Anywhere but here. That’s what he said. His exact words.
Olly told me he lives in Missouri. Why would he say that if he lives in Texas?
Olly hasn’t noticed the slipup. Maybe he just said it because we’re here now and he wouldn’t want to live in this heat?
“Iceland because of the northern lights?” He takes a guess at why I want to go.
“Yes,” I reply. Does he live around here?
Why the hell would he lie about where he lives? He has a slight Southern accent but not what you would expect from someone from Texas.
Heat creeps up my neck.
What is going on?
Olly could be the one doing all of this. Maybe he is the accomplice.
I bite my lip as my mind storms with stupid theories.
Rein it in, Esme.
My paranoia is so strong that I’m suspecting everyone for little to no reason. Accents! That’s what I’m basing my suspicions on.
I slip my arm out of his and shudder. “Jake just jumped in the lake.”
“He’s always in the water.”
Olly was with us the night of the photos, though, and the time I saw Lillian in the woods. How could he and Rebekah be working together?
Unless only one of them is in on it and the other is innocent.
I need to find out where Olly is from.
And what handy ID lists your home address and state?
I have to sneak into Olly’s room and find his driver’s license.
But am I really ready to go there? I’ve already been through Rebekah’s things. When I came back to Camp Pine Lake, I’d hoped to find a better version of myself.
“So you’ve only known everyone since we got here?” I ask. “You and Jake seem tight.”
Olly side-eyes me, and I don’t know whether I’ve said too much.
“I didn’t know anyone before the beginning of summer. Jake and I are similar. I knew we’d be cool when he told me that Xbox has nothing on PS.”
Of course.
“You’re a gamer?”
“Yeah, but not massively. My brother is eleven and would play all day and night if our parents allowed it.”
“What’s his name?”
He replies a heartbeat later. “Daniel. Danny.”
“Just you and Danny?”
“Yeah. Just me and him.”
His posture is relaxed, voice light.
He doesn’t have a tell. Why doesn’t he squint, croak or look to the left—aren’t people supposed to avoid eye contact when they lie?
Only that’s not foolproof. My dad says since everyone knows that now, they make sure they don’t do it.
I wish I’d been more interested in Dad’s work. If he were here, he’d know in a millisecond if Olly was telling the truth.
“Who do you think is doing this?” I ask.
“I don’t know, but I think we’re on the right track, that it’s someone who worked here. How else could they get into the locked cabins and know our routines, right?”
Or they might work here now and be feeding their partner in crime information.
Olly or Rebekah?
Or both.
Or neither.
Not him.
I blink hard. This is going well.
At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if my brain imploded. Just a big boom and that’s the end of Esme.
“What’s your most-watched show?” Olly asks.
“Friends. Hands down. My mom watched it when she was younger and starts from the beginning at least once a year. She got me into it.”
He chuckles. “Here I was thinking you’d say Riverdale.”
“Probably a close second. What’s yours?”
“The Walking Dead.”
“I think I stopped around season three thousand.”
Laughing, he tilts his head back. “It’s not that bad.”
“I know, but you kill Glenn, you’re dead to me.”
“Never get attached to a character in The Walking Dead or Game of Thrones, Esme.”
“Tyrion lived. I’m fine with Thrones. You know you can tour the city where King’s Landing was filmed?”
“Croatia, right? We should go.”
“Bit presumptuous to think I’ll want to vacation with you, isn’t it?”
He laughs again. “Who wouldn’t want a trip to Croatia?”
I’m not going anywhere with Olly until I know he’s not torturing me.
“Do you think Rebekah is okay?” I ask.
“No idea. Why?”
“I don’t know, she seems weird,” I say, and watch his reaction.
He shrugs one shoulder casually. “She’s scared. No offense to her, but she seems like the type of person who freaks at everything.”
“Don’t you think there’s a very good reason for us to be scared?”
If he isn’t scared, why not?
“I do. Why do you think something is wrong with her?”
“I don’t know. She seems…distant. I guess I don’t know how she handles stressful situations. I forget we’ve only known each other a matter of weeks.”
“Camps have that effect on you.”
Is he speaking from experience as a camper or as a CIT? He couldn’t have been here before, though. Andy, Cora and Mary are the returnees.
There is no way Olly could have been here before now; he’s the same age as me. Unless he’s lying and has a fake ID that says he’s a year younger.
No, not Olly.
We reach the others. I have to get Kayla to sneak into the guys’ cabin.
“Esme, want to go watch something? I brought my iPad and we have a couple hours until we have to be in the food hall for dinner,” Olly says.
Result. I can be in his room without sneaking in.
Ignoring Kayla, Rebekah and Tia, who are waggling their eyebrows, I reply, “Sounds good. If we start a new series, we both have to swear not to watch an episode alone. No skipping ahead.”
He holds his hands up. “I swear.”
I nod. Today I snoop through his things. Tomorrow I go back to Rebekah’s room and find her phone.
I follow Olly into his cabin. It smells like feet covered up with pine air freshener. The bedding is pale blue; the girls’ is cream.
He stands outside the door to his room and lets me enter first. I clench my fists as my palms sweat. Nothing is going to happen in here, so I don’t know why my nerves are racing.
What if Lillian is someone he cares about and this thing between us is him trying to get me to trust him? He could shut that bedroom door and strangle me. Okay, obviously not. I need to start getting some decent sleep at night.
That does seem a little excessive over some burns. I really don’t think Lillian died, and although my mistake was a big one, I was scared, and just a kid.
I want to believe that no one would kill over that.
Olly might be innocent.
“Okay, pull up Netflix,” he says. “Mine is the bottom bunk. Jake shotgunned the top.”
I turn to him and grin. “I did too.”
He chuckles. “I believe it.”
I grab the iPad sitting on his bed and open Netflix. “What do you want to watch?” I ask. “Ooh, what about The Circle?”
He shrugs. “Sure. Whatever.”
“You have no opinion on this?”
“It doesn’t matter what we watch, Esme.”
I’d swoon if I weren’t worried that he’s been leaving creepy notes and chasing me through the woods.
But Olly couldn’t have been the chaser either time. He was with me. There can’t be three people involved, surely? Or more?
I shake my head and swallow bile at the thought of a whole group. I press Play, trying to ignore where my mind is taking me. The suspicious side of me really sucks right now. It’s like it overrides logic and all I’m left with is a big pool of suspects who don’t quite fit into the mold.
Olly sits beside me. We lean against the wall and I rest the iPad on my legs.
“Wait,” I say, pressing Pause. “Do you think you could grab us some water before we start? I dehydrate in seconds here.”
I don’t think I’ve heard Olly mention the heat once.
Could my newest Netflix buddy be used to this climate?
He smirks. “Fine, but no snooping through my stuff. A guy’s underwear drawer is private.”
Damn it.
“I wasn’t going to….”
“I’m kidding, Esme!”
My throat goes dry.
His eyes linger for a second too long on mine, then he gets up.