Chapter Forty-Three
I wasn’t sure how long we’d been walking, but we had to be getting close to where Gigi and Emma were waiting with the rafts.
“I don’t think you should tell Emma and Gigi that you saw Courtney.”
I turn to Beth as we continued along the river. “Why not?”
“What if they think you left Courtney on purpose?”
“I did.” I hated myself for it now, but it was the truth.
“I know. And I know you were scared. But what if they think you left Courtney on purpose to die?”
I slowed my pace.
“Like how you didn’t even call out to warn her,” Beth added. “Until it was too late.”
“I didn’t mean for . . .” I kept moving, studying my best friend. Did she think I wanted Courtney to die? A ripple of guilt shimmied down my torso as I stepped over a log. Is that what they’d all think? I couldn’t explain why I left her, not even to myself. I wished now that I could take it back.
“I . . . panicked. I was too scared to stay and help her after facing the cougar head-on.” As I said the words, I wasn’t sure they were true. Had I wanted Courtney to die when I kept silent and ran away?
Beth frowned. “I mean if Courtney’s . . . dead”—her eyes skirted to the trees behind me—“you could be charged with manslaughter.”
I stopped. “What?”
“You know how powerful Courtney’s parents are. And last night, I heard Courtney fighting outside our tents with someone.”
I swallowed, recalling the stream of blood dripping from Courtney’s mouth after I’d punched her.
“It was probably Emma or Gigi, but what if they think it was you?” Beth turned to me as she moved around a large rock.
It was me, I wanted to say, but something in the way Beth was eyeing me made me hold back. Gigi already knew. Would she think I’d left Courtney to die on purpose if I told her and Emma the truth?
“I’m just worried how it might look,” Beth continued. “I say we tell them everything except for you finding Courtney. Then, we’ll get to the van as fast as we can and call for help. Getting a rescue team up here ASAP will be Courtney’s best chance of survival.”
I gazed at the tree line to our left, noting the late afternoon sun had dipped below the treetops. That makes sense, I thought. But just as some tension released from my shoulders, another thought raced through my mind.
“Beth, what if Courtney’s alive and she catches up to us? Or a rescue team finds her, and she tells them I found her before we fought, and I left?”
Beth’s brown eyes searched mine. “Do you really think she could still be alive?”
I envisioned the huge mountain lion, and the size of its teeth when it snarled. How it was crouched—in hunting mode—when it went after Courtney.
“Come on.” Beth tugged at my arm. “We need to keep going if we want a chance to reach the van before dark.”
I pondered Beth’s warning as we kept walking.
Was Courtney’s phone still in her backpack or did she have it on her?
Was it wrecked by being in the water? If Gigi told the others how I punched Courtney last night, and if the police found the photo on Courtney’s phone of me holding the dish soap in the locker room—evidence that Courtney could’ve been blackmailing me and that we’d lied about what happened to Emma—how would that look?
I stared at the Sol Duc’s white water rushing past us. I did leave Courtney to die. I did nothing to save her, not even warn her until it was too late. Then, when Courtney didn’t believe me, I’d run away rather than convince Courtney she was in danger. Would I go to prison if I told the truth?
Gigi’s tall frame emerged from a row of trees up ahead. She waved her arms in the air, making sure we saw her. Beyond her, I spotted Emma perched on a stump with her injured leg extended in front of her.
Gigi jogged toward us. “What happened to you guys? Are you okay?”
“I fell in the river and got caught under a log.” Beth gestured to me. “Palmer saved me.”
Gigi’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my—”
“After Palmer nearly got attacked by a cougar,” Beth added.
Gigi gasped, lowering her hand. “What about Courtney?” Her worried gaze darted between me and Beth. “Did you find her?”
Beth looked at me, allowing me to answer.
I shook my head, avoiding Beth’s gaze. “No. We couldn’t find her.”