Page 101 of Hide And Seek

Please, I thought, at nothing and no one in particular.Please let me be wrong about all of this…

21

Morning came too quickly.

I hadn’t slept properly. Just drifted in and out of something shallow and restless, my mind refusing to switch off for more than a few minutes at a time. Every time I woke, it was the same loop waiting for me. Same thoughts. Same questions. Same fears.

By the time light started filtering in through the windows, I was still exhausted.

The others in the assembly hall were already awake. Low voices filled the space, overlapping in tired conversation as people moved around, stepping over blankets and makeshift beds. No one looked like they’d slept much.

Jasmine nudged me with her foot. “You alive?” she murmured.

“Barely,” I muttered, pushing myself upright.

We joined the others, grabbing something quick to eat. No one had much of an appetite, but people forced it down anyway, because it was just another thing we had to do to keep going.

The conversation slowly shifted, piece by piece, into something more focused. Suggestions. Debates. Plans.

I barely even tasted what I was eating as I listened. My mind was elsewhere.

Jasmine’s elbow brushed mine a few minutes later. “Now,” she murmured under her breath.

None of the others paid us much attention as we got to our feet and headed toward the kitchen, probably assuming we were just getting more food or coffee for ourselves.

We moved quietly, putting together something simple. A sandwich. Fruit. Granola bar. My hands were shaking like mad as I wrapped the bread, and Jasmine noticed right away.

“Hey,” she said under her breath. “We need to play this cool.”

“I know,” I murmured, though my voice came out thinner than I intended.

“I meanactuallycool,” she said, glancing at me. “No weird vibes. And no staring at Rhys like you’re trying to figure out if he’s about to stab us.”

I huffed out a quiet breath, looking down at the counter. “I’ll do my best.”

“Okay, so, we go in,” she continued, tone calm and practical. “We act exactly the same as yesterday. Then we tell him what happened with Knox, and we watch his reaction.”

I nodded. “He could slip up then.”

“Exactly.” Her brows lifted. “It could be something so small that we’d probably miss it in any other circumstances. But this time, we’ll be paying extra close attention.”

I nodded slowly, trying to steady the unease in my chest.

“And remember,” Jasmine added. “He might actually be innocent. We could have this completely wrong.”

Something in my chest eased at that. Not because it solved anything, but because of the way she said it.We.Notyou.Shealways made it clear that we were in it together, and that she wouldn’t throw me under the bus.

We slipped out of the building through the dining hall door so no one would see us and question where we were going. I tightened my grip slightly on the granola bar I was holding as we approached the cabin, my pulse starting to pick up again. Jasmine didn’t slow down. She walked straight up to the door like we’d done it a hundred times before.

“Relax,” she murmured to me under her breath. Then she lifted her hand and knocked.

Rhys appeared at the door a minute later. “Hey,” he said with a faint smile, eyes instantly fixed on my face. “Guessing Knox was dragged into another search party for the day?”

“No. There’s actually something we need to tell you about him,” Jasmine said.

“Okay.” Rhys frowned slightly and stepped aside to let us in. “What’s going on?”

I gestured to the sofa. “You might want to sit down.”