Dead of Summer - Page 135

As does the flashlight shining up from below the limbs. Voices reach my ears, one of which sounds a lot like Kinsley, and when I turn to glance at Melody, she nods and takes off at a dead run back towards the camp.

Leaving me all alone.

But it’s better this way. I know that for certain, just as well as I know that I never could’ve endangered a twelve-year-old by letting her stay with me when I’ve found Shawn. My steps come to a halt and I fish my phone out of my pocket, crossing my fingers that I’ll have one measly bar of signal.

Naturally, I don’t. My heart twists, butterflies taking flight uncomfortably in my stomach, and I momentarily consider backtracking until I get a signal.

At least, until I hear Kinsley’s raised voice and Liza’s protests.

“Fuck it,” I mumble, slamming my phone back into my pocket. “Sorry, Kayde.” Apparently, I’m a liar. I’d promised him I’d call him before I did anything stupid. I hadn’t intended to do this alone when I know that Shawn is bold enough to try to kill me.

He’s already tried once, after all.

I straighten my back and walk toward the little clearing around my tree like I’m not afraid. Though it’s hard to ignore the terror that makes my fingers shake until I curl them into fists at my sides.

I don’t want to do this.

In fact, I’d rather turn tail now and wait for Kayde to come. I know he’ll handle it for me; hadn’t he been clear about that already? I know he’ll take care of everything, instead of leaving me to deal with Shawn alone.

I’m so afraid to do this.

No one has ever tried to kill me before, and in my opinion, I’m handling it pretty well. But I’ve always been a master of compartmentalization—I can thank my dad for that. Abuse makes for one hell of a motivator to get mental shit in order as much one can.

At the very least, I’m good at pretending like everything is fine, when it’s definitely not.

Shawn and I see each other at the same time. He turns away from Kinsley, who’s tied to a much smaller tree than mine, with Liza at her side. At the sound of my steps they look up, and the black eye Kinsley sports does nothing to quell my anger with the shittiest camp counselor in the world.

“Cute,” I tell him flatly. “Using one of my favorite places totally doesn’t feel intentional or anything. Really fucking adorable of you, Shawn.”

His smile is unfriendly, unkind, and maybe just a little bit unhinged. He shrugs his lean shoulders and flips the knife in his hands from one to the other. When he sees my eyes on it, that grin widens. “Do you know how hard it was to get this back after Nolan and Alec took it out of my room?” he asks, brandishing it at me. “Seriously. I thought I’d just have to give up and go buy another.”

“What, were you afraid you didn’t have enough left of Mommy’s allowance to go to the hunting store for another?” I sneer coldly. “Poor baby.”

His eyes flash a warning, but I’m too far in this to listen or abide it. “Last I checked,” Shawn murmurs, stepping away from the tree where Kinsley and Liza are tied. “I’m holding a knife, and I have them.” He jerks the blade at them, making my stomach clench.

He’s right, and I hate that he is.

“So watch how you fucking talk to me, Summer.” When he lifts the blade again, I raise my hands in surrender, the knife at my back cold against my skin. Grabbing it and diving for him would be stupid. If I’m going to use it, it’s going to be when I have the upper hand, or the element of surprise. For all of my desperation, I’m not sure I want to try to take Shawn in a fair fight.

My best plan is to stall him until Melody finds Kayde, and hope to God they find us.

“You’re right. Okay?” I flex my fingers, stopping at the edge of the little clearing. “You’re right. Though I don’t suppose I could convince you to let them go?” I tip my head toward my silent friends, and Kinsley’s jaw clenches.

“Summer, there’s something wrong with him,” Kinsley hisses, a tremor in her voice. “He’s—” She flinches when Shawn whirls on her, and I’m halfway across the clearing in an instant.

“Hey, whoa, whoa. Kinsley hasn’t done anything to you,” I remind him sharply, coming close enough that he could definitely stab me if he set his mind to it. My nerves tingle, and it’s hard to ignore the fear in my throat that bubbles up to choke me. “Neither has Liza. I thought it was me who’d gotten your panties in a twist, Shawn?” I back away a few steps, maneuvering him away from my friends. It works, and proves that Shawn really must hate me to be so easily distracted from Kinsley’s insults.

Liza, thankfully, stays quiet. Though she keeps her eyes on mine warily.

“So what is it with these dreams of yours, anyway?” I ask lightly. “Darcy tried to explain, but she was crying and I was mad. So…” My shoulder lift and fall in a shrug. “I’m all ears now, though.”

Shawn hesitates. He glances back at Kinsley, stroking his thumb along the knife, and my heart jumps to my throat.

“Clearly not that important if I’m not worth your time. Should I leave? Should we leave so you can have some alone time here in the woods? I hear there’s an elk around?—”

“Shut the fuck up.” His voice is cold and bored. Not quite the manic desperation I’d hoped for. “Jesus fucking Christ, Summer, do you never shut the hell up?”

“Nah,” I tell him with a wry grin. “It’s one of my superpowers, actually. I can talk forever. I’ll probably still be talking when I’m dead.” Instantly I know that’s the wrong thing to say. Especially when Shawn grins and turns on me again.