

"I don't know, Jacey. It would be like finding out Snow White was bullying one of the dwarfs." But even as I say it, I know I have to consider the possibility. Someone in this club wanted Piper out, and there are only so many options.

"We could go together," I say. "It's safer."

"No," she says, already tucked inside her bag. "If Abby had something to do with all this, we might spook her if we both confront her. The best plan is to wait, at least until we get back down the mountain and it's broad daylight."

I sit for a moment, chewing on the inside of my mouth until I taste copper. "Fine." I slip inside my sleeping bag. No need to upset the only person who's trying to help me.

But I can't let fear keep me from finding out what happened to Piper. As soon as Jacey starts to snore, I'm talking to Abby.

I lie there, and my eyelids press down, the sound of the crickets lulling me to sleep. I could set an alarm on my phone, but it would only wake up Jacey. And if there's a message from my parents—something about Piper—I don't want to know. Instead, I battle sleep, drifting off and then waking in a panic, blinking and pinching my own cheeks as minutes turn to hours.

When Jacey's breathing finally turns slow and steady, I slink out of my bag, careful not to make a sound. I grab my flashlight, pull my hood up, and duck back outside.

I navigate around the backs of the tents to Abby and Alexandra's. The black forest hums around me as I approach the silent tent. How do I do this without scaring the hell out of them? "Knock, knock," I say, shining my light directly at the tent.

Nylon rustles, followed by whispers. Abby's groggy voice drifts out. "What is it?"

"It's Savannah. Can I talk to you outside? Just you, Abby."

There's a pause. "Yeah, let me put my shoes on."

My breath whooshes out in relief. "Thanks."

She emerges a moment later, shrugging on a puffy jacket, and I incline my head toward the trees and start walking out of hearing range of the other tents.

"What's going on?" Abby asks when I finally stop.

"When we first got up here, you said there was something I didn't know about Piper. Did it have to do with someone named Alex?"

Her head pulls back, hair rippling over her shoulders, streaks of radiant burgundy wherever the moonlight touches it. "Alex? What? No."

"Then what were you talking about? Please, I need you to tell me."

She doesn't answer right away, drawing circles in the leaves with her boot. But then she looks me straight in the eye. "Did you know Piper was devastated before she fell?"

The question punches me hard. I nod.

"Because of those two?" she adds, waving a hand in the direction of camp. A surge of relief ripples through me. "Her supposed best friends ?"

Behind me, a critter rustles in the undergrowth. I flinch and press in closer to Abby. "Yeah, I knew. I mean, I just found out. So, that's it, then? You and Piper were talking about what Noah and Jacey did?" I get a pinprick of disappointment. "She didn't tell you anything about someone named Alex? Or someone who was bullying her?"

"No. Why would you think someone was bullying her?"

"I found some things," I say, rubbing at my forehead. "The day she fell, someone sent her a note telling her to go to the Point for a Survival Club meeting."

Abby's eyes widen.

"What is it?"

Her gaze swings toward her tent. "It's okay," I prod, forcing patience into my voice even though I want to grab her by a chunk of bright red hair. "You can tell me."

"Promise you won't say how you heard this."

"I promise. What happened?"

She licks her lips. Leans in close. "You should ask Jacey where she was the afternoon Piper fell."

Numbness starts to spread from my shoulders to my fingers. "Why?"

"I think Jacey met Piper at Suicide Point that afternoon," Abby says. "I mean, she didn't call it Suicide Point, but I knew where she meant. That spot on Vanderwild, just past the fork where it meets the Golden Trail." In the dim light, her eyes shine. "She asked me to lie for her, to tell Piper there was an extra skills session for Survival Club. When I refused, she asked me to pass Piper a note. It was sealed in an envelope, but she said it was an apology for the whole Noah thing." She grabs her temples, letting out a desperate moan. "Why did I believe her?"

My vision darkens, and I shake the flashlight, but it's not the issue. I am. Because I've forgotten to breathe.

I suck in so much air I get dizzy, and Abby grabs me by the arm before I crumple into the dirt. "I'm sorry," she whispers. "I should've said something."

This is why Jacey didn't want me to talk to Abby.

This whole time, it has been her.

The answer was staring me in the face at the waterfall, but I couldn't see it. I thought we were the same because we'd both hurt people. But Jacey didn't stop at kissing Noah. She must've decided Piper was too much competition.

"I won't let on that I know," I say, taking my arm from Abby. "Thanks for telling me."

Still woozy, I brush past her and stagger through the camp, not sure what I'm going to do when I get to the tent. Do I confront Jacey or wait until we get down the mountain and tell the cops?

I reach the tent, my heart thwacking against my ribs as I unzip it. Inside, I point my light at Jacey's side, and my heart tumbles down to the nylon floor.

Her sleeping bag is empty.