Chapter 1 Ana
Ana
Three hundred and sixty-four days.
Technically, it was three hundred and sixty-three days since the hospital had declared Danny Reyes dead, though they were wrong. His heart might have kept going for an extra day, pushed along by all the machines at his bedside, but he was already gone.
Ana Reyes knew it; she’d felt the exact moment her twin brother had curled up on the floor of the school locker room and just let go. Too much pain to bear, too little left to cling to. A softening—a gentle catch at the top of his breath, then gone. So quickly. So easily.
That was three hundred and sixty-four days ago, and tomorrow it would be a year.
Happy fucking anniversary.
Ana pulled her headphones down and stretched her arms out, shaking off the stiffness from the long bus ride. She looked around at her home for the next three days.
A vintage motel sign loomed over her, flickering on and off, red then yellow, the garish lights clashing starkly with the desert sunset sky.
WELCOME TO THE MOTEL LOBA.
The run-down old motel had obviously seen better days, if not better decades.
Two wings of baby-pink rooms stretched out on either side of a cracked asphalt parking lot with a cluster of lonely outbuildings scattered around behind.
A lone palm tree stood sentinel over a fenced-off pool area in the middle of the lot.
There were no cars, no people, no signs of life—only flat empty desert on all sides, the road they had arrived on ending just feet from the sign.
Red dust coated every surface, weeds sprouted from the cracks.
It had a post-apocalyptic appearance; all it needed was a zombie on the hunt for a busload of fresh meat.
Ana sighed.
The fresh meat had arrived ten minutes ago: seven restless high schoolers, now spread around the motel, loudly taking over the place as if they owned it.
The whining had started before the bus even pulled into the parking lot.
It was certainly not the fancy resort they’d been promised in the invitation.
But she didn’t mind. It was as good as anywhere.
There was no good place to commemorate the worst day of your life.
The darkness traveled with her, now and forever.
The location didn’t matter. Even home, the place where she had once felt safe and happy, was now heavy with pain and loss.
The memories were everywhere—at the yellow kitchen table, in the shared bedroom, the empty bed—dark blue sheets untouched.
A hollowness haunted her mother’s eyes. There was a shared understanding that in some sick, karmic twist, the better twin had died.
A silently acknowledged truth that it should have been her.
At least here, in the ass-end of nowhere, she could do the one thing that mattered most. She could give her mother space to mourn her dead son without having to look at her living daughter.
Ana took a deep breath.
The desert air tasted different somehow, traces of salt and sage.
A wind was blowing across the darkening plains, whipping up small bits of sand and dirt, prickling the skin on her legs.
A circle of light from the sign illuminated the ground at her feet, flashing on and off like a police car warning her to get out of the way.
Time to check in—she couldn’t hide out here forever. It’s only three days, she reminded herself. How bad could it be?
Hoisting her duffel bag onto her back, Ana turned her back on the desert and headed in the direction of the north wing of the motel and a dusty window with a red neon sign that optimistically declared:
REC P ION
“It’s a shithole!”
Ana knew the voice instantly—she’d spent the last eight hours on the bus trying to avoid listening to it.
Two figures were standing by the bus, their raised voices echoing across the empty parking lot.
Keeping her distance, Ana watched them warily.
She really didn’t need to get involved in one of Ellis’s dramas.
Ellis Locke was well over six feet of muscle and fancied himself the alpha male of St. Francis High’s senior class. He was standing next to the doorway, looming over the diminutive bus driver.
“This is meant to be a trip to a luxury desert retreat!” Ellis shouted, thrusting a small black card in the driver’s face. “Look at the fucking invite. This place is nothing like the photo. Where’s the spa? Where are the yoga yurts and the stables? It doesn’t even have cell reception!”
The driver, a short, middle-aged man with a stained gray uniform that stretched tightly in all the wrong places, did not seem impressed by being shouted at by someone young enough to be his grandkid.
“Sorry, kiddo. This shithole, as you call it, is where y’all are stayin’ for the next three nights.”
“Are you kidding me? This trip was the top prize in our school raffle. The top prize. Last year they went to Palm fucking Springs. Does this look like Palm Springs? We are clearly in the wrong place.”
The driver pulled a rolled-up sheet of paper out of his back pocket and thrust it in front of Ellis, jabbing his finger at the itinerary.
“Look. It’s right here, see? Motel Loba. Here’s the map. I’m paid to bring y’all right here, and that’s what I’ve done. You got a problem with that, you take it up with the school.”
“How am I supposed to do that, genius? We don’t have fucking service!
” Ellis snapped. He snatched the itinerary out of the driver’s hands and looked over the words furiously.
Not finding anything to help his case, he flicked the older man’s name tag dismissively.
“All right, Benny, is it? There has clearly been a huge mistake. This place is not acceptable. You need to get on that radio of yours and find us alternative accommodation immediately. Do you understand?”
Benny hiked his belt up and pulled himself up to his full, unimpressive height.
“Whad’ya think this is? The nineties? I don’t have a radio, kid. I use a phone same as everyone else. You got no service—I got no service.” Benny chuckled loudly, cascading into a hacking smoker’s cough.
Ana walked on, suppressing the urge to smile.
At least Benny the bus driver was giving as good as he got.
Ellis was on one of his master-of-the-universe benders and unlikely to stop until he got what he wanted.
No question, Ellis could be a spoiled brat, but a small part of Ana rooted for him.
Yes, he was an asshole and rich and entitled.
But Danny had loved him. That counted for something.
***
The beautiful people had taken over the rec p ion—Danny’s friends. They were sheltering from the end-of-day heat in the shade of the old motel building.
Jade Clark was posing on a worn and cracked pink pleather sofa, happily taking photos, while her boyfriend, Jax Patel, pranced around in front of her, phone held up high to search for bars.
Their designer bags and clothes were at odds with their shabby, dated surroundings, like a Vogue photo shoot in a dumpster.
Alex Cabrera was sitting by the window, his guitar propped next to him. He glanced up at the door when Ana walked in, peering at her through a curtain of floppy black hair. He looked off somehow—his usually tan skin was unnaturally pale.
Carsick. Ana knew it. She knew him. Like the back of her own hand.
At least—she used to. Before.
She turned away, shutting down the memories before they could take hold, and walked over to the reception desk.
Any hope of a speedy check-in faded as she looked around.
Something was off about this whole place.
The desk was a relic from the eighties—floral pink laminate with dark wood paneling.
There were Christmas decorations hanging from the yellowed ceiling tiles over the counter, even though it was April; a thick layer of dust covered every surface.
Behind the counter, a cracked glass door opened into what looked like a deserted office.
A hand-scrawled message on a chalkboard behind the desk read:
LEFT FOR FAMILY EMERGENCY—CHECK YOURSELF IN
Ana wondered when the emergency had happened. 1985? There was no way this was still a functioning motel.
“Don’t bother checking in. There’s no one here.
It’s like completely deserted.” Jade glanced up at Ana.
“We’re obviously in the wrong place. Ellis went to sort it out with the driver.
” She sighed, a long, world-weary sigh, and examined her nails.
Jade had perfected the art of sounding bored at all times. Enthusiasm was for lesser mortals.
“No service in here either,” Jax muttered, waving his phone at Jade. “This whole place is a total dead zone.”
“Seriously? Can you even call yourself a motel if you don’t have Wi-Fi? Is that legal?” Jade monotoned. She sat up, her perfectly straightened hair swinging behind her in a glorious golden arc. “What is taking Ellis so long? Low-key, I need a shower so badly.”
“Don’t worry, babe.” Jax threw her one of his easy smiles. “Ellis said he’s gonna sort it. I bet we’ll be leaving soon enough.” He cocked his adorable head and grinned at his phone camera. “So, hey, guys, I’m in this creepy, abandoned motel…”
Jade rolled her eyes and looked around for another source of amusement, locking in on Alex.
“I’m so bored. Play something for me, Alex,” she cajoled, flopping forward onto the sofa, draping herself across the length of it.
Ana felt a flash of something uncomfortable. She hated that Alex had crossed to the dark side, that he was one of the popular kids now, invited to all the best parties, sitting with the cool crowd at lunch. It wasn’t the Alex she knew. The kind, gentle boy from the apartment next to hers.
Danny’s best friend.
“If we’re gonna be stuck here, I need cheering up.” Jade peeked at Alex over the back of the sofa, pouting like a toddler in a shopping cart. “Pleeeease.”
Say no, Ana willed him. Tell her you’re carsick. Just tell her no. She didn’t want to watch Alex playing for Jade Clark, performing like he was the paid entertainment.