Chapter Twenty-Three
“Did you guys hear about the two cyclists who were attacked by a cougar on the Pacific Crest Trail earlier this spring?” Beth asked from behind me on the trail.
“There were three of them, all women,” she continued without waiting for an answer.
“The cougar tackled one of them, throwing her off her bike, and started eating her face off, until the other two women wrestled the cougar, choking it and hitting it with a rock until they were finally able to pin it down beneath one of their bikes while one of them called for help.”
In front of me, Emma groaned. “I want to go back.”
“Yeah,” Gigi added. “You’re freaking me out.”
She was freaking me out, too, but I was glad to hear Beth return to her normal fact-sharing self after Courtney had given her a bookmark in place of a T-shirt.
“I’ve done a lot of research on cougars,” Beth continued. “They’re pretty fascinating. They’re ambush predators, meaning they stalk their prey, usually attacking from behind. They kill with either a bite to the neck or the throat.”
Gigi whirled her head around. “Isn’t that the same thing?”
“No.” Beth quickened her pace, having piqued Gigi’s interest. “When they bite the lower neck, they snap the top of their prey’s spinal cord, the cervical vertebrae, breaking the neck and suffocating the animal.
Sometimes, they also bite the head to crush the skull, along with their prey’s neck bones. ”
I scrunched up my nose at the visual.
“Eww,” Gigi said.
Emma shook her head. “That’s some dark shit, Beth.”
Beth was now beside me on the trail. “When they bite the throat, they crush their prey’s windpipe. They can also jump as far as twenty feet, and their jaws are powerful enough that cougars can take down prey even bigger than themselves.”
I turned to Beth, whose voice sounded almost giddy with excitement.
“Okay, enough,” Courtney called without turning around.
“My neighbor works for the Forest Service, and he told my mom recently that cougars in this area are becoming overpopulated. The increase in population also increases the competition for food supply, which is why they’re becoming increasingly aggressive.
If you see one,” Beth continued, undeterred, “you’re supposed to make yourself as big and loud as possible. That way—”
“Beth, stop,” Courtney called from the front of our group. “You’re scaring everyone with your stupid facts.”
“They’re not stupid,” Beth quipped. “These facts could save our lives.”
Courtney cast a sharp look over her shoulder.
“Whatever. You’re probably just making it up so you don’t have to keep moving so fast. That’s why I told you to start exercising before our trip.
” Courtney turned, taking a long stride over a puddle on the trail.
“Plus, your ass is never going to get smaller if you’re not willing to put in the work.
If you had, you might’ve also gotten a prom date. ”
“Courtney!” I stopped in my tracks, gaping at Courtney’s long red hair, which swayed with her steps as she hiked. Beth had never done anything to her. How could she be so heartless?
“What?” Courtney whirled around.
“Do you even hear yourself sometimes?” I asked.
Courtney’s gaze shifted from mine to Beth’s, and her face softened. “I’m just trying to be helpful. Beth knows that.”
I turned to Beth, not buying Courtney’s act of innocence. Especially not after she went to the school board behind my back. “Are you okay?”
Beth waved her hand through the air dismissively. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
I studied my friend’s face before turning around. Even though Beth acted like Courtney’s “unintentional” jab didn’t bother her, I knew it did.
“Beth knows I’m looking out for her,” Courtney hollered from an incline up ahead. “Right, Beth?”
“Yeah, I know,” Beth called from behind me.
Yeah, right, I thought.
Gigi moved in step beside Courtney. A moment later, Courtney burst out in obnoxious laughter at something Gigi said.
I paused and shot Beth another look over my shoulder. Her expression was unreadable, but I knew she had to be affected by Courtney’s insults. How could she not?
I picked up my pace to keep up with the others, fixing my gaze on the back of Courtney’s head, cocked to the side as she giggled. She was the most generous person I knew, but she was also the most cruel.
The trail inclined as we hiked on. Somewhere in the woods to my right, a bird chirped. Our group’s conversation waned as we worked to keep up with Courtney’s pace. Behind me, Beth’s breathing became audible as the trail grew steeper.
“I have to pee,” Emma said.
Courtney spun and put her hands on her hips. “Already? Can’t you wait a bit longer?” Courtney swatted a mosquito that had landed on her neck, leaving a smear of blood on her smooth skin.
“No.” Emma shook her head. “I’ve been holding it for a while. I have to go now.”
“Ugh.” Courtney threw her head back in impatience. “Okay, that’s fine, but I’m going to keep moving. We still have another seven miles to go before we make camp.”
“We need to stay together,” Beth called out from behind me, her voice stern.
“It won’t be for long.” Courtney turned to Emma. “Just catch up as soon as you’re done.”
“Remember what I said about the cougars,” Beth warned after Emma as she stepped off the trail. “You shouldn’t go off very far by yourself.”
“I’ll go too,” I said, following Emma. I didn’t have to pee that bad yet, but I knew I’d have to go before too long, and I had no desire to deal with Courtney’s dramatic attitude if we had to stop for a second time.
“Gigi, do you want me to carry the raft now?” I heard Courtney ask after I stepped off the trail into the woods.
After making sure we were far enough from the trail not to be seen if other hikers came along, Emma and I squatted behind large trees, several feet apart.
It took me a few minutes to relax enough in the quiet woods before I was able to go.
When I finally did, a rustling in the fern beside me made me jump to my feet.
A small bird fluttered out of the fern as my heart hammered inside my chest. I exhaled, glad for the large spruce stump that blocked Emma’s view of me freaking out with my shorts around my ankles.
I crouched back into a half squat as my pulse slowed. By the time I was able to go again, I sank into a full squat to relieve my tired thigh muscles and accidentally peed on my shorts. I swore, searching for the small amount of toilet paper I’d packed in my bag.
Emma was waiting for me when I emerged from behind the tree a few minutes later.
“Ready?” she asked.
I tried not to dwell on my urine-soaked shorts as I stepped over a log. “Yeah.”
“Wait.” Emma reached for my arm when I moved beside her. “Before we go back, tell me the truth. Did Bryson and Jake really put that dish soap on the locker room floor?” She lowered her voice. “Or was it Courtney?”
My face grew hot as Emma’s hazel eyes searched mine. Now was my chance to come clean. In my periphery, a squirrel scampered up a large tree trunk.
“Come on, Palmer. I can tell something’s bothering you,” Emma prodded, crossing her arms. “I deserve to know—that prank ruined my future. Years of hard work down the drain just like that.” Emma snapped her fingers.
“I’m playing volleyball at community college,” she added.
“Whoever did this to me is going to pay. But first, I need to know the truth. Don’t you think I deserve that? ”
I drew in a deep breath, steeling myself for my long overdue confession. “Actually, Emma, I . . . um . . . there’s something—”
“Hey, guys.” I spun to see Courtney less than ten feet away, her eyes bright with excitement. “We found a hot spring just off the trail. We’re going skinny-dipping. Last ones into the hot spring have to carry the rafts for the next two miles.”
Emma and I exchanged glances. Emma made no effort to move, and I could tell she was eagerly waiting for Courtney to leave so I could finish my sentence.
“We’ll be right there,” Emma told her.
But Courtney didn’t retreat. “Come on. Let’s go.
” She motioned for us to follow, pivoting to the side while she kept her gaze on us.
“Don’t make me use my team-captain voice.
” Her mouth lifted into a half smile. “What are you waiting for?” Courtney’s green eyes landed on mine, and I wondered if she’d overheard what Emma had asked me.
Emma appeared to study Courtney for a moment and then me. “Nothing.” She cast me a knowing look before she followed Courtney back to the trail without another word.
I stood in the woods, watching Emma stride away. She was smarter than Courtney gave her credit for. Courtney may have fooled the school board, but Emma wasn’t buying it so easily. I blew a breath out of my mouth and trudged after them, knowing it would be up to me to set things right.