Lola

25

Cam

So, that's it. Dani is gone. I need to find my friends - they'll understand. This letter could be the key to unlocking Lola's thoughts, and we just need to work together to decipher it.

Maybe Lola wrote more that we haven't seen - yes! A secret letter addressed only to Dani and Cam. I know that Lola was talking about me in that note - I know she was. She must have left that letter there for everyone, and hidden her real letter to Dani and I somewhere secret where only we would find it. She must have. That's just the sort of trickery that Lola used to get up to.

If I find it, Dani might come back to me. She'll realise I was right to keep looking and she'll be sorry. She'll be sorry she doubted me and sorry she left me and sorry that we stopped being a team. Yes. That's what I have to do. I have to find the secret letter.

I find myself hurrying down the path at something close to a run when I see my friends. They're sitting under our usual tree on the lawn, murmuring quietly through forlorn expressions. Kel's face is scrunched into a frown. Mara turns as I approach, he eyes filled with worry. "Hey, Cam. I'm guessing you saw Jacob's post."

"Yeah, only just now."

She moves over to make room for me in the circle. "We're so sorry, Cam. We know you were hoping that she didn't really do it, but at least we know for sure now."

Kel nods. "Yeah. It's shitty, but it's nice to know that she really did care about you and Dani and that we don't have to keep scrambling for clues anymore."

Zig claps me on the shoulder. "We're here for you, brother. We're gonna do anything we can to help you move on and be happy again."

Their voices blend together in my head to make an indecipherable racket. They don't get it. "Stop!"

Kel cocks her head to the side. "Okay?"

"I can't stop looking now. There's more to it, I know there is. And, I need your help."

Zig shakes his head slowly. "Cam, I don't think this is doing any good. We know what happened to Lola now, and she'd want you to move on and be happy."

I feel my hands clenching into fists. "You don't know what she'd want! There's another letter, I know there is."

Mara eyes me worriedly. "Cam, what do you mean? There's no other letter. Jacob only posted that one from Lola's laptop."

"Exactly. He only posted that one, because Lola left it there for everyone to see. She would have hidden the real letter for Dani and I somewhere that only we would find it."

Kel looks confused. "Wait. So you and Dani found another letter?"

"No. Not yet. But I'm going to. Dani doesn't want to help, but I know you guys will. It's hidden somewhere and I just have to find it and then Dani will finally believe me and we'll finally have all the answers. You'll help, right Kel?"

"Hang on a second, I'm not following. So, if you haven't found a secret letter, how do you know there is one?"

"I just do. It's what Lola would have done. It's just like her, and she would have wanted me to have the answers. Me and Dani. D and C. Dani thinks see is for Caitlyn, but it's not. It's for me and she'll believe me when I find the secret letter."

Unusually, Kel seems to be lost for words. "Uh, okay."

Mara coughs faintly. "Cam, if Lola didn't indicate that she wanted you to find a letter then it's likely that there isn't one."

"Or, she just didn't get a chance to tell me. She had news for me, remember? And she wanted Dani's help. She must have wanted to tell us about the letter and how to find it!"