“I’m not sure. I’m so cold, I don’t know whether it’s because I am wet or just cold.”

“Your ribs, do they hurt when you breathe?”

Clare nodded.

“Worse now than earlier?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps. It’s just that it’s so tiring to walk when I can’t breathe easily or put any weight on my knee. It’s hard to pinpoint which is worse.”

“I understand. But the pain—around your ribs—is it concentrated in one place or spread wider over your chest?”

“Mostly on the side.” Clare looked at her. “Why? What does it mean?”

“I don’t know. I just wondered.”

They moved slowly towards the trees, quiet for a moment.

“You brought your daypack,” said Clare. “I wish I’d been as smart.”

“You didn’t think you’d need it.”

“Did you?”

Faye remembered about how angry she’d been as she’d thrown handfuls of energy bars and crackers, packets of nuts and two oranges into her bag. Since finding Clare, she’d not thought about the notebook. Of course, she’d thought of little else up until that point, reciting countless variations of what she’d say to Clare when they met. Things like, “So, you and Derek, huh? How long has that been going on? I hope he at least waited until you were of legal age?” and “Are you crazy, Clare? You deserve much better.”

Now, with the girl’s bony arm across her shoulders, Faye felt nothing but numbness about Derek. She’d known, even as she marched away from the cabin fantasising about the ruthlessness she’d mete out once she found Clare, that if she and Derek were secretly involved, it was not because the girl had initiated it. She wondered how Derek had played her and why he’d done it. Was it because he couldn’t have Michelle?

Derek had told Faye about Michelle on their first date. He’d invited her to a movie and they’d gone for milkshakes afterwards.

“So, you’re doing a business degree? Accountancy?” he asked.

She nodded.

“And you’re taking economics, right?”

“Yes.”

“You must know my ex-girlfriend? Michelle Lowe?”

“No, I don’t think I do. Is she also doing business?”

“No. Law. But she has to do economics this semester.”

“It’s a large class. Her name doesn’t ring a bell.”

Derek wouldn’t leave it. “Long blonde hair? Wears it with a fringe?”

“No. Sorry.”

“Often wears denim shorts and probably sits in the back of the room. You can’t miss her laugh. She doesn’t seem to pay attention to what’s being taught but afterwards you discover she didn’t miss a word.”

Faye swirled the milkshake with her straw. “I’m really sorry, Derek, but I don’t know your girlfriend. I mean, ex-girlfriend.”

He cackled. “Ex-girlfriend, please!”