FIVE
THE SONG OF SNEAKING AWAY
ALEX
The higher weclimbed the mountain, the louder our footsteps echoed off the stone. After only a ten-minute hike, we squeezed through a narrow passageway between two boulders. Sebastian took the lead, moving with ease along a path that didn’t look like a path at all.
“It’s right up here,” he said, placing his hands on top of the rocks and pushing down on them to heave himself up like he was climbing out of a pool. He swung his right foot up, almost kicking me in the face.
I leaned back, keeping my eyes on his legs just in case, when he landed on the rock with his feet at an angle. His butt was right in front of me, and in the position we were in, I couldn’t help but notice his bulge. It was just for a split second. I hadn’t even meant to look. I just did—and lost my grip on the boulder and my footing because of it. Luckily, I caught myself right away.
Kneeling on the plateau, Sebastian spun around, his hands reaching for me. “Everything okay?”
“It’s just… my headache’s still throbbing a little,” I fibbed. “It’ll be fine in a minute.”
He held his hand out, and after a moment of hesitation, I took it. I braced my foot against the boulder on the right andpushed myself up as he pulled. As soon as my knees made it onto the plateau, though, I lost my balance. I tumbled forward, trying to angle myself to the left, so I wouldn’t bury Sebastian under me. The hard ground caught my fall. My hands scraped across the stone. Only my legs ended up on his. The shock made us both freeze.
Sebastian’s hands went straight to my shoulders, holding me in place. “Careful. Not that you roll off the cliff.”
“That would be hard to explain, right?”
He glanced at our tangled legs, then back at me with a grin. “I swear, I didn’t bring you up here to kill you.”
I pulled my feet off him and scooted a few inches away, careful to keep a safe distance from the cliff. “Admit it, you want your room back.”
“I’d throwmyselfoff the cliff before that would happen.”
“No. Don’t do that. Who am I supposed to talk to for the rest of the evening, then? I won’t survive any more conversations about potato salad.”
Sebastian chuckled. He crawled over to another boulder on the left that fenced off the plateau and leaned against the stone. I shifted over to the space next to him, making myself comfortable, and took in the view of the valley before us. The setting sun bathed the treetops and buildings of Seastone in bright red, while painting the mountains on the opposite side of town a striking orange against the blue sky. Three eagles cried overhead, riding the wind and disappearing into the forest as quickly as they had appeared. I leaned forward, trying to catch a glimpse of the Draper residence, but trees and rock formations completely blocked it from view. Only the sound of a cow mooing made it all the way up here.
“Wow, it’s deadly but beautiful,” I said. “How did you find this place?”
“I’ve lived here for nineteen years. That’s more than enough time to get to know every nook and cranny.” He angled his left foot and rested his arm on his knee. “It was also my favorite spot when I wanted to be alone.”
“Understandable.” It was close by, fairly easy to reach if you were nimble, and the view was nothing short of stunning. “I only knew about the other overlook everyone callsthe make-out spot.” I pointed to the small brown patch between the trees on the opposite side of the valley. It sat right between the only local grocery store on the right and the closed hotel on the left. From this perspective, you’d think they were only a few feet apart, but I knew from experience that walking back and forth between them took forever.
“Everyone knowsthe make-out spot.” He leaned his head against the stone and smirked at me. “Who’d you bring?”
“Oh, I didn’t bring anyone. Nothing like that.” I waved it off. “It’s a long story.”
“One for when we’re drunk?”
“Well, no. This one’s not a secret, although itisa bit crazy.”
“I like crazy.”
“Yeah, but, like…crazy-crazy.”
“You don’t have to sell me on it. Go on!”
He tapped his left hand against my thigh. It lingered for only a second before he withdrew it, but I could still feel his touch after it was gone.
“Don’t complain that I didn’t warn you.” I adjusted my seat and stared at the spot on my leg where his hand had been a second earlier. “I was part of an elaborate prank for two friends. They’re both horror-movie freaks, and, long story short, I played a serial killer chasing them through the woods.
“No way.”
“I wore a fake mask and everything. You wouldn’t have known it was me underneath. Wait.” I fumbled my phone out ofmy pocket and pulled up a photo. I was in a bathroom, wearing a theater mask of an old, wrinkled man with long white hair and a black bomber jacket. “It took us weeks to prepare everything.”
