the ship?”
“No. You were definitely there.”
“Oh.”
“We don’t have to talk about all of this if you don’t want to.” Zoe reaches out for me and I link my fingers with hers. Together we stare out at the ocean, silent for a time, but I need answers.
“I need to fill in the gaps in my memory. I’ve been avoiding it, but it’s time.”
“Come, it’s just a little farther.”
“What is?”
“My secret place.”
“How do you have a secret place?”
“Long story, but Forest shared it with me. It was the day after I tried to kill myself for the first time.”
I shake my head. “Girl—been there. Done that…”
“Got the scars to prove it!” Zoe finishes my little twisted litany for me.
It became a running joke between us and I think she’s the only one who ever really understood what it means.
Everyone else thinks I’m this badass survivor. What they don’t know is that I suck at dying. Zoe gets it. We’ve bared our deepest, darkest secrets to each other during our time together.
Zoe walks to the edge of the cliff and glances over her shoulder. She winks at me, then jumps off the edge. My hand goes out and a scream lodges itself in my throat. But instead of plummeting down the hundred-foot cliff, Zoe drops only a couple of feet before stopping.
She points at me and holds her midsection while she laughs. “You should totally see the expression on your face.”
I move toward the edge and glance down. Zoe’s standing on a ledge. It’s about three to four feet wide, plenty safe, but completely invisible unless you’re standing right at the edge and looking down.
“That is so uncool!”
“You should’ve seen Axel’s face when I did that to him. Thought he was going to paddle my ass.”
“Paddle?” A smirk lifts the corner of my mouth. “Didn’t think you were into that kind of thing.”
“Forget I said that!” Zoe’s cheeks turn crimson.
“Oh, there is no forgetting that. You’re a kinky bitch.”
“We’re totally not talking about that.”
“And why not?” I cross my arms over my chest and look down at her. “We can talk about the other shit, but not the kinky sex games you and Three, I mean Axel, get to when you’re alone.”
“You going to admit that you and Four—um, Griff—are banging it like rabbits?” Zoe isn’t above challenging me.
My lips twist. “Maybe a little.”
“A little? Like holding hands? Kissing?”
“You’re horrible.” I jump down beside her on the ledge. “Why are we on the side of a cliff?”
“Because.” Zoe points down the gradual slope of the ledge. “I want to show you the cave.”
“A cave?”
“Yeah.”
“You mean to tell me you were hiding a cave from me all this time?”
“Do you hate me for it?” She gives a sheepish grin. “I needed something that was just mine. Forest caught me out here when I was going to jump. Told me about the cave and that I might want to think about it.” She shrugs. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you, but it was…”
I put my hand on her shoulder. “Z, I’m just pulling your leg. I totally get needing something for yourself. Now show me your cave.”
She leads me down the ledge until we come to a small cut in the rock. We have to stoop and half crawl inside, but the cave opens up just a few feet in. I turn in a circle, spinning around, in wonder.
“This place is incredible.” Blankets stacked in the corner snag my attention, as does a lantern and what looks to be a stash of fuel. “Looks like you come out here often. How did I not know?”
“You thought I was sneaking out to be with Three.” She nibbles on her lower lip. “And I kind of was. We came here a lot.”
“Just tell me where I can safely sit. Someplace the two of you didn’t do the nasty on.”
Zoe shakes her head. She goes to the piles of blankets and returns to the low cave opening. “Here, sit down. You can hear the ocean really well right here. It kind of magnifies the sound. And if you close your eyes, you can almost feel the waves as they slam against the rock. The whole cliff kind of rumbles, especially when there’s a storm.”
“Oh, I bet it would be incredible to watch a storm from here.”
“Sunsets are amazing too.” She lays the blankets on the floor of the cave and we settle in.
For the longest time, we do nothing other than simply sit there. I take