Page 55 of Disharmony

sixteen

Ash

“What happened to your head?” Cookie screeches.

I wake up in my bed and put my hand to the new bump on my forehead that feels like a golf ball. It’s all crusty with dried blood from a cut too. Gross. “Well, that hurts…”

Cookie comes over to peer at it. “Do you need to go to first aid?”

“I’ll be fine.” I wince, shaking my head. “It’s worse than it looks. How did I get back last night?”

“You were already asleep when I got in.” Cookie frowns. “I assumed you left with Leila.”

I must have hit my head hard to space on the details. I’ll follow Dad’s advice next time someone offers me drugs. I strain to remember what happened… woodland… running… a man’s voice… Ripper?

Ecstasy does weird shit to your brain. I almost laugh at the absurdity of thinking Ripper was in the woods and brought me back. After texting him all day, my subconscious must be playing tricks. The Basilisks are a few states away right now. I recall Leila leaving with Declan… then I was on my own… was I being chased?

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Cookie isn’t convinced. “You can’t go out looking like that.”

“Try me,” I say, pushing back the blanket and trying to get up. I move too fast, and stars blur my vision. “Shit.”

“Exactly,” Cookie declares as I grip the comforter to steady myself. She perches on the end of my bed. “What happened last night? You, Declan, and Leila were there one minute and then you left.”

I screw up my nose in concentration, trying to establish the order of events. “We were at the party, then I went after Leila after we saw Tiffany—”

“So she saw them,” Cookie finishes my sentence and exhales slowly. “Tiffany knew what she was doing going after Conor when he was high. How did Leila take it?”

“Badly,” I say. “She was pretty cut up about it.”

Cookie shakes her head. “I don’t know how they’re going to fix this…”

“You didn’t notice anything strange last night, did you?” I’m still not able to shake an uneasy feeling. “Was there anyone lurking around the woods?”

“No.” Her eyebrows knit together in concern. “You must have had a nasty trip.”

She’s probably right.

“Do you feel up to breakfast?” she asks. “If we head to the mess hall now, we’ll miss the big morning rush.”

As much as I want to crawl back into bed, filling my stomach is a good idea. Thankfully, I don’t feel nauseous, just dizzy and confused from whatever caused the bump on my head.

I nod. “Just give me fifteen minutes to shower.”

I can’t go to the mess hall looking like I’ve been dragged through a cluster of trees… literally.

* * *

A black cap covers my fresh injury. After cleaning the blood, it doesn’t look as bad. Cookie lends me her large sunglasses to cover the dark circles under my eyes, and I wear my largest baggy T-shirt with black leggings to blend into the background. Thank fuck it’s Saturday, and I only have one singing rehearsal to attend.

After our wild night, Cookie still manages to look positively ethereal. How is it fair someone can look so gorgeous after partying all night?

We trudge to the mess hall together. Cookie talks to me, but I struggle to make any conversation. Usually, the crowds in the mess hall have departed by this time, but everyone is still seated when we enter. I see why instantly. Jacqueline stands out like a mosher at a K-pop concert. It’s the first time Jacqueline has come to address the camp since our first night. Her timing couldn’t be any worse.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I grumble as Cookie and I slide along a bench to sit opposite the twins. I scan the other rows but can’t see Leila anywhere.

The twins look as bad as I feel. Conor holds his head in his hands, and Declan sits up straighter than usual. They aren’t looking at each other. Before we sat down, it looked like they were having an argument and the tense atmosphere hasn’t lifted. I’ll bet Declan was telling his brother off for being a jerk.

Cutlery scraping against plates makes me cringe. Everything seems louder today—even Cookie’s bangles jingling sounds deafening. Above us, the twinkling fairy lights wrapped around the barn beams seem to shine brighter.

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