Page 131 of Disharmony

“Where did I go?”

“We don’t know,” Cookie says, “but they found you in the lake.”

“They?”

Cookie and Claudia exchange glances as if they’re too afraid to tell me. “The Lionhearts.”

I groan. As if it couldn’t get any worse.

“Damon saved your life,” Claudia says quickly, noticing my grimace. “You could have drowned or caught hyperthermia if you were there much longer. It’s freezing in those waters at night. When they found you, they brought you straight here.”

“Do you remember anything at all?” Cookie asks. “Anything about who did this?”

I shake my head. Everything is fuzzy and muddled.

“I went for a drink…” I strain to remember and clutch onto slivers of memories. I squeeze my eyes shut to try and make sense of the muddle snapshots. “Tiffany spoke to me… I… she wanted to apologize… I think…then…”

I can’t remember anything. Claudia and Cookie exchange glances.

“Anotheraccidenthappened last year,” Cookie continues. A tear slips down her cheek. “We couldn’t prove it then and we can’t prove it now, but we think Tiffany did this to you, just like she did to Riley.”

My stomach churns. “What happened to Riley?”

They’ve been keeping me from finding out about Riley all summer, but there’s no avoiding it now.

“She had a fall on the rocks on the night of the storm,” Cookie sniffs. “It was bad. Really bad. Riley couldn’t remember how it happened, but they wrote it off as a suicide attempt. Riley was never suicidal. She was in a coma for weeks after and is in a wheelchair now. That’s the real reason the final show got canceled last year.”

I swallow hard. “And you think Tiffany had something to do with it?”

“There were rumors,” Cookie says, looking out of the window. “Tiffany was the first person on the scene after it happened, and someone said they thought they saw her at the top of the rocks before Riley fell. No one can prove it. Riley can’t remember either, but we do know Jacqueline covered up what happened. She didn’t want it damaging the camps reputation and made all of us sign NDAs, basically guaranteeing we’d keep our mouths shut about it for life.”

“Why would Tiffany push her?” I ask.

“Riley is one of the best singers I’ve ever heard,” Cookie explains. A pained smile crosses her features as she plays with the rings on her fingers. “She was going to be the lead soloist in the show, and Tiffany was her backup. Even though the show was canceled after the accident and the storm, we always wondered how far Tiffany was willing to go to get her chance to shine.”

“I know Tiffany’s a bully,” I say, “but isn’t pushing someone off a cliff a bit of a stretch?”

“Tiffany picked on Riley mercilessly all summer. She played a load of pranks on her and turned other campers against her,” Cookie says. “Just like she did with you.”

Would Tiffany seriously hurt anyone who stood in her way?

I blink as a flashback makes me jolt. I see a syringe. A needle.

“She injected me with something,” I say breathlessly. “I remember.”

“You have to tell someone,” Claudia says.

“We can’t!” Cookie objects fiercely. “There’s no proof. It’s Ash’s word against hers, and who do you think they’ll believe? Everyone will think Ash partied too hard and ruined her chance. Besides, Jacqueline will never allow a drug test, and even if we could prove Ash was drugged, we can’t prove who did it. That’s why we called you last night for help, Claudia. We can’t tell any of the other staff. It’ll ruin Ash’s reputation.”

“I’m not sure about this, Cookie.” Claudia shifts uncomfortably. “We should report it.”

“Look how well that went for Leila!” Cookie says. “She reported her suspicions about Tiffany last year, and she was forced to stay in a cabin away from everyone else. Jacqueline doesn’t care about the campers. She cares about her reputation.”

“I don’t want to report it,” I say decisively. “Cookie’s right. It won’t change anything now, and my memories are so fuzzy that I wouldn’t even be able to say exactly what happened.”

“It’s your call, Ash.” Claudia sighs. “What do you want to do next?”

This morning should have been one of the best times of my life, getting ready to perform in front of millions, but I can feel the chance slipping through my fingers. All I want to do is sleep, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to ruin anyone else’s day.

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