“Concentrate, Reed,” Taylor instructed, her voice soothing. “Try to breathe.”
I can’t! my brain wailed. Ican’tIcan’tIcan’t.
But I had to. I closed my eyes, clamped my mouth shut, and pulled in a breath through my nose, which made me cough. But still, it was something. I forced myself to concentrate and tried again. I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth.
In and out. In and out. In and out.
Finally, I was able to sit up again.
“Are you okay?” Taylor asked.
“I think so.” I shot her a weak but grateful smile. “Thanks.”
“What the hell just happened?” Noelle asked, one hand still gripping the wheel. “Where did that come from?”
“It’s Ariana,” I said, my voice breaking. “She’s behind this. This is all one big game and she’s trying to lure me here so she can finish me off.”
“Reed, Ariana’s locked up. She doesn’t even have access to a cell phone,” Noelle reminded me.
I shook my head violently, desperation coursing through my veins, swelling my heart. “It’s her. I know it’s her. She’s gotten out somehow and she’s trying to kill me. I just know it.”
“Reed, calm down,” Taylor said, rubbing my back. “If Ariana had broken out of prison somehow—”
“Which is highly unlikely as she is the least athletic person I know,” Noelle said.
“—then we would have heard about it,” Taylor finished.
“But what if we didn’t?” I asked. “I know you guys are going to think I’m crazy, but someone’s been spying on me on campus the past couple of weeks. I keep feeling someone watching me, and every time I look there’s someone disappearing around a corner or into a building, but I always catch a glimpse of blond hair.”
“So maybe it was Missy,” Ivy suggested. “I wouldn’t put it past her to eff with you just for kicks.”
“It wasn’t,” I insisted. “It was—”
“Not Ariana,” Noelle said fiercely.
“But what if it was?” I snapped through my teeth.
At that moment my phone beeped and we all screamed. Which actually made me feel better. Momentarily. Until I looked down at the screen. I read the text aloud.
LEAVE CAR WHERE IT IS & WALK THE REST. KEEP 2 THE TREES UNTIL U GET 2 PATH THRU BACK GARDEN. OH & LEAVE UR LITTLE FRIENDS WHERE THEY R, RULEBREAKER.
“Omigod it’s totally her,” I whimpered.
“It’s not!” Noelle replied. “And there’s no way we’re staying here.”
“Are you sure about that?” Kiran asked tentatively. “I mean, the instructions say—”
“No. We’re going,” Ivy put in, shoving her own phone into the pocket of her jacket. “There’s no way Reed’s going in there alone.”
“I don’t even want to go in,” I replied, my voice shrill. “I say we go with Josh’s plan. Call the police and let them deal with it.”
“But if we call the police, MT might bolt and then we’ll never know what’s going on,” Ivy said, leaning forward in her seat to see me better. “Come on. There’s safety in numbers. We’ll be fine.”
“I don’t know, you guys,” Kiran said, looking up at the fog-obscured house. “This is all a little too Scream for my tastes.”
“That’s it,” I said. “I’m calling the police.”
“What’re you going to say?” Ivy asked. “That we followed an anonymous texter’s directions into the middle of nowhere and now we’re scared? They’ll laugh in your face.”