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Petra put a hand on her shoulder. “Sweetie, sometimes I like to think that Heathcliff is waiting for me at Thrushcross Grange in tight breeches and leather boots. Doesn’t make it true.”
“Weren’t you wearing a purity ring when we got here? Aren’t you supposed to be saving yourself?” Shanti asked.
“Yeah,” Mary Lou answered. “And then I thought, for what? You save leftovers. My sex is not a leftover, and it is not a Christmas present.”
“See, now I don’t know whether to be all ‘Yay!’ because you’re empowered or sad because you’re having delusional almost-sex with an imaginary boyfriend,” Adina said.
“If you were my best friend, you’d trust me.”
Adina took a step back. She’d never been anybody’s best friend before.
“Okay, Mary Lou, I got your back. Show us.”
The girls trekked through the jungle over the path Mary Lou had traveled each night. They passed the waterfall and lagoon where she and Tane had gone swimming and she showed them the broken hammock trap where Tane had freed her when she was stuck.
“He held me by one hand!”
Finally, she reached the cove and the caves where Tane had held her sweetly, where he’d kissed her and helped her come to understand that there was no shame in her body or her desires. Tane’s boat was nowhere in sight. She didn’t see his lantern or bedroll. There wasn’t even evidence of a fire. It was as if he’d never existed.
“I don’t understand. He was here. This was his camp. He left his things because he was coming back.”
“Okaaay,” Shanti said. She widened her eyes at Petra, who nodded knowingly.
“I know you don’t believe me, but I’m telling the truth. Something must have happened to him. He would never just go off without telling me.”
“I get so mad when my imaginary boyfriend does that,” Miss Ohio snarked.
“Stop it!” Mary Lou growled.
“Okay, down, Cujo. Let me get this straight: You met some hot guy and your priority was getting down with him, not rescuing us?” Miss Ohio said.
Mary Lou’s cheeks reddened. “He only had his small boat. He promised to come back for us. Adina — help me out. You have to believe me.”
Adina shrugged. “I really want to, ML, but …”
The wind picked up sharply and clouds rolled in.
“Looks like we’re about to get a heck of a storm,” Nicole said.
High winds whipped through the trees, shaking free leaves and fruit. The air had the iron-tang smell of coming rain. The first time a storm had blown through, the girls had been at its mercy. This time, they were prepared. They headed back to camp immediately.
“Stations,” Shanti yelled once they got there, and the girls threw their supplies into the evening gown hammocks. Using a pulley system of airplane seat belts, they hoisted the hammock-bags high into the trees, free from the surging tide.
“Higher ground, y’all!” Tiara shouted. The girls fell in behind her as she led them up into the hills.
“What about Taylor?” Nicole asked.
“She’s protected where she is,” Adina answered. “Let’s get moving.”
Rain lashed their faces, but the girls kept climbing. When they reached the top of the hill they’d named Mount Awesome, Nicole pointed to the ocean.
“Hey, do you see that?”
“Ship!” Mary Lou shouted. “Ship!”
The girls screeched and hugged. Oh, salvation at last!37
“Come on!” Petra raced down the hill toward the shore.
