Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
SUMMER
Ishouldn’t have let her stay, and I definitely shouldn’t want to do it again.
Towel drying my hair, I try putting it out of my mind. How good it felt to fall asleep beside her. How warm and soft she is. How quiet my mind seems to be when she is with me…
A heavy knock on the door pulls me out of those thoughts, and before I can answer, the lock's being thrown open and River walks in looking frazzled.
“She’s in here!” They yell over their shoulder.
“Where am I supposed to be?” I ask, checking my phone to double check that I’m not late.
“Molly’s missing,” they say, eyes wide and lips thin.
“What?” I ask, stepping outside to see way more people than I’m used to. More uniformed police, the rest of the counselors, and Indy’s parents are all outside the cabins. “Does Indy know?”
River nods, and I shift my gaze into the gathered crowd where I spot her, wearing yesterday’s clothes, holding her hands on her arms across her chest as she talks to the blonde cop.
Shit.
I know she’s blaming herself for this mess, just like she did with Finn.
“I don’t know about y’all, but I’m ‘bout tired of this mess.” Kiri’s voice comes from the doorway, and I’m not sure what to say… My stomach hollows out as I think about the note I received, and how I didn’t meet whoever is terrorizing the camp, last night.
If Molly’s missing, it’s my fault.
“What are they going to do?” I ask, looking at River who seems to know the Turners the best.
They shrug and shake their head, “I don’t know. I gotta go find Zaye, she’s all torn up about it.”
The picture she took!
“Wait!” I call, pocketing my phone and hurrying past Kiri to catch up with River. “Zaye has something she needs to show the police.” I say, lowering my voice so only they can hear me.
River nods, and we walk at a clipped pace to their bunk. Zaye’s sitting on her bed, legs crossed under her.
“Zaye,” River says, going to her and sitting as close as they can. “I think we need to tell the police and Indy what you saw. It might be nothin’, but it could be somethin’.”
She hesitates and looks up at River, “I’m not sure I’m ready to tell Indy just yet.”
River holds Zaye close and whispers, “just Sheriff Hartley then, okay?”
Understanding dawns, and I suddenly feel like I’m intruding. “I’ll let you two work that out.”
Backing out of the cabin, and looking for Indy, I spot her talking with Jarrett, who puts an arm around her shoulder in a side hug before jogging off to the mess hall where they must have the kids waiting.
“Hey,” grazing her elbow with my finger, I offer her as much comfort as I can.
She turns, eyes glossed over and rimmed in red. “We have to send the kids home.”
“I figured as much,” I nod, knowing that’s the most practical option.
“They were supposed to have another two days. We were supposed to get another set of campers next week,” she sniffles, looking around at her pride and joy. I can tell she loves this place, pours her heart and soul into it and that makes the guilty pit in my stomach open up even further.
I think it’s time to tell Indy the truth about who I am, about my past, and how this is all my fault.
Before she hears it from someone else.
“Boss!” A uniformed officer calls, waving the blonde leader down. “I found somethin’.”
Indy and I look at each other, and head that way. I want to hold her hand, offer her a tiny bit of strength. But I can’t, especially if I go through with telling her everything. She won’t want anything to do with me after she hears about what I did.
All the adults have already crowded the back of Molly’s cabin, which faces the trees that surround the camp. If you weren’t looking, you wouldn’t have found it, scrawled on the back of the cabin, in the same handwriting as all the other notes…