She made it out to the edge of the shore, past the trees, so she could have a clear view of the coastline all the way down to the cove. Daniel came up behind her and pointed to a blob of black a ways down.

“What’s that?” he asked, but Harper didn’t wait to answer.

She went so fast she tripped on the rocks a few times and fell once, tearing open her knee. Daniel followed her as quickly as he could, but he moved at a more cautious pace.

When she was close enough that she could tell for sure, Harper started calling out Gemma’s name. She could see it was her sister, lying on her back and tangled in something that resembled a gold fishing net. But Gemma didn’t respond.

TEN

Hangover

“Gemma!” Harper screamed and collapsed next to her sister, ignoring the rocks stinging her skin. “Gemma, wake up!”

“Is she alive?” Daniel asked, standing behind Harper and staring down at Gemma.

It really didn’t look good. Gemma’s skin was drained of color, so she looked almost blue. Bruises and scratches covered her arms, and blood had dried on her temple. Her lips were chapped and dry, and seaweed entangled her hair.

And then, even though Harper didn’t really think she would, Gemma groaned and turned her head to the side.

“Gemma.” Harper brushed back the hair from Gemma’s forehead, and her eyes fluttered open.

“Harper?” Gemma asked, her voice coming out in a croak.

“Oh, thank God.” Harper let out a deep breath, and relieved tears filled her eyes. “What happened to you?”

“I don’t know.”

Wincing as she moved, Gemma tried to stand, but the rocks were too uneven. When she started to stumble, Daniel put his arm underneath her legs and scooped her up. Gemma shifted and tried to hang on to him for support, but her arms were too tangled up in the mesh wrapped around her.

“Let’s get her back to the car,” Harper suggested, and Daniel nodded.

Once the realization that Gemma was alive had settled in, Harper wanted to sob and scream at her. But Gemma still seemed so weak and out of it that she didn’t want to interrogate her.

Harper had parked as close as she could get, which meant that she’d parked on the unruly beach grass lining the shore. Daniel set Gemma down on her feet once they got to the car, and she managed to stand up on her own. The mesh was pretty tangled around her, and Harper and Daniel intervened to help her get it off.

“What is this?” Harper asked. “Did you get caught in a fishermen’s net? Is that what happened to you?”

“This isn’t a net.” Daniel shook his head. Once they’d gotten Gemma free from it, he ran it through his hands, admiring the strange texture of it. “At least not any net I’ve ever seen.”

“No, it’s not a net.” Gemma put her hand on the car to steady herself and leaned against it. “It’s a shawl or something.”

“A shawl?” Harper asked. “Where did you get a shawl?”

Gemma grimaced, hesitating before she reluctantly admitted, “Penn.”

“Penn?” Harper was nearly shrieking. “What the hell were you doing with Penn?”

“You really should stay away from those girls,” Daniel said solemnly. “They are … there’s something off about them.”

“Believe me, I know,” Gemma muttered.

“So what were you doing with them?” Harper asked. “What did you do last night?”

“Can we talk about this later, please?” Gemma begged. “My head is pounding. My body hurts all over. And I’m so thirsty, it’s unbelievable.”

“Do you need to go to the hospital?” Harper asked.

Gemma shook her head. “No, I just need to go home.”

“If you’re fine, then you’re going to tell me what’s going on.” Harper crossed her arms over her chest.

“I was out swimming last night, and…” Gemma trailed off and stared at the sun rising over the bay, as if trying to remember exactly what had happened last night. “I went out to the cove, and Penn, Lexi, and Thea were … partying out there.”

“They were partying?” Harper asked, and now she was totally gobsmacked. “You partied with those girls last night?”

“Yeah,” Gemma answered uncertainly. “I mean, yes. I think.”

“You think?” Harper shook her head.

“Yeah, they invited me to join them, and I just had one drink. But it must’ve been really strong. It was only one drink, I swear.”

“You drank?” Harper’s eyes widened. “Gemma! You can get kicked off the swim team for that. And you have practice in an hour, which you clearly can’t handle today. What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t!” Gemma yelled. “I honestly don’t know what I was thinking! I have no idea how any of it happened last night. I remember having one drink, and then I woke up on the rocks. I don’t know what happened, and I’m sorry.”

“Get in the car,” Harper said through clenched teeth, too pissed off to even yell.

“I really am sorry,” Gemma repeated.

“Get in the car!” Harper shouted, and Daniel flinched.

“Thanks for … helping,” Gemma mumbled to Daniel and stared down at her feet.

“No problem,” he said. She tried to open the car door and almost fell over, so he went over and held it open for her. “Get some rest and drink plenty of fluids. Hangovers are a bitch, but you’ll survive.”