Page 42 of Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets

I sit for a moment, chewing on the inside of my mouth until I taste copper. “Fine.” I slip inside my sleeping bag. No need to upset the only person who’s trying to help me.

But I can’t let fear keep me from finding out what happened to Piper. As soon as Jacey starts to snore, I’m talking to Abby.

I lie there, and my eyelids press down, the sound of the crickets lulling me to sleep. I could set an alarm on my phone, but it would only wake up Jacey. And if there’s a message from my parents—something about Piper—I don’t want to know. Instead, I battle sleep, drifting off and then waking in a panic, blinking and pinching my own cheeks as minutes turn to hours.

When Jacey’s breathing finally turns slow and steady, I slink out of my bag, careful not to make a sound. I grab my flashlight, pull my hood up, and duck back outside.

I navigate around the backs of the tents to Abby and Alexandra’s. The black forest hums around me as I approach the silent tent. How do I do this without scaring the hell out of them? “Knock, knock,” I say, shining my light directly at the tent.

Nylon rustles, followed by whispers. Abby’s groggy voice drifts out. “What is it?”

“It’s Savannah. Can I talk to you outside? Just you, Abby.”

There’s a pause. “Yeah, let me put my shoes on.”

My breath whooshes out in relief. “Thanks.”

She emerges a moment later, shrugging on a puffy jacket, and I incline my head toward the trees and start walking out of hearing range of the other tents.

“What’s going on?” Abby asks when I finally stop.

“When we first got up here, you said there was something I didn’t know about Piper. Did it have to do with someone named Alex?”

Her head pulls back, hair rippling over her shoulders, streaks of radiant burgundy wherever the moonlight touches it. “Alex? What? No.”

“Then what were you talking about? Please, I need you to tell me.”

She doesn’t answer right away, drawing circles in the leaves with her boot. But then she looks me straight in the eye. “Did you know Piper was devastated before she fell?”

The question punches me hard. I nod.

“Because of those two?” she adds, waving a hand in the direction of camp. A surge of relief ripples through me. “Her supposedbest friends?”

Behind me, a critter rustles in the undergrowth. I flinch and press in closer to Abby. “Yeah, I knew. I mean, I just found out. So, that’s it, then? You and Piper were talking about what Noah and Jacey did?” I get a pinprick of disappointment. “She didn’t tell you anything about someone named Alex? Or someone who was bullying her?”

“No. Why would you think someone was bullying her?”

“I found some things,” I say, rubbing at my forehead. “The day she fell, someone sent her a note telling her to go to the Point for a Survival Club meeting.”

Abby’s eyes widen.

“What is it?”

Her gaze swings toward her tent. “It’s okay,” I prod, forcing patience into my voice even though I want to grab her by a chunk of bright red hair. “You can tell me.”

“Promise you won’t say how you heard this.”

“I promise. What happened?”

She licks her lips. Leans in close. “You should ask Jacey where she was the afternoon Piper fell.”

Numbness starts to spread from my shoulders to my fingers. “Why?”

“I think Jacey met Piper at Suicide Point that afternoon,” Abby says. “I mean, she didn’t call it Suicide Point, but I knew where she meant. That spot on Vanderwild, just past the fork where it meets the Golden Trail.” In the dim light, her eyes shine. “She asked me to lie for her, to tell Piper there was an extra skills session for Survival Club. When I refused, she asked me to pass Piper a note. It was sealed in an envelope, but she said it was an apology for the whole Noah thing.” She grabs her temples, letting out a desperate moan. “Why did I believe her?”

My vision darkens, and I shake the flashlight, but it’s not the issue. I am. Because I’ve forgotten to breathe.

I suck in so much air I get dizzy, and Abby grabs me by the arm before I crumple into the dirt. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I should’ve said something.”

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