Chapter Thirty-One
I adjusted my grip on the back of the blown-up raft Beth and I carried awkwardly toward the riverbank, trying to stifle the bad feeling that whirled in my gut like a tornado.
Emma led the way down to the clearing toward the water, with Gigi and Courtney taking up the rear.
Above Courtney’s near constant chattering, the roar of the Sol Duc’s rushing water grew louder with each step I took; it felt like an alarm was going off inside me, telling me to go back.
I’d hardly slept last night, partly in shock that I’d been so fueled with rage that I’d punched Courtney, but mostly because I’d been unable to stop the growing anger inside me at Courtney’s unrelenting insistence on ruining other people’s lives.
All day, Courtney had been glued to Emma’s side.
The two of them led our hike, giving me no chance to speak to Emma alone.
“Look, I know I agreed not to bring it up,” Gigi said in a low tone from beside me, carrying the front of the raft she was sharing with Courtney. “But what was going on with you and Courtney last night? In all my life, Palmer, I’ve never seen you act out like that.”
“Oh, so you think her hitting me is my fault?” Courtney said from behind us. “Just like you assumed I was the one who spread those photos of you around school?”
I glanced at Gigi, whose face burned red. I’m not sure whether it was from the reminder of her school-wide humiliation or the fact that Courtney had overheard her. Or both.
“What are you guys arguing about?” Beth asked over her shoulder a few feet in front of me.
“Nothing,” Courtney called from the rear.
Gigi stopped. Turned. “Were you?”
“Was I what?” Courtney asked.
“The one who spread those photos around.”
Gigi wasn’t usually this bold. We all suspected Courtney was to blame, knowing the things she was capable of.
But I hadn’t seen Gigi stand up to Courtney about it since that day in the school bathroom when Courtney seemingly convinced Gigi she was innocent.
Since then, Gigi had appeared to get over it, and I’d assumed she believed Courtney was telling the truth.
Guess not. Throwing a look over my shoulder at Gigi, I spotted the stone-cold accusation in her eyes as she glared at Courtney.
“I already told you I didn’t.” There was venom in Courtney’s tone now.
“You know what I think, Gigi? You were the one who put those photos up of yourself. You secretly relished the attention, even though you pretended like you hated it. Then, you got to play the victim afterward. You’ve always been jealous I get more attention from guys than you do. You can’t handle it.”
Gigi dropped her end of the raft. I stopped, looking behind me as I felt Beth tug on the other end of the raft.
“You’re a bitch,” Gigi hissed.
“Whatever you guys are arguing about back there,” Emma called from the front, “just stop.”
“Yeah,” Beth added. “We don’t need anyone frazzled before we get on the water.”
“Tell that to Courtney.” Gigi plucked up her raft as I followed Beth over the river rocks that lined the Sol Duc’s shore.
“Easy, Gigi. I was only kidding.”
Behind me, Courtney’s tone was now light, the venom completely gone.
“But it’s nice to know what you really think of me,” Courtney added.
On the opposite side of the Sol Duc, a deer lapped water from the river’s edge. Seeing us, its head shot up. It turned, disappearing into the woods.
I dropped my raft on the rocky shore. “That’s enough, Courtney. Just stop.”
“Whatever.” Courtney shrugged, lowering the back of her raft into the water. “Like you’re one to talk, Palmer.”
Beth dragged our raft to the river’s edge, and it took all my willpower not to respond.
“You guys ready?” Emma already had one foot in the water and plopped her backpack into her raft.
Gigi warily assessed the fast-flowing water. “Shouldn’t we be wearing life jackets?”
“We’re in rafts,” Courtney said. “No one’s going in the water. Plus, we would’ve had to carry them, and none of you guys would’ve wanted that.”
Beth climbed into the back of our raft as I held onto the side. “Did you guys know that on this side of the river is the Olympic National Park and the other side of the river is the Olympic National Forest?”
“So?” Courtney asked.
“So, missing persons investigations are handled by completely different authorities depending on which side of the river you go missing on. If one of us falls out and goes missing in the river, it’s the luck of the draw whose jurisdiction it would be.”
Gigi moaned. “I don’t want to think about that.”
“I’m just saying,” Beth continued as I nudged our raft away from the shore, “that one side has a much better track record at performing in-depth searches for people than the other. Anyone want to guess which side it is?”
“No,” Courtney and Emma shouted.
“Let’s go,” Gigi called, climbing into the back of the raft she shared with Courtney.
I lowered myself into the raft, in front of Beth, adjusting myself in the tight space as she extended her legs on either side of me. I pitied Gigi’s being stuck in a tiny raft with Courtney all afternoon.
“Let’s do this,” Emma called as she started down the river.
I envied her confidence. Emma didn’t look the least bit nervous as she paddled downstream.
My blood raced, pulsing with force. The current swept us along, and it struck me how dangerously remote we were. We hadn’t passed a single person on the trail, and I hadn’t had a phone signal since we’d left the trailhead.
Behind us, Gigi and Courtney pushed out into the river in silence.
I shot them a curious look over my shoulder, wondering how they were managing to be in such close proximity without screaming at each other.
Courtney was in front, looking blissful as she took in the surroundings.
She appeared completely unrattled—disturbingly so—by the argument they’d had on the bank only moments ago.
I faced forward, suppressing the shudder that ran down my spine.
The current carried us speedily downstream.
Beth and I paddled toward the middle where it was deeper and there was less chance of running into a logjam.
The color of the water changed to a dark green.
Beneath the moving surface, I could no longer see the bottom.
I used my paddle to steer us away from an uprooted tree, which protruded from the bank and reached nearly halfway across the river.
Up ahead, Emma soared over a steep slope, like a mini waterfall. Her raft disappeared from view before reappearing downstream. Water splashed over both sides of the raft.
“Wahoo!” I heard Emma yell, pumping her paddle overhead.
“Hold on,” I said when Beth and I reached it.
I paddled to the left, afraid we might go down sideways and flip. I held my breath as our raft tipped over the edge, grabbing onto both side handles. Beth squealed. I closed my eyes as we dipped forward.
When we landed, I was jerked backward against Beth, the raft bobbing atop the fast-moving water. Water splashed the side of my face, and I opened my eyes.
“That was fun,” Beth shouted in my ear.
A laugh escaped my lips as relief washed over me that we hadn’t capsized. Beneath us, the current picked up, propelling us toward the next bend.
“Paddle to the left,” I told Beth, dipping my paddle into the water to keep us in the middle of the river.
Emma rounded the next river bend as Beth and I sped toward it. Behind us, Gigi screamed as she descended the drop.
“So dramatic,” Beth said.
I smiled at her quip.
“Wait! Help! You guys, stop.”
I turned, my smile fading when I saw that Gigi was alone in her raft.
“Courtney fell,” Gigi shouted, flailing her paddle to one side, trying to stop. Instead, she continued downstream, spinning in her raft until she was drifting backward. Gigi craned her neck toward Beth and me. “I can’t stop,” she shrieked.
Beth and I held out our paddles on either side of the raft, barely managing to slow down. The river whitecapped around our raft as the current picked up. There was no way we could stop.
I twisted in my seat, looking beyond Beth’s shoulder at the small waterfall behind Gigi as she continued toward us, waiting to see Courtney carried over the edge. But there was only water spilling over the drop.
“Look out!” Beth’s eyes bulged.
I whipped around, following her terrified gaze. We were heading straight for a cluster of sharp broken branches protruding from the river’s surface. I pushed against them with my paddle, and we veered to the right. Behind us, Gigi was still screaming Courtney’s name.