“Hey, Maddie.” He looks disappointed when he notices my backpack. “Where you goin’?”
“My cousin is dragging us back into the jungle.” As if I’m not thrilled to be escaping Benard and his girlfriend.
“Cool. Can I come? It’s just that ...” He looks really young and needy. Even for fifteen.
“Yeah,” I say, still mired in my own drama. “Wait, what?”
“I’ll grab my stuff and meet you back here.” Luke takes off down the beach at a jog before I’ve even figured out what I just agreed to.
“Wait, Luke! I—”Damn it.
The porter and his donkey have arrived with the rest of our luggage, so I grab my backpack and meet Genesisin front of the restaurant. Domenica, Ryan’s new Peruvian friend, has packed up her tent to join us, and Holden has invited most of the bros and some old guy I can only assume is the source of their supply.
Our group has doubled in size.
“Who’s your new man?” Genesis asks with a grin, and I turn to see that Luke is already awkwardly running toward us in the sand, as if he’s afraid we’ll leave without him. Suddenly I’m very aware of how pale and skinny he is. Of how his goofy grin is as big and awkward as the pack he wears.
I glare at her. “He’s not—”
“He looks like he should be carrying a lunch box,” Neda says.
Genesis laughs. “Or a cute little heart-shaped collar that reads, ‘If lost, please return to Maddie Valencia.’”
“Shut up!” I snap as he jogs to a stop three feet away. “Genesis, this is Luke Hazelwood.” I plead with my cousin silently to just smile and nod, for once. “I know him from school. I told him he could come with us.”
“My parents are fine with it,” he adds, then he immediately looks like he wants to stuff the words back into his mouth and swallow them. Like a poison pill.
“Well, as long as it’s okay with Mommy and Daddy,” Penelope sneers, but Genesis only rolls her eyes. Gen and Pen have been joined at the hip since they were eight, but obviously Genelope couldn’t survive Hurricane Holden.
“Sure,” Genesis says to Luke, but I can tell that’s not the last I’ll hear of this. “We’re not very selective anyway,are we?” She glances from Pen to Holden, who is audibly grinding his teeth.
Luke flushes, and I already regret telling him he could come.
My cousin and her friends are going to eat the poor boy alive.
65 HOURS EARLIER
GENESIS
“So, where is this ancient ruin, exactly?” Neda asks as she pushes a branch out of her way.
“It’s not on the tour circuit.” Nico flips open his water bottle as he steps over an exposed root. “Not many people go, because the hike is kind of a pain.”
I shoot him an angry glance;whywould he tell her that?
“Hey,” Ryan says, when Neda’s groan begins to resemble a wildcat’s growl. “Think of exploring this ruin as the sightseeing equivalent of an early glimpse at the new Manolo Blahnik scarf.”
Neda laughs. “Manolo Blahnik doesn’t make scarves.”
“Or maybe he does, but no one knows yet. Anyone can go to the beach, but not just anyone can go see the Manolo Blahnik scarf of ancient ruins. Afteryougo,everyonewill want to go.”
Neda laughs again. Ryan’s logic is ridiculous, but she’s smiling now. Better yet, she’s not complaining.
“Hey, who’s that old guy?” Domenica whispers as she hangs back to walk with us. “The one with a never-ending supply of pot.” She nods at the cluster of stoners keeping Holden blissfully oblivious of anything but his own buzz.
“I’m calling him Rog,” I tell her. “For Random Old Guy.”
“He’s, like, some kind of professional loser,” Penelope adds, and I can tell from the way she keeps glancing at me that she’s testing the waters of our friendship. Waiting to see if I’ll try to drown her. “He looks like he’s been wandering around the jungle for years.”
