I threw my bag down on the bed I would be spending the next week on. Lewis and Theo followed suit with their respective beds in the room. "When you're all settled in, come get some food," Mrs. Jones called cherily from the kitchen.
"Okay, Mom," Theo called back gloomily. Lewis and I kept our mouths shut, knowing that commenting on our friend's mood would only make it worse.
Five years ago Theo's sister, Aubrey, disappeared during spring break. No one had any idea where she went, and the police stopped looking years ago. There was never any evidence of foul play. She had just, disappeared one night, never to be seen again. "A girl her age probably ran away," they'd said, despite everyone she knew saying otherwise.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones spent their time pretending they were fine. They still took trips to the family cabin every summer and talked about her periodically like she was still around, like she had just gone off to college or something. Theo, however, didn't pretend. It visibly killed him every time he was reminded that she was gone, and he was in a terrible mood every time he came up to this cabin.
Lewis and I knew why he still came here though. The last time anyone had seen Aubrey, she was staying here with a friend. He still came up here every year, hoping that, even after five years, he would find a clue as to where she went, and Lewis and I came here to give him support, every year.
Theo and I sat in silence at dinner while Lewis carried a happy conversation with Theo's parents. I kept looking up at Theo who was barely touching his food and looked like he was going to pass out in his plate. Poor guy was probably exhausted. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night before we arrived. He never did.
After we finished eating, I was in the kitchen cleaning my plate before looking out the window. "It's still pretty light outside," I said to Lewis who was looking around in the fridge for a soda of some kind. "You want to go out to the lake."
He eyed the setting sun then shrugged. "Sure. Why not? Want me to invite Theo?"
I thought back to his tired, defeated eyes and shook my head. "The dude's tired. He'll probably pass out the second he hits the mattress. Let him sleep."
Lewis nodded then ran back to the room while I made my way to my Jeep next to the Jones' car. "We're going to the lake," I called to Mrs. Jones. "We'll be back later."
"Okay. Be safe, dears," she said from the other room.
Lewis met me at my Jeep with the pistol his father had gifted him two years prior stuffed into the back of his pants. "Let's go, man," he said climbing into the passenger seat. I rolled my eyes then started the car. He had always been paranoid about bears.
We drove to the parking lot for the lake that unsurprisingly was empty, then got out and started walking around. "So, I heard a rumor last week," Lewis said coyly. "Please tell me that you weren't seduced by that slut Harla, especially after what she did to Theo."
I rolled my eyes. Harla was a girl I'd been going to school with since freshman year. She'd had me in her sights since day one and had begun dating Theo to make me jealous then dumped him when it became clear it wasn't working. "Absolutely not. She jumped me in study hall then started spreading rumors. You know that's all she's good at."
"Yeah, I know. I was just making sure," Lewis said nodding.
I froze mid strid when I stepped on a spot that sunk a little under my weight. I looked down at the sunken earth before all the ground gave way under my feet. Once I'd stopped sliding, I stood up and brushed the dirt off my pants. "Ethan man, you alright?" Lewis questioned above me.
"It's all good," I answered as I looked around at the hole I'd fallen into. Scratch that. Not hole. Tunnel. It extended quite a ways to where I couldn't even see the end. "Dude, come check this out," I said as I started walking down the tunnel.
