A row of faces looked back at her blankly.
“What if one of us had decided we didn’t want to come…or we couldn’t make it? Bates’s plan would have been ruined.”
“Good point,” Ellis added. “What are the odds that all of us wouldaccept the invitation—that we’d all be free this exact weekend?” Ellis was talking fast now. “I wasn’t going to come. I had a game on Sunday night, but it was canceled the night before the trip.”
“Jax and I were going to skip the trip too,” Jade chimed in. “All my college friends were throwing this awesome party in the hills. I’m, like, not even kidding you, this super cool DJ was set to play. Isowanted to go.”
“Yeah, but then I got this DM…but I’m not supposed to talk about it,” Jax said with a faux-humble smile. “You know, non-disclosure and all that,” he added mysteriously.
Jade paused for a respectable five seconds before adding, “Let’s just saysomeone’sPA reached out and said thatsomeonethought this whole trip would make a cool story, seeing as how it’s on the anniversary of the fire and all. And thatsomeonemight be interested in having Jax and me on their show to do an exclusive when we got back. But don’t share that, okay?”
“Yeah. You don’t say no tosomeone, right?” Jax added emphatically as if this was a no-brainer. Jade nodded enthusiastically and slipped a hand into Jax’s back pocket, pulling him close.
“If it was a DM, how do you know they were reallysomeone’sPA?” Raya asked, one pierced eyebrow raised archly.
“Because she told us—duh,” Jax said as though he was stating the obvious.
“Well, then, it must be true,” Ellis said, rolling his eyes. Raya coughed pointedly. “Okay, moving on. What about the rest of you?” Ellis looked around. There was a tight knot developing in Ana’s gut. “Alex?”
Alex looked embarrassed.
“Someone called my abuela about it.” He blushed awkwardly. “They told her I’d won this special trip, and it was the chance of a lifetime.We’ve never been on a vacation, so she was really happy about it. I had to go…for her.”
The thought of Bates calling sweet old Mrs. Cabrera to manipulate her into sending Alex was sickening. It was a violation. Bates had reached into each of their lives, poking around and stirring. The knot in Ana’s stomach was getting bigger by the minute.
“Caden, what about you?”
“None of your business,” Caden said grumbling.
“It’s kind of our business, don’t you think?” Ellis said.
Caden shuffled from foot to foot awkwardly. He seemed to be weighing up his options. Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke.
“This sophomore on the cheer team DM’d me and said she was going on the trip too. Wasn’t gonna say no to that. She’s a solid ten. But then she never showed, did she.”
“Ever heard of catfishing?” Raya said drily.
Ana felt her face go red. It would be her turn soon. Everyone would turn to her and ask her why she was here—how had Bates manipulated her into coming? Why had she started this whole conversation? She should have just kept her damn mouth shut.
“I got an email from Dankman saying I would be excused from all detentions this month for showing ‘school spirit’ if I came. Seemed like a good deal.” Raya grinned, but her eyes were on Ana.
Everyone turned to look at Ana. The final piece. Positive proof that they had all been lured here by some crazed psychopath (or very well-organized YouTuber). She chewed her lip nervously. The knot in her stomach was so big now she felt like she might vomit.
She could just lie. She could make up a story.My mom got a call, orthe school said I had to come. But what good would that do?
The truth was, she was the outlier—the only one who hadn’t beenmanipulated into coming on this trip. She hadn’t needed manipulation. She’d come voluntarily to the Motel Loba, not because she wanted to—it was quite possibly the last thing she wanted to do. But she’d come because she had to.
She had to get away. Now—on this day. She couldn’t be at home, staring at the blue sheets across the room, the white trainers lined up underneath, the Lakers hat over the bedpost. Untouched, unmoved. She couldn’t walk into the kitchen and see her mother at the stove, look her in the eyes and see that expression. That pain. That resentment. She couldn’t feel that roaring, devastating guilt. The shame of knowing that the universe was upside down. That it had made a huge, terrible mistake. That she was bad, and Danny was good.That she should have died.
No one made her come. She was grateful for an excuse to run away from everything for a few days. There was never a question of whether she’d say yes to this trip. She had no choice.
The thing was, Bates hadn’t even tried to force her hand. He hadn’t set some story in place to ensure that she would be here. She was the only one who hadn’t been lured into this terrible trap.
Which could only mean one thing: Bates knew she’d come. With complete certainty, he knew. In two steps she made it to the door, swung it open, and ran outside, giving in to the knot, to the nausea.
Bates knew her. Whoever he was, he knew what she’d done; he knew what she was thinking. He was in her head.
He was in her head.
