Of the Trees(41)

“Honestly, Cass? I’ve had much better things to do tonight.” Her eyes sparkled, and she looked back to Jude, cocking her head in invitation.

“How are you gonna get home?” Cassie called out, watching them stalk over to the fire.

“Becca,” Jessica called out in answer. “We’ll find each other.”

Cassie paused, watching until Jessica sidled up to Jude, their hips rotating together in time, dancing to music no one heard but them. A tremor went up her limbs as she watched them, watched the intensity with which they looked at each other. It was wrong. It was too much, too connected, like nothing else in the world mattered but the two of them, like they could dance all night and never tire.

Cassie spun away from the fire, her vision swimming with flashes of orange flame and cool, purple night. She needed to find Laney. She felt like she was losing her grip on reality and she needed to get out of the woods. But she needed Laney to go with her. She would not leave her here alone with Corey.

Corey. Could he be the same? Like Jude, was he also at the carnival that night? How could Cassie not have seen it? A fresh surge of panic welled in her gut, and she spun around.

The boy Cassie had pushed away was leaning back into the tree she had been pinned against. A hot shiver coursed through her when she met his stare. His head was down, his blond hair falling over his eyes, but his gaze locked on her face, patient and appraising. He peered at her and something in his features shifted. As though through a heat shimmer, Cassie watched as lines deepened and then smoothed around his eyes, as his skin went from clear to rough. She had seen this boy before, seen these same blue eyes peering at her from beneath dirty, sandy hair and a black hood, his jeans smeared with grease. A tremor ran through her fingers, but she took a deep breath and walked past him, pushing her way into the forest where she had seen Laney disappear earlier. She felt his gaze follow her.

There were many couples littered throughout the woods. Cassie couldn’t see them all clearly, but the rustling and giggling gave them away. She felt intrusive, like she was wandering through people’s private bedrooms, but no one seemed to notice she was there. The fear and panic pushed her forward. She could feel him watching her as she tripped further into the woods. A soft laugh echoed around her, resonating through the trees.

“Laney?” she called into the night.

No answer. But something answered, something else.

Come back, it whispered. Cassie gripped the side of her head with her fingers. The voice echoed through the trees, coming to rest in her brain and bounce around inside her skull.

Come back. Come back. COME BACK!

“No!” Cassie shouted, spinning back around. She could see no one, but she could feel him, feel it, the whispers insistent and jumbling, twisting insidiously through her thoughts. “Laney!”

“Cassie?” Laney answered, her voice soft and yet nervous. “Over here, Cass.”

Cassie jolted toward the sound of her voice, tripping once before she found them. Laney was putting her arms back into her jacket, and she stepped forward when she saw Cassie coming toward her.

“We have to go,” Cassie whispered in a rush. “I have to get out of here.”

“Calm down,” Laney soothed, pulling Cassie in for a hug. “You okay?”

“No,” Cassie insisted, pulling out of her grasp. “I’m serious. I really have to get out of here.”

“Was it—”

“Laney! Please!”

“Okay, okay,” Laney said, worry twisting her features. “Corey? Drive us home?”

Out of the forest, as though he had materialized from the trees, Corey appeared. His appearance was tidy, though there were leaves in his hair. Laney reached forward lovingly, brushing the debris away. He grinned down at her, infatuated. She reached up on tiptoes, kissing him gently on the lips. The panic rising in Cassie threatened to overwhelm. She giggled stupidly, the sound high-pitched and loud in the hush of the woods.

“Okay, Cassie, let’s get home,” Laney said, her tone soft and gentle. She grabbed her friend’s hand and tugged, pulling her back toward the fire. They passed Jude and Jess, still dancing seductively, and took off for the cemetery.

The woods seemed to protest her leaving. Every branch caught Cassie’s foot and she stumbled into Laney so many times, she was surprised her friend didn’t snap at her. Laney didn’t yell. She just righted her time and again, murmuring gentle reassurances. Corey led them quietly, the brightness of the moon enough for him to make out their path. Everything was still except for their crushing footsteps onto the years of dead, fallen leaves. Everything, but the wind. It rushed on through the trees, only higher up and away from them. Cassie couldn’t feel it; it didn’t whip her hair back or tug at her clothing, but she could hear it. The whoosh and whistle of it, the rush that sounded like words.

Just the wind. Just the wind. She repeated over and over in her mind, trying to make it true. Because underneath the wind, or maybe softer than that, maybe coming directly from inside her, were the words.

Come back. Come back.

She would have screamed, but she didn’t think that would make it stop. She didn’t want the others to know, didn’t want them to look at each other in fear and pity that poor Cassie was losing it, hearing voices in the wind. Maybe she could blame her behavior on the guilt, the crushing mortification of allowing that boy to keep her pressed against that tree. It wasn’t until they were safely back in the car that Cassie even thought to ask. “What about … ” she stalled, realizing she didn’t even know his name, “your friend?”