Page 65 of Vying Girls (Girls of Hazelhurst #2)

‘She’s meeting Tommy. Let’s leave them for a bit. Meet up later.’

‘You good with that?’ Elly asks quietly.

Even with the hell she’s going through, she’s still looking out for me. I’m glad I was able to do the same, even just to lift their pain a little bit.

I give her a nod. ‘I’m good. Let me just text Tommy, make sure he’s with her.’

It’s ages before he replies. Reading his message, alarm immediately sets in.

Hey, Tilda’s still not here and isn’t replying. She with you guys?

I have to call the others twice to get their attention. It’s a fucking zoo out here. Someone’s got fireworks, setting them off on the path and making me jump when they explode mere metres away. Our first time winning Varsity, and probably our last if this keeps up.

‘Tilda’s not with Tommy,’ I tell them.

I dial her number. It rings and rings, then rings some more. With a curse, I find Tommy’s number instead.

‘Hello?’ he says, already sounding wary.

And so he should. One fucking job I gave him.

‘What do you mean she’s not with you? Where else would she be if not with the hockey lot?’

‘I dunno. She should be here. I told her to, but I got a message from her saying she’s at the old fountain instead. I didn’t tell her to meet there, but she seems to think I did. She’s not replying now though.’

I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. ‘I’m sure it’s fine. She knows better, but I’m sure it’s fine. Just…stay where you are. We’ll go to the fountain. Keep your phone on you.’

I hang up, letting my hand drop in frustration.

‘What’s up?’ Haz asks, eyes intent. ‘Tilda’s MIA?’

‘Yeah. Come on. Tommy thinks she’s at the old fountain. Says he told her to meet there, but Tommy’s saying he didn’t.’

‘Then who did?’ Elly says.

We set off in that direction, dodging painted revellers shouting sport chants.

I purse my lips, wondering the same thing. Doesn’t make sense to worry yet. Nothing’s happened. Tilda’s just won Varsity. She’ll be riding a high. Wouldn’t take much to get confused in the madness of everything.

Doesn’t stop the frisson of unease building within though.

I’ve barely seen her since she returned from Elly’s.

She had coursework to catch up on, a lot of it, as well as hockey practice, as well as not straying from Elly’s side in her sadness.

We’ve had no time for anything more than passing, slightly awkward smiles.

Maybe less awkward than anticipatory. Who fucking knows where we go from here—who fucking knows when we’ll get the chance.

Maybe now Varsity’s done. There’s not much term time left, and a whole summer ahead of us. Me and Haz will be staying on at Hazelhurst, just like last year. Can’t see Tilda going back to her mum’s for the entire two months, if any at all.

Maybe we’ve been waiting for summer rather than spring after all.

But first I need to find the girl.

‘Why does she do this?’ Haz huffs. ‘How is it so hard for her to just stay fucking put?’

‘Leave off her,’ Elly defends. ‘She obviously thought she was off to meet Tommy. As was the plan.’

My eyes dart from person to person. I don’t see anyone in hockey gear. They’re all students just here for the party. Doubt any of them give a shit about the sports.

‘What fountain are we on about anyway?’ Elly asks.

‘It’s in the woods.’ Anxiety clamps my heart as I say that. I don’t want her in the woods alone, not today when everyone’s running a bit feral. Completely hypocritical after making her do just that the night I went too hard with Skylar. But whatever. She just better have her pepper spray on her.

With the castle looming in the distance, we step off the path into the forest. It’s immediately quieter here, like someone’s lowered the volume button. Before we’ve even reached it, I see the fountain’s devoid of anyone save the lonely, weathered statue of a naked woman, half her face broken away.

‘Cool,’ says Haz. ‘Now what?’

With a sigh, I take out my phone. ‘Let me ask the hockey chat.’

It buzzes with a message before I can do that.

I’m sorry it’s come to this, it reads, making me frown at the unknown number, but this is what happens when you ignore me, Nicole. Come alone, comply, and I won’t hurt her. We can keep this easy and simple. Damien

My heart beats with a force that makes me dizzy. My palm sweats around my phone, my chest tight and struggling to draw breath.

‘He’s got her,’ I force out.

There’s a pause before Haz barks, ‘What?’

‘Fucking Damien. He’s got her.’

‘Got her fucking where?!’

I stare at the coordinates following his message. Clicking on them takes me to a map.

‘The labyrinth.’ I run my eyes over the location, making sure, but it’s hard when my brain won’t focus. ‘He’s got her underground.’

My feet are moving before I’m thinking about it.

Beside me, Elly struggles to keep up. ‘Wait, you’re going there?’

‘Of course I’m going there!’

‘Well—shit, wait a minute.’ She pulls me until I stop. ‘Nic. Your cousin’s an absolute psycho, right?’

‘Well aware, Elly.’

‘So, maybe we should think a sec. Show us the message.’

I release an impatient breath, shoving my phone in their faces.

‘Okay. So, he won’t hurt her.’

Both Haz and I laugh. ‘He’ll do more than that, believe me.’

‘He just wants money.’ Elly’s still looking at my phone. ‘And he wants you to come alone.’

‘Fuck that,’ Haz spits. ‘No one’s going anywhere on their own.’ She growls, kicking a nearby tree. ‘Gonna fucking kill the fucker!’

Elly presses my phone back to me. ‘You should tell Tommy. Let him know. And your mates—Fina, Blakely. They sorted him last time, right? Call them.’

‘He said alone, Elly.’

‘No, I know, I just—’ She takes a breath, looking as on the verge of freaking out as me and Haz. ‘We don’t want this to get…messy. More people who know the better.’

She’s not entirely wrong. Tommy will want to know, Fina’s good at sourcing an underground sort of justice, and Blakely…well, she’s handy in any sort of situation that might require muscle.

‘Alright. But I’m going now, and I’m going alone. At least, he has to think that.’

Jesus, what is he doing with her? He’s not the easy and simple sort, and he’s certainly not the type to not hurt a girl at his disposal, especially one he’s using against me.

I swallow thickly as I wait for Tommy to pick up.

We’ve fucked up. We’ve fucked up so bad keeping her safe.

We should have gone to her after the match, we shouldn’t have let the past few distracting weeks lull us into a false sense of security.

I shouldn’t have been so wrapped up in the two of us.

Everything about us is just fucking doomed. Always has been.

‘Do you even have anything on you?’ Haz says.

I remove a blade from my pocket, the one I’ve kept on me since buying it from the Vaults. The irony of maybe having to use it to save Tilda isn’t lost on me. Haz glances at it, nodding in approval.

The call connects.

‘Tommy. I need you to do me a favour and track down some people.’