by Kieran Scott
“Not that I’m surprised,” Ted added, grinning. “I mean, look at you.”
Lissa blushed again. “Thanks.”
Penelope stiffened.
Callie felt hot on the back of her neck. This flirt-triangle thing could not end well.
“So. What would this Zach guy say?” Ted asked, folding his legs in front of him.
“Hmm … he’d say, ‘You ate what?’ ” Penelope cried.
“And then he’d be all like, ‘Dude. I’d totally eat that,’ ” Jeremy said, putting on a low, doofy voice that sounded almost exactly like Zach’s.
“Oh my God! That’s so him!” Penelope laughed.
“No it’s not,” Lissa said, but the red blotches on her cheeks betrayed her.
Callie tried to ignore the appreciative glance that passed between Penelope and Jeremy—a glance she wouldn’t have even noticed two days ago. Instead, she took another bite of her rabbit. With the sun shining down on her face and her hunger sated, she felt a lot less grumpy than she had earlier and she refused to dwell on anything negative.
In fact, she felt kind of proud of herself. If someone had told her a week ago that she’d be eating roasted rabbit today, she would have laughed. But here she was, trying new things, doing what it took to survive.
Sometimes people do amaze me. They amaze me with the depth of their stupidity, their ignorance. Their ability to rationalize their idiotic decisions. But mostly, I’m shocked by their naïveté.
They had no clue, out there on their own. No idea what they had gotten themselves into, how much danger they were in. That total confidence and assuredness in one’s safety is mind-boggling to me.
But that doesn’t mean I didn’t relish it. That I didn’t love every minute of it. It was so pathetic, yet so utterly, purely perfect. In this situation, the element of surprise would not be an issue. I had them exactly where I wanted them.
That night Ted led them off the beaten trail to an almost perfectly round clearing. Already stars were winking to life within the darkening sky. There was a used fire pit at the center of the packed dirt.
“Been here before?” Lissa asked, tossing her golden hair over her shoulder as she put down her bag.
“Use it all the time,” Ted replied with a wink.
Jeremy heaved a sigh, dropped his bag, and lay down on the ground, using his backpack as a pillow. “I can’t move.”
“Well, I have to go … do my thing,” Callie said. She wanted to get into the woods and back again before it got too dark. No more surprise guests and getting lost during her pee breaks, thank you very much. “I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t you know you’re never supposed to say that?” Ted asked.
“Say what?” Callie asked, hesitating.
“ ‘I’ll be right back.’ ” He looked around at them. Everyone but Jeremy, who had his eyes closed, stared back blankly. “It’s the last thing the characters in horror movies always say right before they get their guts torn out by the ax murderer.”
Callie’s insides twisted.
“What’s the matter with you?” Jeremy asked, raising his head. “Honestly. Why would you say something like that?”
“What?” Ted threw his arms out. “I’m just joking around.”
Callie paused at the edge of the clearing. Every tree seemed the ideal width for some wild-eyed psycho to hide behind. She had to pee worse than ever, but she couldn’t make herself move.
“I’ll go with you,” Penelope offered.
“Um … that’s okay.” Callie wasn’t sure if this was worse or better. She and Penelope hadn’t been alone since the game of I Never.
“It’s okay. She won’t bite,” Lissa said, as if reading Callie’s thoughts.
Penelope’s green eyes were round with worry, with fear of rejection. They looked almost too large in her small, delicate face. Callie thought back to what Lissa had said the day before, about how Penelope could be so frail, and she decided to take pity on her. And maybe it was time to finally have this out, as much as she was dreading it.
Besides, going into the woods alone was not an option.
“Okay,” Callie said finally. “Let’s go.”
They stepped into the underbrush together, weeds tickling Callie’s ankles. Penelope seemed to be walking heavily, stomping down with her feet, even pressing her toe down and wiggling her ankle here and there.
“What’re you doing?” Callie asked.
“Making a trail so we can find our way back,” Penelope said.
“Oh.” Duh. Why hadn’t Callie thought of that? She started to do the same, tromping through the woods loudly, brazenly, destructively. Somehow, it made her feel safer, like maybe she could scare away whatever might be waiting out here for her.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Penelope announced.
She stopped and so did Callie. Already the trees had closed in around them. When Callie looked back, she couldn’t see the others. The blood in her veins seemed to simmer with nerves. “Okay. So we’re doing this now.”
“It wasn’t something I liked talking about,” Pen continued, as if Callie hadn’t spoken. She fiddled with her bracelets, twisting them tight. Somewhere high above their heads two birds chirped at each other. “So when you first moved here, it never came up.”
“Okay. So what about after he asked me out?” Callie asked, raking a hand through her curls.
Penelope frowned. “I thought about telling you. I did! But you seemed so happy. Plus, it’s not like we were in love or something. It was only three months …”
Her words trailed off and she glanced to the side, like she hoped some faerie would flit out from beneath the low-lying plants, wave a wand, and save her from this moment.
Callie wanted to say everything was okay. She could save them both from this endless awkward. But something held her back.
“I just feel so stupid. That I didn’t know,” Callie said, finding her voice. “It’s like you guys all knew this thing, like you were all talking about it behind my back.”
Penelope’s eyes widened. “No one was talking about it. I swear. It was that much of a non-thing. Lissa and I never even said one word about it after you told us you and Jeremy first kissed. It didn’t matter to me.”
“But Lissa said you took the breakup—” Callie stopped herself, realizing she might have gone a step too far.
There was a shift in Penelope’s stance. Almost imperceptible, but it was there. Her arms tightened over her torso; her knees bent a little closer together.
“That I took it hard? She said that?” Pen asked, her voice quieter.
“Well, I mean …” Stop talking, Callie told herself. Just stop. There was this weird fluttery feeling at the base of her throat, as if a tiny moth had gotten trapped beneath her skin. “She said it’s why you went away.”
Penelope pressed one hand against her forehead, as if steadying herself.
“I was just being melodramatic! It was my first relationship.” She laughed harshly. “If you can call it that.”
Callie stared at the washed-out heart motif on Penelope’s pink T-shirt, unable to meet her eyes. This was Callie’s first relationship, too. And it had been strained all day thanks to the secret her friends had kept from her.
“Anyway, I hope you’ll forgive me,” Penelope said in a rush, holding Callie’s gaze. “Honestly, if I could go back and do it again, I’d tell you as soon as you moved here. I’d invite you over for some big sleepover and tell you every last thing about me, just to avoid this fight.”
“It’s not a fight,” Callie said automatically.
“It’s not?”
“No. It’s just … I just wish I knew I could trust you guys,” Callie said. “Back home, my friends were like my second family. We did everything together and knew everything about each other. And I guess … I guess I wanted to find that here, too, but now—”
“Omigod, yes! I want that, too. I mean, I don’t want you to not trust me,” Penelope said, taking a step forw
ard. “That would kill me, if you didn’t trust me.”
Callie’s brow knit. If someone had asked her, honestly, how she thought Lissa and Penelope felt about her before that moment, she would have said that she was sure they both liked her, but that they didn’t truly care. They cared about each other first and foremost, which was natural, since they’d been best friends since kindergarten. Penelope’s outpouring of emotion was surprising.
“Really?” Callie said finally.
“Yes! Really!” Penelope glanced past Callie’s shoulder as if she was checking to see if anyone was listening. “Callie, I don’t know if you realize this,” she whispered. “But honestly? You’re my best friend.”
Callie laughed. She couldn’t help it.
“I’m serious!” Penelope cried, looking offended.
“But you and Lissa have known each other forever,” Callie said.
“Yes, and I’ll always love Lissa, but lately I’ve been noticing our friendship is kind of … one-sided,” Penelope said, her voice so low Callie could barely hear her. “I mean, she blows off half of what I say completely, and laughs at the other half.”
Callie took a breath. She couldn’t deny that assessment.
“But you listen. You don’t judge. You’re a good person, Callie. A good friend.”
Callie’s heart expanded inside her chest. She was so touched she felt tears sting her eyes. “Pen. That’s so sweet. You’re a good friend, too.”
She reached out her arms and the two girls hugged. “Just don’t tell Lissa,” Penelope said.
Now they both laughed. “I won’t,” Callie promised.
They pulled away, and at that moment, a large branch cracked and a voice came from behind them.
“Don’t tell Lissa what?”
Jeremy stood two feet away, looking angry.
“Jeremy!” Callie breathed, relief flooding her heart.
“What is this?” Jeremy blurted. “You forgive her and not me? How is that fair?”
Penelope took a step back. “Um … I think I’ll leave you guys alone.”
She cast a wary look over her shoulder as she found the trail she’d made. Then she ran back to the clearing gracefully, like a leaping doe. Callie faced Jeremy, confusion and fear pounding behind her eyes.
“I don’t understand,” Callie said. “You’re the one who’s been rude to me all day long.”
“Oh, please,” Jeremy scoffed. “What do you expect when you’re flirting with that jerk back there?”
Callie’s jaw dropped. “Flirting?” she squeaked. “I was not flirting!”
But her face felt hot even as she said the words. Because maybe, possibly, she had been flirting with Ted. But only just a little.
“I saw the way he touched you after that snake took off into the woods,” Jeremy said. “What were you trying to do, punish me or something? I thought I explained.”
“I wasn’t trying to punish you. I was just talking to the guy and then, yes, suddenly found myself in a life-threatening situation. He was only making sure I was okay.”
“Yeah, well, that’s my job,” Jeremy said, deflating slightly.
“It’s not your job,” Callie snapped. “I can take care of myself pretty well, in case you haven’t noticed.” She paused, feeling her annoyance rise, then added, “And I’m sorry if Ted stepped on your testosterone or whatever. But that doesn’t mean you get to blow me off for the rest of the day, when you’re the one who’s been lying all this time.”
“Oh, so we’re back to that?” Jeremy said, taking a step closer. “Do you even know why I volunteered to come out on this hike with you? You don’t know even half the story about your friends, Cal. Penelope isn’t—”
“Dude. What’re you doing?” Lissa stepped up behind Jeremy. “This is supposed to be a girls’ pee break, Science Boy,” she said. She shooed him with her fingers. “Go find your own restroom.”
Jeremy sighed and shook his head. “Fine.” He looked at Callie. “I’ll talk to you later. I mean, if you want to be bothered.”
Then he turned around and was almost instantly swallowed by the trees.
“So you were homeschooled?” Lissa asked Ted as they sat around the fire later that night. “What was that like?”
The two of them had settled in next to each other on Lissa’s red blanket and seemed to inch closer with every passing minute. Callie sat directly across from them with her headlamp on, reading Jensen’s Revenge. Jeremy played solitaire on his own blanket, while Penelope had perched herself on a rock nearby and extracted her bracelet-weaving materials from her bag.
Jeremy muttered something under his breath and Callie glanced surreptitiously over at him as he gathered up his cards. Her heart ached to fix things between them, but she didn’t know how. Was he really angry at her for talking to Ted when he’d spent months keeping a huge secret from her?
With a sigh, Callie turned her eyes toward the sky, where millions of stars were crowded so densely they practically blotted out the dark. Never in her life had she seen so many stars.
Her stomach grumbled. For dinner, they had split Penelope’s last two granola bars and each had a handful of dry fruit and M&M’s, plus a cup of water.
Callie found her mind wandering to thoughts of hamburgers and fries and big, colorful salads. Ted had guaranteed they’d get to his next set of traps by lunch tomorrow. Callie was already salivating for more roasted bunny.
Which kind of made her want to strangle herself.
“My mom did most of the actual teaching, but my dad made sure I got in the physical fitness requirements,” Ted was saying, cracking a large branch and tossing half of it into the fire, where it settled perfectly into the tepee formation with the others. “I could do twenty pull-ups by the time I was twelve.”
“Show-off,” Jeremy whispered.
“Wow! That’s impressive.” Lissa reached over and squeezed Ted’s bicep. He pulled up his sleeve and exposed his black tattoo. It was a long dagger with blood dripping from the end.
Not a good sign, Callie thought, gripping the edges of her book.
“Thanks.” Ted grinned, his teeth glinting in the firelight. “I was pretty proud of it.”
“I like your tattoo.” Lissa ran a fingertip down the length of the inked blade. “I’m going to get one as soon as I turn eighteen.”
“Oh yeah? Where?” Ted asked.
“I was thinking the back of my shoulder.” Lissa indicated the spot with her hand. “But I don’t know what to get yet.”
“Whatever you decide on, I’m sure it’ll look good on you,” Ted told her.
Callie fought the urge to roll her eyes.
“Do you think you’ll ask Zach for his opinion before you decide?” Penelope asked pointedly.
Lissa’s eyes flashed. “I know I didn’t ask for yours.”
Penelope huffed a sigh and slapped her plastic box of string closed.
“I think it’s time for bed,” she announced, shoving a bracelet into her pocket. She picked her way around the fire toward her tent. “Are you guys coming?”
“Since when are you the house mother?” Lissa asked, carefully folding Ted’s sleeve down again. Callie noticed that Lissa’s hand lingered on his arm.
“It’s late,” Penelope stated tonelessly.
“I am kind of tired,” Callie said, stifling a yawn. “Maybe we should all call it a night.”
Jeremy unfolded himself from the ground and shook out his blanket. Callie thought about saying something—maybe trying to ease the tension between them—but he turned away from her, which made her heart sink. Lissa didn’t move a muscle.
“You coming, Lis?” Penelope asked.
Lissa’s knee leaned against Ted’s. She was looking at his hands as he cracked another branch.
“In a few minutes,” she said.
“Fine,” Penelope said with a sigh. “Do whatever you want.”
Callie froze. That was the harshest thing she’d ever heard Penelope say to Lissa.
Now
Lissa did turn, and glared at Penelope. “Don’t I always?”
Callie felt a prickle down her spine. The last thing she needed right now was for Lissa and Penelope to turn on each other. It was about the only thing that could make this entire adventure worse.
But before she could think of anything to say to defuse the situation, Penelope had turned and yanked open the zipper to their tent, diving her head inside so fast, it was as if she was running for her life. Callie waved good night to the others—though Jeremy had already disappeared—then followed.
Inside the confines of the tent, Penelope’s anger seemed to take up space. She was shoving things into her bag, yanking them back out, then shoving them back in again, and muttering something under her breath. Finally she found a paper Tylenol packet that looked soggy and half destroyed, ripped it open, and swallowed both pills dry. Her face screwed up in pain as the capsules traveled down her throat.
“You okay?” Callie asked, settling on top of Lissa’s sleeping bag to give Penelope some extra room. She was about to offer to get some water, but they had almost no fresh water left, and they both knew they had to conserve some for the morning.
“Whatever, it’s her funeral,” Penelope said, in an acidic voice. She shoved a lock of light brown hair back from her scowling face.
“What do you mean?” Callie’s mind’s eye instantly flashed on the knife sheathed to Ted’s belt. “You think Ted’s, like … a bad guy or something?”
“No, but who knows? I mean, not necessarily, but … that’s not even the point.” Penelope stopped her frustrated reorganizing and sat down. “It’s just … she always needs to be the center of attention. Every guy has to like her. Every girl has to either want to be her or be afraid of her. The world must revolve around Lissa Barton.”
“I never thought you minded that,” Callie said, picking at some dirt beneath her fingernails. “I mean, you always seemed fine with who she was. Everyone has always seemed fine with who she was. Except maybe Jeremy.”
Penelope blew out a breath.
“I know,” she said. “I just worry about her.”
“Worry?” Callie couldn’t have been more surprised if Penelope had just said Lissa was actually a brain-eating zombie in disguise. Lissa Barton was not the type of person anyone had to worry about. Ever. She could hold her own in pretty much any situation.
