I roll my eyes. “Trust me. My secrets aren’t nearly as salacious as yours.”
When I try knocking again and there’s no answer, I turn the doorknob, which is unlocked.
“Do we just go in?” Anna asks warily.
“Do you want to beat Addison to the chase or not?”
She nods, and I swing the door open, but it’s totally empty. No one. Nothing. The bed has been stripped of all of its sheets, and every sign of Henry from his suitcases to his cologne to his notebook is gone.
“Maybe they moved him,” Anna says as we trek back up to the house.
“I guess so,” I say.
“There they are!” Jenny calls from the balcony. “Come on! Hurry up! They just announced an elimination ceremony.”
“Right now?” I yell back.
“Yes!”
“Aren’t we supposed to have another one of those balls?” Anna asks.
I take her hand and we run the rest of the way through the grounds and into the house.
Beck is in the foyer, shuttling girls out to the front of the house. “Move it, move it, move it.”
“Where’s Zeke?” Anna asks her immediately.
Beck just shakes her head. “Do I look like a lost and found? Come on. Move it.”
“That’s good,” I whisper to Anna. “If Beck doesn’t know, then Addison probably hasn’t spilled to anyone yet.”
Anna looks around nervously, but everyone is already lined up, so I lead her to a spot on the stairs and take the one just behind her. Everyone else has had a chance to change into something sort of cute, but I’m still rocking my just-rolled-out-of-bed hair, cutoffs, and T-shirt.
Once we’re all set, a limo drives up the hill and Chad and Henry step out.
“Ladies,” Chad says, “I know you were all expecting a ball this evening, but Henry has made his decision and he’s got some out-of-town business to attend to, so we’re doing things a little out of order today.”
“I’m sorry we won’t be having our ball this evening,” Henry tells us. “But yesterday made my decision very clear.” He swallows. “Cindy, will you accept this scroll?”
I nod and take the steps down, squeezing Anna’s hand along the way. I’m shocked that Addison wasn’t first after their date last night, but I’ll take it.
As he places the scroll in the palm of my hand, I say, “Maybe I’ll finally score that date.”
He gives me an unreadable smile that only makes me feel unsettled.
He calls more names—Sara Claire, Jenny, Stacy, Gretchen, Valerie, Chloe—until all that’s left is one scroll and Addison, Anna, and Samantha still standing.
“Well, this is a plot twist I didn’t see coming,” Sara Claire muses.
Henry plucks the single scroll from the pillar beside him. “I hate this part,” he says. “But I think spending time with someone can not only reveal who—”
“Henry,” says Addison, her voice more frantic than I thought possible. “I have to tell you something.”
I give her an infuriated look, nostrils flared, that I hope says,I hope every zipper you ever zip breaks.
Henry looks to Chad, who nods.
“Can we talk privately?” Addison asks.
