Say a Little Prayer(49)

“You sure? You don’t want to go after them and check?”

I shake my head. “I’m good, thanks.”

“What if they need your help?”

“I promise you they don’t.”

Ben leans back on his elbows, the picture-perfect image of casual nonchalance. “Suit yourself,” he says. “I just know I’d feel terrible if something happened to my teammates while I was standing around, doing nothing. We don’t need supervision, you know. You could always—”

I pick up a nearby stick and smack it against the side of the tower. “Silence, wench.”

To my surprise, Ben actually jumps. “Jesus Christ,” he mutters. “Fine. You would have been a menace in the Stanford prison experiment, you know that?”

“Thank you.”

“That’s not a compliment!”

I flash him my most innocent grin, and even though this game is supposed to mean nothing, even though I’m not supposed to care, I still feel the tension of it spiraling through every limb. Because this is almost fun and I’m definitely not losing to Ben of all people.

Footsteps pound between the trees, and I look up in time to watch Torres burst into the clearing. “Whoa!” I steady her as she sags against me. “What happened?”

“Ambush,” she pants. “Blue team got the others.”

“Oh no.” Ben crosses one ankle over the other. “Sounds like you’re in a real pickle.”

I shoot him a pointed glare before turning back to Torres. “Everyone else is out?”

She nods. “You were right, though. Amanda’s still the only one guarding the flag.”

Of course she is. I grit my teeth at the thought of Amanda holding our flag above her head, beaming down at her crowd of adoring followers. She shouldn’t get to win this, too. I won’t let her. I grab Torres’s arm and wheel her away from the base.

“Let me come back with you,” I whisper. “I think I have a plan.”

I wait for her to protest, to remind me that I barely understand the rules, much less game strategy, but to my surprise, she nods. Maybe fleeing through the forest at night bonds people more than I thought. We set off down the path, arms still locked together as I explain what I’m thinking. Torres nods in all the right places, and when I finish, her jaw is set.

“Got it,” she says. “I’m in.”

My calves ache in protest as we leap back across the stream, but I force myself to keep up, pulling Torres behind the same tree Julia and I had used before. Sure enough, there’s the blue flag hanging from the hollow several feet above the ground and there’s Amanda, still standing beneath it. If Torres and I had more people, we could take her no problem. But right now, it’s just the two of us. And if I’m being honest, it’s mostly Torres.

I glance over my shoulder, eyebrows raised, and Torres nods. Ready. I brace a hand against the trunk as we watch Amanda pace the clearing. One lap. Two. Then, when she finally turns her back on us, I move.

I burst from our hiding spot and make a wild dash for the flag. There’s no way I’ll get it. There’s no way I actually make it out of this unscathed, but I jump anyway, barely managing to catch the end of the silk between my fingers. It flutters to the ground, and I have just enough time to feel a hot rush of victory before Amanda’s hands slam into my back.

“You’re out!”

The force of her hit sends me stumbling into the tree. I catch myself on the trunk, rough bark scraping down both palms. “Okay, okay,” I say. “Chill. God forbid anyone have fun around here.”

Amanda’s eyes flash, and for a minute, I think I see that same crack spreading beneath her demure expression. “So this is fun for you now?”

“Maybe.” I wipe my palms against my thighs. “Miracles happen every day, right?” Then, before Amanda can react, I change the subject. “What were you doing in the locker room yesterday? Must have been something pretty upsetting to make you cry like that.”

I might as well have slapped her again. Amanda goes still, face turning as white as her sneakers, and I wish more than anything I could enjoy this. That there’s not a part of me that still feels the tiniest bit guilty. She opens her mouth, but before she can speak, there’s a blur of color to our right.

Torres tears from her hiding spot, snatches the flag off the ground, and makes a U-turn around the base of the tree with a speed I didn’t think human beings possessed. I swear she ruffles the hair on my arms as she goes.

A frustrated sound breaks in the back of Amanda’s throat. “Greer!” she calls. “Tori! Help! She’s getting away!”

But it’s too late. Somewhere in the distance, a whistle sounds. Cheers rise up from our side of the stream, and I picture Torres sprinting up the tower steps, flag clutched victoriously in her fist. We did it, I think as Amanda whirls to face me. We won.

I wonder why it doesn’t feel like a victory.

“Sorry,” I say, giving my hands one last brush against my thighs. “Better luck next time.”

I don’t stay to hear if she has a response. I don’t want one. Instead, I turn and jog back the way I’d come, leaving Amanda Clarke rooted to the forest floor behind me.





XIII


    Some Light Property Destruction, as a Treat