“Will you show me?”
“I don’t know.”
“Please? I don’t want to go in there by myself.”
“No!” he said, obviously agitated. “You can’t do that. Caving requires a partner. And proper gear.”
“Then take me. For a peek, that’s all,” she begged. “So I can see where it is.”
It was like she could see the struggle going on in Cotton’s mind. He wanted to show her. But something was in the way. “My mother is expecting us home. She’ll worry.”
“Because of Esther.” She knew it was true, but the shocked look on Leo’s face made her wonder if she’d blown her chance by being too blunt.
“Yes. It’s a matter of safety.”
“Can’t you call your mother?”
“I don’t have my phone.”
“There’s no reception in the cave,” explained Leo.
“Use mine.”
“No, thank you.” Cotton tucked his hand behind his back.
“Just show me where it is.” She knew she was obsessing, but she couldn’t give up, not this close to almost. The promise of a thrill hummed in her ears. “Please say yes.”
“Yes,” said Cotton. Then, to Leo, “That is a compromise. Right? Isn’t this the kind of flexibility you say I need?”
“Sure, okay,” said Leo. Then, glaring at Ria: “We’ll show you the entrance, but that’s it. We’re not taking you inside.”
“And you can’t go in by yourself.”
“I won’t,” she said, not entirely sure what she was promising.
The entrance to the cave was close to invisible. A large boulder and a scraggly, forgettable pine blocked the opening, only a few steps off the trail. She could have passed this spot a hundred times and never noticed it. But once she ducked her head around the tree, she immediately saw the hole. Cool air wafted over her skin as she breathed in something like mildew, but greener. Ria moved closer, squatted, and peered in. She could only see a few feet inside of the rocky entrance before meeting a wall of dark.
“What do you do in there?” she asked, standing up.
Cotton tilted his head like he didn’t understand the question. Then said, slowly, “We explore. We walk around. We see what we find.”
“So it’s like hiking, but in the dark?”
He frowned, and for a minute she thought she’d said something wrong. But then he laughed.
“We’re also mapping it,” said Leo.
“What does it look like inside?”
“Well,” said Cotton, settling back on his heels, “it’s dark. And damp. There are tunnels and rooms. And there’s a small stream. There are several different geologic formations and types of crystals.” He pulled a small notebook from one of his many coverall pockets, opened to a page filled with lines and shapes. He traced one of the darker lines with his finger and started talking faster. More animated. “You come in this way, and there are two different paths. This one”—he circled one side—“ends with a stone wall. But the other side opens up after a narrow tunnel. It’s actually quite amazing.” His enthusiasm poured out, filling the space between them.
“It’s not something for everyone to know about. It’s kind of a secret.” Leo sounded borderline threatening.
“I can keep a secret.” She stepped back. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Ria is not like normal girls.”
Damn. She and Cotton had each spent plenty of time not fitting in, but she hadn’t expected to hear the obvious truth so harshly stated.
“We can trust her.”
He smiled suddenly, showing one crooked tooth on the side. Not enough to be snaggled, but more like it had its own ideas about the way it should go. Reflexively, she ran her tongue over her own teeth, feeling for the chipped spot. It was still there, even if it was too tiny for anyone else to notice.
Four
Ria waited for Benny in the dry gym parking lot. After running, she’d showered and gotten dressed in her dive team warm-up suit. It was the one she wore to meets. It always made her feel more confident.
She’d parked down the street and now stood behind the corner of the building so she could avoid talking to her teammates. The first week after she’d been banished, she’d driven by here every day, hoping she’d misunderstood. She’d even parked outside Benny’s apartment as if she could somehow telepathically change his mind. He’d known, of course, and sent her a text threatening to call the police, or worse, her parents, so she’d been forced to face the truth, complete with withdrawal symptoms.
Right now, right here, she needed to stay focused on what she wanted to say. She knew how to fix everything. For Maggie. And the