Of the Trees Read online

“You have to tell someone,” Cassie said. Her mouth felt dry, and the words came out haltingly. Laney’s stance shifted. Her muscles tightened, and she narrowed her eyes.

  “There’s nothing to tell. You told them already. Jude was with her. Corey, too. And if they want to pursue that lead, then fine.”

  “But they know how she died! They were there. They saw it,” Cassie said. She could hear the hysteria seeping into her voice. Paranoia firmed its grasp on her mind. She looked past her friend to the silent, swaying tree line. She imagined she could see figures weaving between the trees; dark, silent forms that stared and watched, waiting for Cassie to slip up. She took a step closer to Laney, closer to the house, feeling the eyes on her back.

  “They already know how she died,” Laney said softly. “Heart attack. I heard your mom tell mine.”

  “She was seventeen!”

  Laney shrugged, stepping forward. Cassie could see her eyes, light green, almost hazel, now glassy with emotion. “Exertion could bring that on. Drugs, if she did any. Maybe she had a mild defect and never knew about it. Or maybe it was all just an accident.” Her hand darted out, and she grabbed at Cassie’s arm, steering her to the porch steps to sit.

  Cassie felt suddenly lightheaded. It didn’t make sense. She couldn’t believe it. “But Jess played sports. We once played a double-header on a one-hundred-degree day. We were drenched and couldn’t even keep the ice in our water bottles. But she was fine. Pissed that Sara popped up that bunt and Michelle went down without swinging in the seventh inning, but physically fine. How could no one have known?”

  She shook her head. Laney sat next to her. The wind kicked up, a slow and steady rush across the stiff grass. It reminded her of the whispers and she winced, her brow wrinkling.

  She doesn’t see.

  Her muscles locked. Cassie cleared her throat and gave her head a little shake. No. Just the wind, just the grief. It wasn’t voices, not really. Not again.

  She almost believed that. Until Laney answered.

  “She does. Give her time,” she murmured. When Cassie looked up, stared at her friend in questioning fear, she only smiled. Laney stood. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Laney, wait,” Cassie called out. Laney turned, her back to the forest. The wind lifted her hair, gently, like it was playing with it. It floated in black tendrils, like seaweed suspended in salt water, around Laney’s pale face. “I will, won’t I? See you tomorrow? You’re not seeing him tonight, are you?”

  “I’ll be here tomorrow,” Laney said, but under her voice, around it, a low whispering chuckle intertwined with her words and Cassie felt afraid. A prickle of terror ran down her spine, and she stood quickly, blinking through the head rush. “Go inside, Cass. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Stay,” Cassie said, soft and insistent. “Stay here tonight.”

  Laney smiled, soft and tentative, already walking backward across the lawn. “I can’t tonight. But tomorrow. I’ll see you then.” She turned quickly, taking off in a run until she vanished around the corner of her house.

  Cassie turned and went through her front door, her head buzzing. Over the whispered insistence of the voices was the thought that Laney would be with them. She ran up to her room, yelling goodnight to her parents over her shoulder. They looked like they wanted to talk to her but she couldn’t, not yet. She shut her door behind her and crossed to the window. She just caught the sight of Laney disappearing into the woods behind her house, her fingers clasped in the hand that led her away.

  “Laney!” Cassie threw the window open and shouted across the still yard. Leaves blew over the dead grass and swirled up, and with them came her voice.

  “Don’t worry,” it whispered. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Cassie couldn’t help it. She called Laney’s house. Mrs. Blake answered the phone and confirmed. Laney wasn’t home.

  “She’s with Ryan and Jon, Cassie,” Mrs. Blake said. “How are you, sweetheart? Do you need anything?”

  Cassie thanked her with numb lips and hung up the phone. She scanned the dark expanse of Laney’s yard again, peering at the spot she had seen her friend disappear. Of course Laney would choose Ryan as her excuse. She couldn’t use Cassie, they weren’t speaking. And neither were Cassie and Ryan. The thought burned.

  Cassie’s head pounded, but her fingers punched out the words clumsily anyway. She texted Ryan, just to be sure, just to confirm that she wasn’t seeing things. It took him a moment to answer.

  Ryan: No, she’s not with me. Is she supposed to be?

  Cassie swallowed hard. She wasn’t imagining things. She wasn’t just hearing voices in her head. This was real. Laney was gone, into the woods with the … the men who knew what happened to Jessica, the men who could whisper on the wind.

  She answered Ryan briefly and put her phone down, knowing he wouldn’t text her again.

  She had no idea what to do next. Cassie had no real idea who Corey was, didn’t even know his last name. She thought briefly about digging around on the internet for St. Paul’s class list but dismissed it almost immediately. She knew he wasn’t a student.

  Cassie did consider trying to find out the name of the carnival company that Jude and Corey and Aidan all worked for. She wasn’t sure what she could do with that information. None of them were even with the carnival at the moment; they were all skulking around in the forest behind her house. Should she try to find them? And what then?

  Cassie could just imagine that scenario. Her crashing about the woods, not even sure where she was going, trying to stumble into a group of people she was convinced had hurt, if not killed, one of her friends just days before. What would she even do if she found them? Try and drag Laney away. Laney didn’t want to be away from them, and surely Corey wouldn’t want her dragged anywhere. That left Cassie. Alone. Except not alone at all, with Jude and Aidan there. With no Jessica to entertain Jude and knowing what she already knew about Aidan … Cassie shuddered and withdrew from the window. No. She would not go after Laney tonight. Cowardly it may be, but she couldn’t face them all alone.

  She whipped out her phone again, pulling up a text to Laney.

  Cassie: Text me every hour. I’m worried about you.

  She waited, staring at her phone until it buzzed softly in her hand.

  Laney: Yes, Mom

  Silence for a moment, then words popped up on her screen.

  Laney: I love you, too

  Cassie awoke the next morning confused, the scent of lavender assailing her. Her phone was still laying in her half open hand. Her eyes flew open, and she was faced with a swath of dark hair, splayed haphazardly on her pillow.

  “Laney?” she mumbled, the words coming out through a croak. Her friend grunted, flipping over in the bed. Her eyes were screwed shut, and she reached up with the back of her hand to scrub over them. “How did you get in here?”

  “The window,” Laney said, groaning at bit. “What time is it?”

  There was a dead leaf in her hair, and Cassie reached over to pluck it out. “No idea, early. When did you get here?”

  “Middle of the night,” she answered, yawning. “I told Mom I was coming here.”

  “No, you didn’t,” Cassie argued. “I called her. You told her you were with Ryan.”

  Laney’s eyes finally opened, and she smirked at Cassie. “Yeah, I know. Thanks for that. I meant later, I called when I knew I wouldn’t be home by curfew.”

  “Since when do you have a curfew?”

  “Since I got myself a boyfriend, apparently.”

  Cassie hummed, pulling her lip through her teeth. Laney squinted over at her, shifting uncomfortably.

  “You were asleep when I got in, snoring a bit. It’s okay, right?” she asked softly. Cassie frowned at her in confusion. “That I’m here, I mean. I know we—”

  “No, it’s fine,” Cassie said. She rustled under the covers, bringing her hands under her cheek as she watched her
friend. Laney glanced over at her, shooting her a quick, nervous smile in thanks. “So you were with Corey?”

  Laney hummed in acknowledgment. “You knew that, though,” she murmured. “That’s why you freaked out and called Mom and Ryan.”

  “I texted Ryan,” Cassie corrected as an afterthought.

  “He texted back though, right? He called me, wanted to make sure I was okay.”

  Cassie felt a small smile grow. Of course he did. Her stomach twisted, and she swallowed hard. “He texted me. Just to tell me you weren’t with him. He was probably worried about you, too.”

  “I think he was more worried about you,” Laney said. She flipped to her stomach, her cheek resting on the pillow as she watched her friend. “Do you love him?”

  Cassie stiffened, the heat of a blush overtaking her face. “What kind of thing is that to ask?”

  “A normal thing! The other night, in the clearing, you and Aidan.” Cassie felt all the air leave her lungs, the sensation of her skin crawling making her shift in discomfort. “I’ve seen the picture.”

  “Who hasn’t?” Cassie said.

  “It looked intense.”

  “Like you and Corey?” Cassie asked, studying her friend’s face. She stared back evenly, agreeing with a small tilt of her head.

  “Yes, like that.”

  “Something’s not right with him, Laney,” Cassie whispered, almost afraid of her friend’s reaction. To her surprise, a sly grin overtook her features.

  “I know.”

  “He’s dangerous,” Cassie pressed. Laney let out a soft laugh.

  “No, he’s not,” Laney insisted softly. “Not to me. And not to you.”

  “Jess—”

  Laney shook her head, cutting her off. “Cassie, you don’t understand what happened that night, I promise you that.”

  “That I know,” Cassie said, chewing on her lower lip. “But you do?”

  “Maybe. I could show you if you trusted me,” Laney said, her voice soft. Cassie opened her mouth to respond, intent on telling her friend she should be talking to the police, explaining it to them, but Laney cut her off with a look. “With Corey, it is intense, almost overwhelming. It takes me over. It looked like that was happening for you, too. With Aidan.”

  Cassie swallowed hard and flipped to her back. Her ceiling was flat and white and allowed her thoughts no place to hide. She huffed, knowing her friend wouldn’t tell her anything about what happened to Jessica until she was ready. “It was. But, I didn’t like it. It was too much, too fast.”

  “And you love Ryan.”

  “I didn’t say that,” Cassie murmured, though a delicious and terrible thrill coursed through her at the thought. “But it’s not like it matters anyway.”

  “So if it were between Aidan and Ryan?” Laney asked leadingly. Cassie shrugged, burrowing further under her covers. She was suddenly warm, flushed all over, the image of Ryan hovering over her, her back pressed to the sharp bark of a tree filled her mind. “He’s going hiking today. He mentioned it to me.”

  Disappointment and longing warred in her chest. Her stomach caved at the thought that he would be highlighting that map and her feet wouldn’t have followed the line. They had completed every mile together so far. She felt a surge of disappointed anger. It wasn’t right that he should get to finish alone. It was their thing. They did it together. Every path and step had been taken with each other.

  Cassie cleared her throat, hiding her anguish from her friend. “Ryan is?” she asked stupidly. To her surprise, Laney laughed.

  “Well, yes, though Aidan is too, I suppose.” She grinned over at Cassie. “I was going to meet them. But I wanted to spend the morning with you.”

  Cassie let out a snort of a laugh. “Doing what?”

  Laney shrugged, smiling sadly. “Anything. It’s been a while. And, you just never know, right?”

  “Never know what?”

  “How long any of us has.”

  Cassie swallowed hard, images of Jessica flashing through her mind. She reached out and grabbed at Laney’s hand, squeezing hard. “I’m glad you came over last night.”

  Laney squeezed back. “Me, too.”

  “Will you tell me what you think happened to Jess?”

  Laney paused, her mouth opening and closing reflexively. “I want you to think about it today, think about if you really want to know. Because once you do, you can’t not know it.”

  “Of course I—” Cassie cut off when Laney tightened her grip on her fingers.

  “Think about Ryan. And Aidan. Think about how you feel and what you want. Me and Aidan, or not knowing and Ryan.”

  “I have to lump you with Aidan?” Cassie asked. Laney smiled sadly.

  “Well, double-dating would be easier.” Cassie laughed weakly at Laney’s poor attempt at a joke. The girls settled in bed again, laying quietly with their thoughts as the rest of the world started to rouse.

  Cassie and Laney spent the morning doing the most mundane things. They ate cereal and watched cartoons, laughing and dribbling milk at the absurdity of the shows they used to enjoy together as kids. They baked a peanut butter pie, for no other reason other than Laney had always wanted to. It turned out horribly; Laney read out the wrong amount of salt and told Cassie to add a cup and a half instead of a tablespoon and a half. Cassie had blamed her for reading the recipe wrong, and Laney had laughed and said that, no it was Cassie’s fault because what recipe ever called for a cup and a half of salt? Her mother had walked into the kitchen as the girls were spitting salty peanut butter pie into the sink and laughed at them, telling them they were both idiots. They just shrugged and accepted it.

  Cassie had texted Rebecca after breakfast, asking if she wanted to come over for the day, but she declined. Her family was going to go away again, probably trying to get a break from the pall of the death that hung over their town. Cassie wished her a good time and said she’d see her Monday.

  “How’s she doing?” Laney murmured, watching Cassie type out her responses. Cassie shrugged.

  “Not great.”

  Laney didn’t say anything else about Ryan or Aidan or the carnies. For the moment, Cassie was happy to let it lie. Part of her craved the regression, the sinking into childhood worries with Laney. They argued over what to eat for lunch and which show to watch. They sprawled out on her couch, Laney’s feet squirming into her side and pushing her into the corner until she had taken over the entire thing. She laughed when Cassie pointed that out to her, supremely unconcerned.

  It wasn’t until the afternoon that Laney mentioned she would be leaving soon to meet up with Corey. She looked to Cassie in speculative consideration. “Are you coming?”

  “To meet up with Corey and Aidan?” Cassie asked, stuttering a bit over his name.

  “To learn the truth, know what happened.”

  “It’s not safe.”

  “I promise you, you will be,” Laney answered. Cassie believed her.

  The police tape still fluttered in the breeze that kicked through the trees. The cemetery was silent and still. Cassie had agreed to come with her, to follow Laney back into the woods, but it now felt idiotic. They should have the police with them. What use was knowing the truth if no one would believe her anyway?

  “This is a terrible idea.” It came out as a whisper, but it should have been a shout. Laney shifted forward, pushing the bramble to the side. It whipped back toward Cassie, her hands didn’t catch it in time.

  The forest was dead, more silent than she could ever remember. There was no skittering of random insects on the decayed forest floor, no animals shuffling through the fallen leaves. Birds flew silent or not at all. It felt as though winter had come early, autumn forgotten or canceled altogether.

  And the deeper into the woods they went, the worse it got.

  “Not far now,” Laney murmured. Her tone was soft and low, and Cassie wasn’t sure she was even meant to have heard. Laney had told her she could come,
told her she would explain, but now barely registered her existence. Cassie sped up, paced closer to her friend until she could reach out and grab her. Her fingers closed, soft and warm, around her friend’s wrist. Laney’s reaction was immediate; she drew back, spun and stared at Cassie as though she had burned her, her eyes fierce and unrecognizable in their intensity. It made Cassie stop too, drag a deep breath as she looked into the stare that she had known forever and now couldn’t recognize.

  “We’re almost there,” Laney said, her tone monochromatic, flat. The change from just hours ago, laughing and playing in her living room, to now, was frightening. Her fanatical gaze pierced Cassie to the spot.

  The woods were silent around her, oppressive, like she was standing in a vacuum, sucked deeper and deeper by the chasm of Laney’s stare.

  “We should go back,” Cassie whispered. “Something isn’t right here. I can feel it.”

  Her words sparked an excitement in her friend, she could see the fire light in her eyes.

  “I know,” Laney hissed in a soft, low tone. “This way,” she said, breaking away from Cassie and darting through a cluster of oaks.

  Laney made it to the circle before Cassie could catch her again. It was empty. Cassie stepped inside the clearing just as Laney spun in the middle, her arms outstretched to the sky.

  Sunlight streamed clear and cold through the opening in the forest, the same opening that had been filled with harsh laughter and empty beer bottles. The ground dipped, just as Cassie remembered, and roots sprung up through the circle. She didn’t understand how the police hadn’t found it. It wasn’t that far from the cemetery. It was just where everyone said it was.

  As uncomfortable as Cassie had been that night, she was even more so now. It made no sense. Now, here, alone with just Laney, there was no threat. There were no men twice her age, no drunkenness, no leering. And yet …

  She felt something, something like ice prickling at her spine. She felt watched.