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“You could stand to be a little less, I don’t know, standoffish? You do that thing where you take the world’s problems personally and try to solve them. Maybe don’t.” With a squeeze she pops the container open, showing it’s still half full of edibles.
“What flavor are these?” I ask, reaching out and picking one up between my fingers. “Strawberry or pomegranate?”
Her grin tells me all I need to know, and I palm the edible instead of eating it right away. Depending on how my night goes, I might need it. Or, worse, I might need to not take it. The pomegranate edibles are stronger, and will without fail get me high until the only things that sound good are snacks and snuggles.
I definitely don’t need to be in snacks and snuggles mode with Kayde. But if he doesn’t want much, if he goes away quickly, I could eat it a little later to sleep.
“I should go to bed as well,” I admit, getting to my feet reluctantly. “It’s Daniel’s night to do the walk around, right?” It’s an offhand question, but when Kinsley shakes her head, I pause.
“Not anymore.” She scrunches her nose, rising to her feet and pocketing the white container. “I traded with him. So I’ll be your fierce defender tonight. Don’t worry,” she adds, looking mock-solemn. “I won’t let in any monster, rabid bears, or ax murderers.”
It’s hard not to flinch at the last one, with how close it hits to home, but I manage to laugh anyway at her joke. “You forgot snakes. You know how Darcy is about snakes.”
“Yeah. Would be such a shame if I managed to Pied Piper a bunch of snakes into her cabin, huh?” Kinsley grouses, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, guess I’ll go. Try to sleep for once, okay? You look like you need it.”
“I’ll attempt it,” I promise, making a face at her. “See you in the morning, Kins.”
“If I’m late for breakfast…” Her eyebrows wiggle as she walks backward, away from the staff cabin campfire. “Know that I'm in the best hands.”
All I can do is snort at that, and Kinsley gives a quick cackle of her own as she turns to walk away. Her flashlight clicks on and leaves me in the light of the fire with nowhere to go but to my least favorite monster.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Idon’t know where to go.
The confusion sinking into my bones causes me to meander, and somehow I keep the small, sugar-coated edible clutched in my palm instead of pocketing it or just eating it. While going back to my cabin is probably exactly what I should be doing, this is the second night in a row I’m terrified Kayde won’t be able to find me and will think I’m hiding from him.
And tonight of all nights, Kinsley is out doing her walk around the camp and would be an easy target for him, if he wanted to really fuck with me. The thought propels me away from my cabin, onto one of the trails that leads around the other cabins, as well.
There has to be a better way of doing this than just wandering around and hoping he’ll sneak up on me like he did last night. But without him giving me a meeting time or place—because of course he’d never be that helpful—I’m left to just…wander.
And worry.
My feet scuff along in the gravel, kicking up dust I can barely see as I walk. It’s too late to wish I hadn’t done this. Especially when making this deal and playing this game saved not only the kids in Camp Crestview but also my best friend. I refuse to let myself feel regret, or to think about what I could’ve done better.
Even though there are definitely things I could’ve done better in that situation. Probably.
Like what? I ask myself, replaying the conversation in the woods from almost forty-eight hours ago. What in the world could I have done differently that wouldn’t have ended in the deaths of way too many kids and other counselors? Kayde hadn’t exactly been vague about his plans. And I meant it then when I’d vowed not to be the Camp Crestview Massacre Final Girl.
I could definitely never recover from that.
My steps come to a halt and I glance up, not really surprised when I find myself looking at the steps of Coyote Cabin. The lights are all out, something I can’t accomplish before midnight at Redtail, and in the darkness I see a figure sitting on the steps adjoining the tiny deck that holds the door to the counselor’s side of the cabin.
“This is unexpected.” His soft voice carries across the open space, and he gets to his feet gracefully, stretching with his arms up over his head like he isn’t in any hurry. “I didn’t think you’d come find me.” It’s hard not to watch his strides that eat up the ground between us, but Kayde doesn’t touch me. He doesn’t do more than stand in front of me, though I can feel his gaze on me while I look anywhere but at him. “I figured I’d give you a few more minutes then come find you.”
“What if you couldn’t find me?” My voice is as soft as his, and I can’t help the words that spill from my mouth. “You never tell me where to meet you. Or what time. What if you can’t find me, and you think I’m purposefully hiding from you or some shit?” Finally I tilt my head back to look up at him, though all of the hatred I can muster is overshadowed by my anxiety, I’m sure.
Kayde just tips his head to the side, eyes narrowed in thought. “You’re not very hard to find, sweetheart,” he purrs at last, his voice changing from his daytime camp counselor tone to the one reserved for me during the night. It sends a shiver down my spine, and I look away from him, unconvinced. “Are you asking if I’ll take it out on someone else? Someone who’s doing her walk around tonight?”
I flinch at his words, and I know in that instant he has me pegged. He’s always so fucking good at that, and I hate it more than anything else in my life.
“Just don’t hide from me,” he chuckles as he says it, like it’s the most obvious answer in the world and the easiest thing ever. “Not hard, Summer. Just”—he reaches out, fingers wrapping lightly around my throat for only a moment before falling to his side—“don’t ever hide from me. Understand?”
All I can manage is a quick nod, but his growl tells me that’s not good enough for him. “I understand,” I say finally, forcing myself to meet his eyes instead of spontaneously trying to drill a hole into the ground to hide in with my gaze alone.
“Good girl.” The wave of something that tingles down my spine is confusing at best, questionable at worst. But I push it out of my mind and frown at him to show every ounce of disdain I can muster. “Since you were nice enough to come to me instead of making me look for you, we don’t have to walk back to your cabin.” He says it like he’s doing me a favor, but fear rises in my throat, causing a burst of nausea to follow. “You’re okay.” His words are edged in a soft, purring chuckle, like I’m a terrified kitten he’s trying to coax out of the woods. “Come on, Summer.” His hand finds mine, the one clenched around the edible, and before I can stop him, he pries my fingers open and his brows furrow at the feeling of what I’m holding.
“It’s—” I break off when he palms the edible and brings it up to see it in the scant light.
