The next hour was spent locked in the bedroom of Atreus' cabin talking to both Mia and Layla’s parents. Through painful apologies, Layla did her best to assure them of her safety. It took even more explaining to Mia; she had to lie to her friend once again about her situation.

The only believable lie she could come up with is that she lost her phone and spent a few days without any service or means to contact people because she took a last-minute trip with Atreus to a remote ...