Chapter 19 #2
“Thanks for that,” Quinn says, beaming at Percy. “I thought I was going to have to start scratching out eyeballs there.”
He nods and smiles at her, though his gaze flicks to me. “Of course. I didn’t want things to get out of hand.”
Hold up. Had Percy been worried about me? Worried enough to risk a physical altercation? Maybe he cares more than I thought.
That’s not an idea I want to delve into too closely, so I shove it away and start toward my bike with a muttered, “Come on.”
We reach British Landing without anything unusual happening, though I notice Percy’s now riding a bit closer to Quinn and me.
I ignore him as much as possible, only allowing my eyes to rake over his athletic outfit once (or twice) while he and Quinn fall into a steady stream of banter.
Unease grips me at the sight of my two disparate worlds colliding—at my before meeting my after.
Contemplating what such a collision might lead to terrifies me.
Nothing, I remind myself. It won’t lead to anything because this budding friendship is only temporary. No matter how close he and Quinn get today, tomorrow will wipe it all away, and it’ll be as if they’re meeting again for the very first time.
Despite my litany of reservations, the thought leaves me strangely sad.
After grabbing some more greasy food from the roadside shack, the three of us end up huddled on the sand at Percy’s insistence near what looks like an ancient cannon.
“So, what’s up?” I ask, propping myself up with my arms stretched behind me. “As I recall, we’re not supposed to eat lunch together.”
A faint blush colors Percy’s cheeks. “I figured we should check in,” he says. “You know, report what we’ve found so far.”
Quinn opens her mouth, and I hurry to cut her off before she can offer a catalog of every rock, stick, and bird that crossed our path. “A whole lot of nothing on our end. Things have gone more or less like they did before. Nothing out of place.”
“Yeah, same for me.” He rakes a hand through his messy brown hair and sighs. “This is going to be another bust, isn’t it?”
“Possibly,” I admit. “But like alternate-Quinn said yesterday, just because we don’t find any answers doesn’t mean it’s a waste of time. Every step we take gives us more info and puts us closer to identifying something that’ll work.”
“Wow, sounds like other me was super smart,” Quinn says. “You should probably listen to her.”
Percy chuckles, seeming surprised at the sound. “Guess so.” He stands, brushing sand off the back of his shorts. “Well, even if this seems like it won’t pan out, we’re invested now, so we might as well see it through. We can discuss our next steps once we’re back in town.”
Quinn takes in the waves and the beach stretching around us. “Anything else exciting happen during either of your original lunches I should be prepared for?”
“Not really,” I say. “We grabbed food and chilled on the beach.”
Except…
I whirl on Percy. “Wait. You weren’t at the beach with the rest of us. You left and went into the woods. Oshkoff sent me to find you when you weren’t back in time. What was that all about anyway?”
Percy hesitates, shifting from foot to foot. “My dad wanted me to visit a spot there,” he says at last, staring at the sand like it holds the secrets of the universe.
His obvious reluctance to discuss it stokes my curiosity, but I hold myself back. Judging by how he’d reacted to his dad’s text during the last iteration, maybe his family’s not as picture-perfect as I remember. If so, it’s none of my business.
“Cool!” Quinn interjects. “Let’s go check it out.” Percy looks like he wants to argue until she adds, “No stone unturned, right?”
“Right,” Percy replies after a moment, his voice resigned. “This way.”
He leads us across the street toward the start of a trail up the hill. We follow it in silence beneath the dappled awning of trees. Even Quinn remains uncharacteristically quiet. Maybe she picked up on Percy’s tension—it’s kind of hard to miss. He looks like he might implode at any moment.
It’s not a long hike, and we soon emerge by a massive hunk of rock. Quinn’s eyes widen when she spots it. “Ooo, that’s Friendship’s Altar, right? I read about this spot online.”
Percy nods, and she rushes forward to study the stone, slowly circling around it. Personally, I don’t get the hype. It looks like any other rock except taller. Percy, however, stares at it with an unreadable expression, too many conflicting emotions flickering across his face for me to parse.
Against my better judgment, I step up next to him, shoving my hands in my pockets. “So, why did your dad want you to come here?”
Percy swallows, his gaze fixing for some reason near the bottom of the stone.
He doesn’t answer for a long time, and I’m about to give up and go join Quinn when he finally whispers, “It was an important spot for my parents. They came here right before their wedding and many other times since. They even engraved their names somewhere near its base.”
I grin. “Wow, Perce. Who knew your parents were such delinquents? Pretty sure defiling state property is a crime.”
He gives me a half-hearted grin that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Probably.” A beat of silence. “I’m not sure if their initials are still there. I…I couldn’t bring myself to look the other day.”
“What? Why not?”
“I was afraid I wouldn’t find them.”
I shrug, not seeing what the big deal is. “So what? Have them carve their initials again the next time they come.”
Percy’s breath hitches, and I glance over, astonished to see fresh tears trailing down his cheeks. “Perce…” I take a step closer, our shoulders brushing. “What is it? Are you all right?”
He shudders, a sob racking his chest, and before I can think better of it, I reach up to enfold him in my arms. He’s stiff and unresponsive, and after a few awkward seconds where he doesn’t move, I slowly release him and step back. Well, shit. Guess he didn’t appreciate the gesture.
Not knowing what else to do, I opt for humor and give him a wry grin. “Who knew your mom liked things rock-hard.” I waggle my eyebrows at him suggestively.
It’s the kind of stupid joke we used to make all the time.
I expect him to snort or roll his eyes, maybe make a mock gagging noise and order me to stop.
What I don’t expect is the flash of raw fury in his eyes or the way his face hardens.
I stumble, almost losing my footing on the loose leaves coating the clearing.
It takes me a moment to realize Percy had shoved me away.
“What the hell?” I snap.
The glare he levels at me stops me in my tracks, my own budding anger turning to shock.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him more furious.
Hurt, sure, but he looks like he’s physically holding himself back from decking me right now.
It’s the closest to hate I’ve ever seen on his face, and I feel the weight of it like a chain constricting my chest, making it impossible to breathe.
“This is a goddamn waste of time,” he growls. “We never should have bothered trying.”
I swallow, struggling to find my voice. “Tried what exactly? Retracing our steps?”
“Working as a team! Pretending like everything doesn’t turn to shit when we’re together!
” He takes a deep breath. “Look, I did my best to make this work without dredging up the past, but I think we should go our separate ways. You do your thing, and I’ll do mine.
” He looks away, deflating. “It’ll be better for the both of us. ”
I stare in stunned silence at his retreating back as he hurries for the path leading to the beach until long after he’s vanished from view. Quinn hovers nearby, clearly unsure what to do next.
Join the goddamn club.
All I know is that, with Percy gone, I’m left with this hollow feeling in my gut that I somehow screwed things up even more than I usually do.