The reflected moonlight bounced and played on the rippling surface. She’d never seen anything so beautiful before.

She leaned her shoulder into the rough brick wall of the south chimney and watched the lights dance at the bottom of the hill. She reached back to braid her hair, her hands moving slowly, their motions memorized years ago.

Everyone knows, the lights were saying. They’ve always known. You were a fool to think you could get away with it.

They were right. She couldn’t trick the universe into thinking she was anything but damned. It was pointless to keep trying.

She moved slowly in the dark, stumbling down the hill, her elbows scraping on the plastic grips of her crutches.

She wouldn’t have to hide anymore. Where she was going, there were no secrets.

Ahead, the little girl smiled at her.

She smiled back.

Mateo half walked, half ran toward the football field, his injured ankle groaning.

No college would take him without a high school diploma, no matter how many goals he’d scored last season.

He could call that social worker the dean knew, but all she’d do was put him in some sketchy shelter, and that wasn’t happening.

He was going to have to get a job. An apartment. He wouldn’t turn eighteen until the spring, but maybe he could get a fake ID. Maybe Peter could help him.

But all that could wait. Right now he had to get the truth out of Maria. Even though his ankle felt like it was going to collapse underneath him, he turned into a flat-out run.

Mateo looked again at the text Maria had sent him. His heart dropped.

If you want to see what happened to him . . .

He’d thought the text was an offer, but now it sounded more like a threat.

The little girl beckoned to her. She stepped toward the water.

She reached out an arm toward the girl, but she seemed farther away than before.

That was strange. She took one more step. Then another.

It was so beautiful here. So quiet. So perfect.

The pain vanished the moment the water closed over her toes.

She wasn’t like the others, up on the hill. This was where she belonged.

She smiled again. She relished the feeling of the moonlight on her skin. The silent, still air around her.

She took a step. Then another. The water came up to her ankles now.

She should’ve done this long ago.

Mateo swerved back toward the house, running faster than ever. If he showed Maria’s text to someone—Ross, a security guard, anyone—they’d go to the football field and get her, wouldn’t they? Maybe they didn’t have enough evidence to arrest her yet, but at least they could put a stop to whatever the hell she thought she was doing before she hurt someone else.