Page 28 of Hide And Seek

Sutton scoffed. “How?”

“One of the others could’ve said something.”

“Why would they?” Sutton's voice had an edge to it now. “I mean, comeon,Dee. Nobody would ever do that, because it would turn out just as bad for them as it would for us. So we really don’t need to worry.”

I took another step back from the door, placing my feet with careful deliberateness to avoid the floorboards creaking, and stood there in the dim corridor with my pulse racing.

What if someone really knows?Delia had asked.

Knows what, exactly?I had to wonder.And who are the others she referred to before?

As I took another step backward, one of the floorboards creaked despite my best efforts to be careful.

“I think someone’s coming,” Delia said in a hushed voice.

Unless I wanted to be caught eavesdropping, I knew I had to approach right now, as if I’d really just arrived. I stepped forward and rapped on the semi-open door. “Sutton? I got your note.”

“Come in,” she replied breezily.

I pushed the door all the way open and stepped in with a polite smile. Delia gave me a tight smile of her own and stepped past me into the hall.

“We’ll talk more about that dietary requirement thing later,” Sutton called after her. Then she turned her attention to me. “Take a seat, Alissa.”

I did as she said, and she sat across from me.

“You’re not in trouble, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she said, arching a perfectly shaped brow. “In fact, everyone says you’ve been doing well so far. The kids really seem to like you.”

“Oh. Good.”

“Anyway, I called you in here because it turns out your theory was dead on,” she said. She paused, unlocked her phone, and handed it to me. “Piper sent me this text last night.”

I scanned the message.

Hey, girl. So sorry for disappearing without a word. I really thought I could do it, but being back here after last year… I just can’t. So I called Ian and he came to get me. I’m staying at his place in Saranac Lake for now, just trying to clear my head. I’ll come back to visit you at camp in a few days before I head back to the city. I promise. Please don’t hate me! Sorry again. Xx

“So, yeah… she’s not coming back. At least not to work,” Sutton said as I handed the phone back. She set it face-down on the desk with a small sigh. “That means we’re short a counselor. Andthatmeans throwing you in the deep end.”

“How so?” I asked, tilting my head.

“Well, standard practice with new counselors is to keep them on lighter activities for the first couple of weeks, just to ease them into things and give them a good idea of how it all works,” she said. “But with Piper gone, her spots need covering, and the three of you with the most flexibility in your current schedules are you, Simon, and Grayson.” She folded her hands on the desk. “So your schedules are getting completely rearranged. More physical stuff, more responsibility. Like yesterday, with the Wilderness Wander.”

“Yesterday was fine for me,” I said, smiling faintly. “Honestly, I can handle whatever you throw at me.”

“Good. That’s one less headache for me,” she replied. “I’m meeting with Simon and Grayson soon. Hopefully they’re just as amenable.”

“I’m sure they will be.” I paused for a beat and nodded toward her phone. “Is Piper usually this flaky?”

“She’s pretty flaky, yeah. But not like this. She’s never left camp before.”

“What did she mean when she said she can’t handle it after what happened last year?”

Sutton let out another sigh, rubbing her temples with one hand. “You’ve heard about the girl who drowned here last summer, right?”

“Yes. Carly Martin.”

Sutton nodded. “I think Piper’s still feeling guilty about that, because she and Noura were the assigned counselors for Carly’s cabin. They slept through everything that happened that night.”

“Ah.”