Page 125 of Disharmony

“How can someone accidentally fall from there?” I ask.

“Suicide gone wrong?” Zed suggests, but I don’t listen. After seeing Ash’s friends’ reactions, it’s clear they think Tiffany was involved in Riley’s accident.

“Ash is missing,” I say as I break into a jog. “I spoke to her friends, and they think Tiffany has something to do with it. They think she is involved in what happened with Riley.”

“Tiffany wouldn’t do that,” Zed dismisses. “She’s harmless.”

“She’s also desperate for fame,” I remind him, recalling Tiffany’s determination to impress and how she basically stalked Zed around camp for the first few weeks. “Ash is a threat.”

“What’s going on?” I hear Venom ask in the background. “Put it on speaker.”

“Something doesn’t feel right,” I say.

“She’s probably tucked up in bed ready for the show tomorrow,” Zed reasons. He’s always been the practical one. “You’re worrying over nothing.”

“Maybe,” I reply, but I’m not going to rest until I know for sure Ash is okay. “I’m gonna keep looking.”

“Ripper—”

I hang up before Zed has a chance to argue or give me a million reasons why it’s a bad idea.

She is too important.

forty-six

Zed

I launch the phone across the room, and Venom’s eyes dart up from his video game. He’s fully paying attention now. If Ripper were in the room, I’d choke him.

What the hell was he thinking going to the party?

When Ripper falls for someone, which hasn’t happened in years, he builds an unhealthy obsession with them. Everything else in his life falls away, and he can’t think rationally or about the consequences of his actions. Camp mentor or not, we agreed to keep our distance, but the fucker couldn’t wait.

He doesn’t know what’s good for him, or for us. I’ll have to fix this mess before it blows up in our faces. We have to find Ripper before he finds Ash and does something stupid to blow our cover. He’s lost his fucking mind if his paranoia has convinced him that Tiffany Lockhart is some kind of psychopath.

I can’t deny that Tiffany has issues. Issues come with the territory when you’re brought up in a family under the spotlight, but throwing a kid off a cliff? She wouldn’t do that. I’ve known Tiffany since we were kids because our parents were friends. That’s what it’s like in celebrity circles. Everyone knows everyone’s business, and we spend our life trying to hide it from the outside world. At dinner parties, my siblings and I played with the other kids when the adults were busy. I remember how Tiffany chopped the hair off all of her dolls because their hair was prettier than hers. Her jealousy wouldn’t push her to do something criminal… would it?

A surge of adrenaline races through me. It’s not the first time I’d have underestimated someone. Maybe Ripper isn’t the one with a problem. If there’s a chance Ash is in danger, I shouldn’t be sulking like an ass. I should be out there with him.

“Grab your jacket and a flashlight,” I say to Venom, grabbing our car keys. “We gotta go back to camp.”

If Ripper’s suspicions are right, he’s not the only one who could be in trouble. We need to find Ash before something happens to her.

forty-seven

Ash

“Where am I?”

Water lapping against rocks.

Birds call above, or is it voices? Or laughter?

Time passes slower. I fight to keep my eyes open, but they flicker as I drift in and out of consciousness.

I’m aware of hands locked around my wrists and ankles, but my body doesn’t feel like it belongs to me. My brain wants to shake them off, but my limbs aren’t working how I remember they do. Nothing makes sense. I can’t focus on one thing for long enough.

Other people are talking, but I only catch bits of their words.

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