AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hand it over, hating the way she won’t meet my eyes. “We’re still too far away, aren’t we?”
Dani looks over the map, shaking her head. “Maybe. The bigger problem is there’s a waterfall between us and where we want to be. To get around it, we either have to go up or down, but either way is going to take too long.”
“You didn’t realize this sooner?” Clover’s sweaty and her face is red. She hasn’t said anything, but she’s moving slower and slower, and I can tell she’s running out of energy.
I’m beyond out of energy, running only on desperation and heartache.
“I don’t come this way often,” Dani says gently, even though her brow is scrunched and the map is trembling in her tired hands. “I didn’t think of it until I recognized this area.”
“We should go back,” I say. “Everyone’s tired and Grant always says overtired and disoriented is the worst place to be when you’re in the woods.”
“I’m sorry, Honey,” Dani says. “I know how much this meant to you.”
“We’ll still make it happen.” Clover pats my back, relief clear in her voice.
“What’s the easiest way to get back?” Now we’ve decided, I just want to get home, where I can be alone and maybe learn to accept that my dream of my sisters and I forming some kind of tight bond is never going to happen.
I lean over the map with Dani and, together, we figure out the best way back to the trailhead. After a snack and a drink, we start out. We have to go uphill before we can go back downhill and my quads are aching before we’ve made it a quarter of a mile.
I’m grateful for all the days I spent hiking. I never could have lasted this long without them, but this is longer than anything I’ve done before and I’m really feeling it.
The day has taken on the golden glow of evening and the crickets and frogs have started their mating songs in earnest. Everyone’s looking for someone to share a bed with for the night.
I got far too used to sharing a bed with Jaxon, and I’ve had trouble sleeping since he left. Since I pushed him away, to be exact. If he were still here, I’d never have gotten lost and my sisters and I could be heading home with the treasure right now.
But he’s not here. He hasn’t called or texted and his cottage is empty, Barley and Begonia gone. I hope he didn’t sell them to someone else, but I can’t imagine them in LA. Do people even have yards there?
“Even though we didn’t find the treasure,” Dani says as we hike single-file down the narrow trail. “I’m glad we got to spend the day together. This was fun.”
“Me, too.” Clover hops over a big rock like she’s found a renewed energy. “I’ve been stuck inside at the gym so much lately. It’s nice to finally get outside.”
If I weren’t so tired and disappointed, I probably could have managed the smile and cheerful agreeableness they expect from me. “I’ve been asking you to hike with me or play music with me or have a movie night for months. You’re only here now because you couldn’t come up with a believable excuse.”
Clover looks back at me, eyes wide and mouth gaping. “Honey. That’s not—”
As though my anger and my sharp words propelled her, she catapults forward, probably tripping on an exposed tree root, and hits the ground so hard she slides down the mountain, only stopping because Dani catches her.
This is my fault. I feel as guilty as if I’d reached out and pushed her.
I kneel by her side and rub her back as she moans. “I’m so sorry, Clover. Are you okay?”
“My ankle.” She lifts her face, a dead leaf stuck to her cheek and more in her hair. “Pretty sure it’s sprained at the very least.”
Dani and I help her upright.
“Okay.” She concentrates, face scrunched tight. “I’m okay. Let me go.”
We step away, and she puts weight on both feet. Almost immediately, she crumples. “Not okay. I’m not okay.”
We grab her before she sinks to the ground, holding her between us.
“We need to find somewhere to make camp for the night,” Dani says. “We’re never going to make it off the mountain before the sun sets, and I don’t know these woods well enough to navigate in the dark, even with a flashlight.” She looks over at me hopefully.
Obviously, she’s forgotten I was the one who got us lost in the first place. “We can’t be out here in the dark.” Panic at the very thought rises in me like a hot, tight bubble. “We have to at least try to make it back to a trail. If we can do that, we can make it home.”
“What about Grant?” Clover’s voice is strained. “Maybe he can come out here and rescue us?”
Dani shakes her head. “I haven’t had cell service since we got about a mile into the woods.”
