Casey turned to face Mason, steeling herself for the breakup conversation.
“Why not?” she said.
“I’m so thirsty. If I don’t hydrate soon, I don’t know what will happen.”
Casey laughed, relieved. She took Mason back to her dorm room and gave him a tumbler of water, which he finished in one long, impressive gulp.
Casey went down the hall and refilled the tumbler at the bathroom sink. When she returned, Mason was out cold. She tried to wake him, but it was no use. Casey, still wide-awake, decided to check out the party at Bing. She scribbled a note for Mason and left.
Casey’s room was at the end of the hall, conveniently located by the stairway, inconveniently next to the pay phone. Casey always wore earplugs to bed, since the phone ringing was as loud as any alarm clock. There was supposed to be a strict quiet time between ten p.m. and seven a.m., but no one paid attention on the weekend. The ringing phone eventually woke Mason. He tried to ignore it, but it kept ringing. He got up, propped the door open with a shoe, and answered the call.
“Avery Hall,” Mason said.
“Is Amber or Bobbi there?” said a female voice.
“Hang on,” Mason said.
He walked down the hall to Amber and Bobbi’s room and knocked on the door. No one answered. He returned to the phone.
“They’re not here,” Mason said.
“Is this Mason?”
The voice was familiar, but Mason couldn’t place it. He felt a tad paranoid that the girl on the line knew who he was.
“Who is this?”
“Scarlet.”
“Oh hey,” Mason said, less paranoid.
“Have you seen Owen?”
“Uh, yeah. We were hanging out in Luna’s room earlier.”
“When?”
“I don’t know. I fell asleep. Where are you?” Mason asked.
“I’m waiting for Owen at Black Oak Bluff.”
“Why? It’s cold out, and you shouldn’t be there at night.”
“I’m so fucking over it,” Scarlet said.
“Over what?”
“Doesn’t matter. Everyone will know soon enough.”
“What’s going on? You sound weird.”
There was a long pause. Mason thought the connection had dropped.
“You still there?” he asked.
“Luna is not who she says she is,” said Scarlet.
Scarlet’s tone worried Mason. He was afraid for Luna.
“Who is she, then?” Mason asked.
“Forget it.”
“Come on, tell me.”
“Remember that girl who lied on the stand and her brother got away with murder and then he—”
“I know the story,” Mason said.
“That’s Luna.”
Mason’s mouth was so dry he couldn’t swallow. He thought he was the only one who knew. “You shouldn’t spread ugly rumors. It says more about you than her.”
“It’s the truth, Mason. I went to the library, did some research. It all adds up. Luna’s mom’s name is Belinda. Belinda Brown is the name of John Brown’s stepmother. Later she changed her name from Brown to Grey. How stupid. You can change your name and you don’t pick something different or even cool.”
“You should come back to the dorm,” Mason said. “Why don’t you meet me at the Mudhut. Let’s talk about it.”
“I gotta go,” Scarlet said.
Mason didn’t know Scarlet’s number and he didn’t have a mobile. He stopped off at his dorm room and got a flashlight. It had begun to drizzle when he stepped outside again. No one saw him as he crossed the quad and disappeared into the back woods.
Mason reached the base of Black Oak Bluff about fifteen minutes after he ended the call with Scarlet. A good ten of those minutes were the most frightening of his life. With only the narrow tunnel of his flashlight as his guide, Mason’s hearing went on high alert. The rustle of leaves, a gust of wind, even the sound of his own footsteps terrified him. When the trail hit an incline, he knew he was getting close.
* * *
—
Scarlet had been waiting for Owen at a high point on the Black Oak Bluff trail for over an hour. It was dark and scary and she wanted to leave, but she’d already made the precarious hike up the narrow trail. She was beginning to sober up. With sobriety came the realization that she was unlikely to change anything between Owen and Luna. And still, she waited, because she didn’t want to walk the path alone again. It was an unseasonably warm night for early March, but it was still too cold to be just standing around in the woods. When it began to drizzle, Scarlet finally decided to turn back. She had to pee something fierce, though, and didn’t think she’d make it down to the trailhead without bursting. There was a tree on the edge of the drop. She hiked up her dress, pulled down her tights, and leaned against it. As she was relieving herself, a light flashed over her.