Chapter Seventeen
“We’re going to die out here!”
Kash did his best not to roll his eyes at Ginger’s dramatics. He, for one, was actually relieved. Ultimately, Donny and his friends had dropped them off at their current location and left. And that sucked. But all they really had to do now was wait to be found.
However, Ginger was acting as if they’d been left on an island with man-eating dinosaurs or something. Of course, their situation wasn’t great . . . but it could’ve been worse. A lot worse.
Scott had driven them to a run-down dock way outside Rockville. Kash had no idea where it was, and Ginger wasn’t any help, because all she’d done was cry and beg Donny to let her go.
During the drive, he’d watched as Donny used his phone to text Brad, telling him that he was puking his guts out and wouldn’t be able to go to Portland. He’d asked him to tell their club adviser, so they wouldn’t wait for him after school.
Then he’d used Ginger’s phone to text her friend, Heather. Basically telling her the same thing. That she was sick and couldn’t come over for the weekend anymore.
But the thing that hurt the most was when Donny smirked and told Kash that he’d text his mom later, to let her know everything was good and how well the robotics competition was going.
Kash had to give Donny points, he’d thought this out pretty well. And it would probably work. For a couple of days. Until Sunday came around, and he didn’t show up back at school. Until Ginger didn’t come home from her friend’s house. Then people would start to wonder.
Would the police think they were runaways?
That Kash couldn’t handle the bullying and had just fled?
Would they think the same of Ginger? That she’d run away?
He highly doubted anyone would think they ran away together .
. . that was, if they even connected the dots that they’d disappeared at the same time.
All he knew for sure was that he only needed to hang on for a little while, and then surely people would come looking for them.
The first thing Kash had noticed when Donny shoved him out of the car was a motorboat, tied up to the little dock.
There were no houses around, no one who could’ve witnessed what was happening and wondered what was up.
It was the end of March. And cold. No one in their right mind would be taking a tiny boat like the one at the dock out onto the water at this time of year.
Donny had grabbed Kash’s arm and Owen took hold of Ginger, and they force-marched them down to the dock. They were shoved into the boat, and Owen started the engine while Donny sat on the seat, grinning at him and Ginger, who were left to sit on the bottom of the boat.
Scott untied them and said he’d be waiting when they got back. Then Owen had gunned the engine, and they flew over the water.
The ride was freezing, and Kash had leaned down to try to stay out of the wind. He hadn’t watched where they were going, simply attempted to preserve whatever warmth he could and tried to brace for what was to come.
It took forever for them to get where they were going.
How long exactly, Kash had no idea, but at least an hour or more.
When the boat slowed, Kash had glanced up to see another tiny dock.
Everywhere else he looked, there was only water—except for straight in front of them.
He’d assumed they’d reached one of the many islands around Rockville, but had no clue which one.
He’d made a mental note to learn more about the geography of the area, so if he was ever in this kind of situation again, he wouldn’t feel as helpless.
Donny had told them to get out of the boat, and Kash did as ordered, helping Ginger out.
As soon as they were on the dock, Owen backed up.
“You can’t leave us here, Donny!” Ginger had cried frantically.
“Sure I can. Got the idea from the news story about that chick, the one who was brought out to one of the deserted islands around here by that crazy dude.”
Kash knew exactly who Donny was talking about—Marit.
He froze. Was Donny going to try to kill them, like that Lucas guy had planned for Marit?
But Donny had just laughed and called out, “Good luck! Have fun with the nerd!”
And with that, Owen had turned the boat and zoomed away.
Kash was extremely relieved Donny and the others hadn’t joined them on the island. Leaving them alone was definitely better than them trying to hurt them.
“Oh my God! We’re going to die out here!” Ginger wailed.
Even as he rolled his eyes, Kash was turning to examine the island. It was definitely deserted. There were no boats, no cars, no sound whatsoever.
But what there was?
Houses. Well, cabins, to be exact. They looked to be completely closed up, but that would be easy enough to deal with. Immediate relief filled Kash.
They’d been left on some random island, but there were cabins.
Which meant they wouldn’t have to build a shelter, and maybe, if they were lucky, there’d even be some food inside the structures.
It wouldn’t be fun to be stuck here, but at least they wouldn’t freeze, and hopefully they wouldn’t starve.
Kash wasn’t that great at outdoorsy stuff, much to his grandfather’s disappointment, but he didn’t mind getting dirty.
Hell, he’d sat in Fort Bad Assery all summer, pulling more ticks than he could count off his body and happily lying around in the dirt.
He could handle hanging out for a couple of days in a deserted cabin.
Piece of cake. It would be like Fort Bad Assery on crack.
And crazy as it might sound, Kash couldn’t help but think about how dark the sky would be at night out here, with absolutely no light pollution. He smiled.
“What on earth are you smiling about? He left us! No one knows where we are! We’re gonna die!” Ginger yelled, then promptly burst into tears—again.
Even though this girl had been totally awful to him, Kash felt sorry for her. She was obviously spoiled, and if she’d ever been camping, it was probably in an air-conditioned RV, and never in the winter.
Thinking about the times he’d slept freezing his butt off in his mom’s minivan, but refusing to complain because there was literally nothing his mom could do about the situation, determination swam through him.
He and his mom had been through some pretty bad stuff, and this absolutely wasn’t great, but it couldn’t touch what he’d already endured.
Donny didn’t want to kill them, he only wanted to scare them. To feel superior. To get back at Ginger for breaking up with him. This was temporary, he had no doubt.
Moving toward Ginger, Kash put his arm around her shoulders.
She was a few inches taller than he was, and the angle was awkward, but he couldn’t not try to comfort her.
Protecting was in his genes. He’d been taking care of his mom for years in whatever way he could.
He’d do the same for Ginger, even if she’d been nothing but mean to him.
She was Donny’s victim, just as he was. Like it or not, they were in this together.
“We’ll be okay,” he told her. “Look, there’s a cabin. We’ll go up there and find a way in. It’ll be warmer inside, and maybe we can even find something to eat. If not, I’ll go looking through the other cabins.”
Ginger sniffed and nodded miserably.
Kash led her off the dock and out of the cold wind. As they reached the trees, it felt considerably warmer. The next couple of days would be uncomfortable, but they’d be all right.
Kash worried more about what his mom would think when she finally discovered he never made it to Portland. Hadn’t been texting her. That she’d been tricked.
She’d panic. Be scared out of her mind. And he hated that most of all. Hated Donny even more for that. He could handle the asshole’s taunting. But making his mom frantic with worry? That was unforgivable.
Thank God she had Linc. He’d take care of her. Keep her calm. Organize search parties to find him. He wouldn’t give up until he figured out what happened and where he was.
“Come on, there’s a trail,” he told Ginger, pointing out the rough path through the trees.
She sniffed. “I’m cold. And hungry. I want to go home!”
Kash sighed. It was going to be a very long couple of days if Ginger did nothing but complain. It wasn’t in his DNA, or his mom’s, to complain about things that didn’t go their way.
He ignored Ginger’s whining and led her uphill, toward the nearest cabin. He was actually looking forward to seeing what he’d find inside. Since he couldn’t change his circumstances, he decided to look at it as kind of an adventure . . . as long as he wasn’t stranded here for weeks, he’d be fine.
Donny had to have a plan for retrieving them. Maybe he’d even show back up on Sunday morning, laughing, enjoying the scare he’d given them, before taking them back to the school. He couldn’t be planning on leaving them out here forever.
Kash shook his head. Obviously it wouldn’t be forever. There were cabins here. Eventually the owners would come back to open them up once the weather warmed. Even if no one found them soon, they’d eventually be discovered. Or Owen or Scott would spill the beans. One way or another, he’d get home.
He just regretted the worry and stress the people he loved would experience in the meantime.
Taking a deep breath, and pushing those thoughts away, he trudged uphill, practically pulling Ginger with him. He had a cabin to break into and explore.
Saturday afternoon, when Linc picked Harper up from work, she was more than ready for a day off.
After she got into the car, he leaned over and kissed her.
Long, hard, and deep. Just like that, the tiredness she felt melted away, and excitement and anticipation swept through her body.
She couldn’t wait to get home and have this man to herself.
“How was work?” he asked, when he came up for air.
Harper shrugged. “Busy.”
“You still want to go to The Lobster Buoy for that lobster-mac-and-cheese-stuffed baked potato?”