Maria tugged the black dress down over her head. “I don’t know, exactly. There are too many spirits here. Dark spirits. They’re trying to confuse us. I haven’t figured out exactly what’s going on, but—”

Lily was crying again, streaks forming in her once-perfect foundation. “Just stop it, okay? Mateo knows it was us.”

Maria’s head jerked up so fast she splashed water down the front of her dress. “He knows what?”

“What we did to Delilah. He knows—I mean, he thinks—you did something to Brandon, too.”

“How do you know?” Maria stood, frozen, watching Lily.

“Ross came by looking for you. I told him you weren’t here, so he asked if I knew anything about it. He wouldn’t say what Mateo told him, but I figured it out. I think he’s going to call the police.”

“Mateo doesn’t know.” Maria hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. “No one can prove anything.”

She was certain of that last part. Spirits didn’t leave behind the sort of evidence that worked in a courtroom. Mateo could have his theories, but there was no proof he could use against Maria.

There was one thing he could do, though. He was already doing it. Spreading rumors about her. Saying Maria was using what had happened to make herself look better. To make people pity her.

If those rumors went far enough—if they got back to the prize committee—Maria would be out of the running for sure. All of this would have been for nothing.

“We need a plan,” Lily said. “Let’s talk all this through tonight, after the dance.”

“Just leave it to me, all right? I’ll handle this. I’ll handle all of it.”

“Don’t. Please. I can’t—”

Lily let go of the doorframe and waved a frustrated hand at Maria. She lost her balance and plummeted forward. Maria rushed forward and caught her just before her head slammed into the tile counter. Lily pulled free of her grip as soon as she could, grabbing the countertop and jerking herself back upright, her face contorted with pain.

“Oh my God, are you all right?” Maria pushed her back, trying to make her lean against the wall so the weight would be off her legs. It wasn’t like Lily to lose control like that. “Lie down. I’ll go to the health center and get you something for the pain.”

“No.” Lily shook her head so fast another curl came loose. “We don’t have time.”

“It’s just a stupid dance. No one will notice if we’re late.”

Or if they didn’t show up at all. That idea sounded wonderful to Maria, actually. If they skipped the dance, she’d have more time to figure out what to do about Mateo.