Dead of Summer - Page 113

The door slams against its hinges as I shove it open, and the first thing I see are two shocked faces as the boys of Bobcat stare up at me, shocked. One of them, who isn’t holding the knife, sways a little, his face pale.

“What are you—” My throat closes when I see the blood on his hands, pooling along the side of his thumb. “Fuck. Melody!” I whirl around, blocking her from coming in.

Not that she hasn’t seen it before, as Kayde would probably say.

But Kayde isn’t here right now.

Her gaze snaps up to mine and I see her hands clenching and unclenching, as if she’s dying to do something instead of just stand here. “Go get Liza. Now. Tell her to meet me at her cabin. Then, umm.” I blink hard, thinking.

“Then tell Kayde and Kinsley?” Melody asks, a little unsure.

God, she really is the best twelve-year-old to have in a crisis. I nod jerkily, my stomach twisting. I need to figure out how badly this kid is hurt, but I’m half-terrified to turn around.

This is definitely something I’ve never dealt with before. “Yeah. Yes. Do all of that, please.” She takes off without another word, and that has me spinning back around, my long strides taking me into the cabin as the not-bleeding boy jumps to his feet, the knife clattering to the floor.

“I didn’t mean to,” he stammers, backing away with his eyes on his still-silent friend. “It was an accident. We were trying to cut a belt and?—”

“Towels. Get me towels.” I don’t need his explanation. Not with the blood roaring in my ears. I kneel and pocket the bloody knife, making sure the blade is tucked away before I do. Then, I have no other choice. My eyes find the short, sluggishly bleeding wound on his hand, and I can’t help the tremors in my fingers as I pull his hand to me to figure out how bad it is.

Well, at least he isn’t bleeding to death.

His friend returns seconds later with hand towels and beach towels, so I choose one of the former and wrap it around the wound, tightly enough that he yelps. “What’s your name?” I ask quietly, hating that I’m hurting him to staunch the flow of blood. “Are you feeling dizzy?”

“Nolan,” the boy whimpers, eyes on the white towel that’s slowly turning red. “N-no I’m not—I’m just nauseous. I’m sorry. We didn’t mean?—”

“I know. It’s okay. You’re okay.” It’s not really okay, but I need them not to freak out. For a moment I consider asking him if he can walk, but between the way he sways, and the blood draining from his face even as I watch, makes me reconsider that real fast. “You’re okay,” I tell him again, getting to my feet just to bend back down and pull him into my arms.

I haven’t had first aid or camp counselor classes in a bit, but I at least remember to lift with my legs instead of my back. And it helps that Nolan is a pretty scrawny twelve-year-old.

“What do I do?” the other boy, who must be Alec, whispers. “Am I?—”

“We’re going to Liza’s cabin. All of us.” My voice is firm, and it’s hard not to sprint across the grass toward my destination. But I certainly don’t want to trip and have Nolan get hurt further, even though my heart is pounding in fear against my ribs.

“He’s okay, right?” Alec’s voice is so small, and I can hear the tremble in it, so I flash him a smile that I hope seems believable.

“He’s totally okay. You’re okay,” I promise Nolan, Liza’s cabin coming into sight just as footsteps herald the arrival of Kayde at my side.

“Let me take him,” he murmurs, reaching out to me. I don’t even hesitate. Kayde is bigger than me, and obviously more used to carrying people, because he slings Nolan into his arms quickly and easily before taking off with long, quick strides toward Liza’s end of the camp.

“I’m so sorry,” Alec whispers, and when I glance down at him, I see his eyes are clenched shut hard. “I really, really didn’t mean to, Summer.”

“It’s—” I swallow, and force myself to smile as we follow Kayde to the infirmary. “It’s okay.” Even though it’s not. It’s really not, and this could have been so much worse. “But hey, can you tell me something? Where’s Shawn?”

When Alec just stares blankly up at me and shrugs, I have my answer. But it’s a shitty one. “You don’t know?”

“He was feeling pretty off today,” Alec explains. “He told us Daniel would take us over the obstacle course, but he needed to go see Liza and, uh, puke. Food poisoning, he said.”

My brows knit in confusion, and maybe the barest hint of concern for Shawn, but the moment we hit the steps, I shake that off and shove it to the back of my mind for another time.

I don’t have time to worry about Shawn’s delicate tummy when Nolan is bleeding through a towel after being cut with a knife neither of them should have been able to find.

“But I thought you guys found this in Shawn’s room,” I have the forethought to say, turning once more to look at Alec as he climbs the three stairs to the cabin. “Didn’t you?”

Alec nods, looking nervous. “We were looking for Shawn,” he admits carefully. “And Nolan found it in his nightstand. In a big bag full of weird stuff.”

I open my mouth, then close it, as Alec bolts across the room to where his friend sits on the edge of a bed, swaying, while Liza examines his hand. There’s nothing else for me to say, or ask. At least not right now.

Not when everyone except these two boys knows that there’s going to be a trip to the hospital and calls to parents that definitely won’t end well.