“Ashton!” I scream, moving as fast as my clumsy limbs allow. But the forest is alive, grabbing, clawing, rising up to intercept me with every step. My body trips and sways. My mind swirls with fear and ghastly images. It’s like I’m moving in slow motion.
I’ve lost her.
I spin around. Everywhere I look, it’s the same. Dark, looming trunks.
“Ashton!” I choke out, my scream garbled by sobs.
He can’t hurt her. He can’t. I promised that I’d protect her.
I falter. My legs are too heavy. The forest swims before my eyes, tipping on its side to send me back to the ground. I drop to a knee, my palm against the crumbling bark of a tree.
“It was supposed to be you.”
I stiffen at the low growl of a voice coming from the other side of the tree. Leaning against the trunk, I stagger to my feet in search of him.
“This is all because of you, Lana. All of it.”
It feels like I’m trying to walk on a trampoline. I crumple to my knees, and then everything starts spinning. I collapse onto my hands and vomit. I roll over to sit, my back pressed against the bumpy surface, and close my eyes, begging the earth to stop spinning so fast.
“Lana?”
A hand brushes against my shoulder. I jerk away. When I open my eyes, Joey is crouched in front of me.
“Hey, let’s get you out of here.”
It takes a few seconds before I can bring his face into focus. But once I realize he’s real, I lean into him and start sobbing. “I lost her.”
Joey lowers to his knees and wraps his arms around me, rubbing my back. “Brendan will find her. Don’t worry.”
“What if he hurts her?”
“We’ll find her,” he assures me again.
His face swims in front of me.
Joey holds me steady, gripping my arms. “Ready to stand?”
I blink in an attempt to focus, but everything keeps slanting.
He rises first, then helps me to my feet. When I sway, he pulls me close, capturing me under his arm. “Are you alright?”
“No.” I lean into him, unable to feel my feet beneath me. The ground ripples before my eyes. “I don’t feel so good.”
“Can you walk?”
I take a couple steps. With Joey guiding me, we move at a painstakingly slow pace. I just want to lie down. I bend over and throw up one more time before we make it to Blackwood’s border.
“Ashton’s safe,” Joey says low in my ear. “Brendan has her.”
I nod, and then everything goes black.
Everyone loved you. Even me. When all I wanted was to hate you.
I can feel the pounding pain in my head before I’m fully awake. And for a minute, I consider going back to sleep. But then I picture Ashton disappearing like smoke, fading into a train of red fabric.
“It was supposed to be you.”
My eyes snap open.
Light filters weakly through the windows, the sun lost behind a blanket of clouds. Exactly how I feel.
I ease up, the haze intensifying.
Someone’s on my couch, almost completely hidden beneath a blanket. He rolls over and electric-blue eyes blink awake.
“How are you feeling?” Joey asks, propping up onto an elbow.
“Not great.” I wince, my eyes scrunched into slits.
“There’s some Excedrin and Powerade on the table,” Joey tells me, throwing back the blanket and sitting up.
“Thanks.” I open the bottle and pop the pills in my mouth, draining half the drink as I swallow them. “What happened after you found me? I don’t remember getting here.”
“It wasn’t easy. You passed out just as we made it to the fence. Lance helped me maneuver you around it, and I carried you across the field. I have no idea how we didn’t get caught. And sneaking into the dorm, well … it’s better that you can’t remember.”
I press a hand to my pulsing skull. “And Ashton?”
“She’s in her room. Brendan’s with her.”
“Did he do something to her … in the woods last night?”
I fight to bring everything into focus. The leather jacket. Vic’s face glaring back at me. My heart misses a beat when Joey remains quiet. “Joey. Is she hurt?”
“Brendan found her on a cliff over the lake. She’s a little banged up, but I think she’s okay.”
I’m trying to process what he just said, but the fog in my brain makes thinking impossible. “A cliff?” Then I see it. One of the jagged landings jutting out over the water. “Did he … push her?” My pulse races when I imagine Vic doing to Ashton exactly what he did to Allie. I strangle the bottle in my hands, the plastic crunching beneath my ire.
Joey remains solemn, unable to meet my eyes. “I don’t know how she got there. She was unconscious when Brendan found her. I haven’t talked to him this morning to see if she said anything.”
I pull off the covers and lower my feet to the floor. Standing is a battle with gravity. I stumble to the bathroom, holding on to whatever I can to keep me vertical. After using the toilet, I opt to get in the shower, hoping it’ll wash away the shroud hanging over me, keeping me from thinking clearly. Everything aches. The more I move, the more my muscles protest.
I walk out in a towel.
Joey’s cheeks redden instantly when he sees me. He averts his eyes, concentrating on folding the blanket. “Uh, should I leave?”
“Do whatever. I need to see Ashton.”
“Um, right. I should probably get back to Lance’s room.”
“Thank you … for helping me last night,” I tell him, pulling a sweatshirt over my head with the towel still wrapped around me. “How’d you find me anyway?”
“Brendan. He was able to track your phone and sent me a pin of your location.”
Of course. I forgot he said he’d be able to locate me as long as I had the phone on me. He obviously takes his stalking seriously.
“Did you know Vic was back?” I ask, pulling yoga pants up under the towel before removing it and tossing it in the corner.
Joey stills, his back remaining to me. “Um, he’s not.”
“What do you mean? I saw him.”
“Yeah,” Joey sighs, trying to be gentle with his words. “You kept saying that last night.”
I’m frozen with my bra woven through my arms under the sweatshirt. “You don’t believe me?”
“Lana, I swear it wasn’t Vic,” Joey says quietly, like he really didn’t want to say it out loud.
I finish dressing just before he slowly turns to face me, pity in his eyes.
I glare at Joey with my arms crossed. “I heard him.”
Joey presses his lips together, breathing in deeply. The action is reminiscent of his father, like he’s preparing to tell me something I don’t want to hear. “I’ve been messaging him. He’s still in Europe.”
“You’ve been messaging him?” I echo incredulously.
“I wanted to be sure I knew where he was. Figured if I pretended to be interested, like we’re friends, I’d be able to keep tabs on him. Make sure he’s far away from you.”
“And did you message him last night?” I demand, knowing what I saw. That it was Vic in the woods with Ashton.