The Lies They Tell(42)
Tristan turned the key in the ignition, where he’d apparently left it dangling since the last time he’d gone out. “She’s curious, Bridges.”
Bridges didn’t smile. The bottle had come back to him, and he sat beside Pearl, taking a long swallow. “You’ll see,” was all he said.
They cut through the bay, the only boat on the water, as far as Pearl could tell. It had been a warm night back onshore, but out here, the wind had bite, and she wished she were wearing anything but this dress.
They passed black, silent Little Nicatou, the boat headlights providing a ghostly flash of tree trunks and rocky cliff side. Akil still had his arm around Hadley, brushing his face close to hers, trying to initiate something that Hadley seemed reluctantly interested in. Before long, they were kissing.
Pearl glanced away, half expecting Bridges to follow Akil’s lead, but he was distracted, looking down at the curds of foam rising along their hull, taking occasional sips from the bottle. He passed it back to her. She drank once, handed it off.
Tristan drove for nearly half an hour. When he finally killed the ignition and steered the boat up alongside a sheer cliff, Pearl had no idea where they were. Tristan dropped anchor, tied off on a rocky outcropping, bent to open a storage box beneath one of the seats. The only sound was the sloshing of water against the hull.
Hadley pushed Akil back, slightly breathless as she looked around. “Where’s this?”
“A special place.” Tristan brought out three Maglites, tossing one to Akil, another to Bridges.
Pearl looked up at the cliff. “If I’d known we were going rock climbing, I would’ve worn my stilettos.” Beneath the words, her own unease mixed with the furred sensation the vodka had left on her tongue, and she felt vaguely sick.
When the flashlight beams hit the rocks, it was obvious that the wall wasn’t sheer after all. There was a cave opening, at least twenty-five feet across, the blackness inside swallowing what scant moonlight filtered down to the base. Akil swung one leg over the side of the boat, feeling for the rocks, lunging off as Hadley caught her breath.
He made it, though the force of his leap sent the boat drifting sideways, away from the outcropping, and Tristan had to haul on the line to pull them back. There was a scraping sound as the hull rubbed rock, but he didn’t seem to notice or care. “Bridges, help Hadley.”
“That’s okay.” Hadley sat up straighter, pressing her back against the seat. “I’ll wait for you guys here.”
“Nope. Doesn’t work like that.” Akil laid his flashlight down, put out his hands. “You come with us, you’ve got to take the challenge. That’s the deal.”
“The challenge?” She looked at his hands for a moment, then took them and stood, weaving slightly with the motion of the boat. Bridges boosted her over the side onto the rocks, where she stood hugging herself, shifting from foot to foot.
Bridges was next. Pearl glanced at Tristan, surprised to find him holding a waterproof jacket out to her. “You look cold,” he said.
“Thanks.” She put it on, tugging the zipper to her chin. Bridges’s gaze was on her, she could feel it, but she focused on getting herself across the divide, Tristan close behind.
Tristan moved around her so that he was first through the arch, his Maglite beam cutting through the blackness. Akil finally seemed to notice that Hadley was shivering and held out his jacket. She put it on, folding her arms tightly and dropping back to bring up the rear.
Pearl spoke to Bridges as they walked side by side. “So. This is where you guys go at night.” She glanced up, listening as her words echoed up to a vaulted ceiling she couldn’t see.
“One of the places.” Bridges’s voice was quiet, colorless.
The walls of the cave were bumpy and rough-hewn, the floor glistening with moisture and algae left by the tide. Seawater trickled in through small cracks and runnels at their feet.
“Does this place fill up at high tide?” Pearl barely saw him nod. “Kind of like Thunder Hole.” Everybody on MDI had been to the tourist attraction in Acadia National Park at least once, an inlet with a small cavern beneath a ledge, where, when the tide came in, water and air were forced out through a blowhole in an explosion of spray.
“This cave is way more badass than that,” Akil said, taking a run at the wall, dashing up a few feet before rebounding to the floor. “Like, you have no idea.”
Tristan said, “Be quiet,” pausing, listening; the air was full of dripping water, small echoes. “It’s starting.”
“What is?” Hadley stopped, her voice rising slightly. “Bridges?”
“Shhh,” Bridges said. “It’s okay, Had.”
“Look, this is cool and everything, but I think I want to go back now—”
“There’s no going back,” Tristan said. He had led them to a fork. It was more than a cave: it was a system, two broad fissures appearing before them in the rock like gaping mouths. “There’s only right or left. You choose.”
“Me? I don’t—”
“I want to hear you make a decision. By yourself.” His voice had that edge again. “And then you have to live with the consequences of your choice. Do you think you can do that?”
The faint outline of her profile was perfectly still. “Yes.” Her voice was soft.