The sound came again, louder this time, making them all pause and turn.
“Walk faster,” Lilia urged, her eyes darting around the dark forest.
Finally, the outline of the cabin emerged through trees. It was a small, weather-beaten structure, its wooden exterior aged and worn. The place looked abandoned, the overgrown weeds crawling up the walls and windows that hadn’t been cleaned in years.
“There’s no way this is it,” Sebastian frowned. His skepticism is apparent.
“This is the address,” Augustus replied, though he seemed a bit unsure himself. The cabin was not what they were expecting—more of a shack than a hideout.
The door creaked open as they stepped inside. The air was stale, carrying the scent of damp wood and neglect. They spread out, each quietly searching through the cabin, their breaths visible in the cool air.
Eleanor made her way to a small dresser in the corner of the room. As she rummaged through the drawers, she found a bundle of clothes—Willow’s clothes. Eleanor’s hands trembled as she picked up the familiar sweater. “Guys,” she called out, her voice barely above a whisper. “Come look at this.”
The others gathered around her, their eyes widening as they recognized the clothing.
“She was here then,” Augustus murmured, grabbing another article of clothing.
Eleanor continued shuffling through the drawers. She opened another and found a stack of photographs. She flipped through them—most were nature shots. Miscellaneous things here and there. As she flipped through another album, one photo, in particular, caught her attention. It was of Professor Jameson, standing beside a woman in front of the very cabin they were in.
“Is that . . . ” Eleanor’s voice trailed off in shock.
“Jameson. That’s Professor Jameson,” Lilia confirmed, her eyes narrowing.
“No, that doesn’t make sense. He’s married or something, isn’t he?” Augustus asked, his mind struggling to piece together the new information.
“It’s not exactly the oddest thing in the world for a married man to cheat on his wife,” Sebastian said dryly.
“So what—Jameson is the mystery older guy?” Delilah shook her head. “That makes no sense.”
“It makes enough sense. Willow was always talking about him—always looking forward to his class,” Lilia added.
“So? She was addicted to school, so what? That doesn’t mean she was in a relationship with Jameson.”
“Willow bragged about everything. There’s no way she would’ve kept this a secret from us—the three of us, at least.” Eleanor gestured to the other girls.
“Willow had her secrets, though. I can’t even be surprised that she kept it a secret. It seemed like she knew everything there was to know about us, but we knew nothing about her at all. She was basically a ghost,” Lilia added.
“She had three classes with him last semester,” Augustus remembered.
“She probably wanted to be able to see him as much as she could. It would’ve been hard to do that out in public. It would’veruined her reputation.” Sebastian ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. “This is fucked.”
“How could she just cheat on you like that, like it meant nothing? It’s disgusting.” Delilah scoffed.
Augustus and Lilia shared a glance.
“People do horrible things, Delilah. We’re not exactly the ones to judge anyone who their mistakes,” Sebastian murmured, his eyes scanning the photo album.
“Sometimes, I think the world we imagine is kinder than the one we live in. But then the edges blur, and I can’t tell which one I’m standing in anymore.” Eleanor ran a tired hand down her face. “The more I find out about her, the more I think I hate her.”
“Same,” they all replied in unison.
“I can’t believe we were friends with her,” Delilah whispered.
“She made us feel important. Spouting lies about our status, and how much we needed her. Her family, her money—everything about her drew us in. We played her game because it guaranteed us a place in this world. We’re no better than she was; at least she was open about it.”
Sebastian’s words hung in the air.
They were no better than her.
