You alright? It was Betty.

He sighed and wanted to ignore it, but also didn’t want Betty to send out a search party. No.

It’s okay, Archer. Everyone can see
that Caleb was clearly the shitty
person here. We’re all super pissed
at him.

Well, Mateo is pissed at me.

He’ll be okay once he has time to
process it.

That’s what you said about Caleb. Now
they both hate me.

Three dots, then no reply. Archer waited. Betty couldn’t argue with that. Then she started typing again. Please come back. It’s late. Get some sleep and we can sort it out in the morning.

I’ll be back soon. I just need a bit more
time.

Promise?

Promise.

The moon crept above the hills, so distant and tranquil, while words careened through his head. Angry words for Caleb. Ugly, furious words. And words for Mateo—anything for his forgiveness. Pathetic words. Inadequate words. When he ran out of words, he could do nothing but trudge back down the mountain.

Archer woke up Sunday morning after a few scant hours of shut-eye, remembered everything that had happened, then buried his head under his pillow and fell back asleep. The next time his eyes cracked open, it was Sunday afternoon. He ignored Betty’s texts, other than to let her know he was alive and safe in his bed. But he did stare at his phone a long while still, all those goddamn words back and crashing around in his head.

I’m so sorry, Mateo.

It’s all my fault. How can I make it up to you?

I never should have said anything to Caleb. I don’t blame you for being angry.

Please don’t hate me.

He finally sent a message around three o’clock, heart pounding as he typed. Mateo, I want you to know how sorry I am. I shouldn’t have told Caleb anything. He was saying all this stuff that wasn’t true and I only wanted to explain. I realize now that I totally fucked up. I’m so, so sorry.

There was no reply.

Archer didn’t leave his room the entire day, except to use the bathroom, surviving on water, granola bars, and a bruised apple from his bag. Some silly phone games and a few YouTube rabbit holes kept him at least a little distracted. Ben and Beau tried unsuccessfully to engage him in conversation—they reported that Mateo and Caleb appeared to be hiding in their rooms all day, too—and otherwise let him be.