Curtis elbows her away but he’s smiling. “Here you go, Milla.” He hands me a plate of pasta. “Grab a seat before they run out.”

If he’s sore at me for choosing Brent over him, he shows no signs of it, but the flirting has switched off, just like that. And secretly I miss it.

I sink onto the sofa, plate on my lap. And tense as Saskia sits next to me. One by one the others squeeze on, and Saskia shuffles up close. The nail polish on her bare toes is the exact blue of her eyes.

Dale looks from me to Saskia. “They look like twins.”

Okay, now I’m definitely dyeing my hair.

Saskia tilts her head my way. Assessing. “We should go for a ride together sometime,” she says lightly.

Forks freeze halfway to mouths and the room falls quiet. The nerve of her, asking me in front of everyone. I’m going to throw the offer back in her face and humiliate her.

Except something in her eyes stops me. Could she actually want to hang out?

“Yeah,” I say slowly. “Let’s do that.”

She pulls out her phone. “What’s your number?”

Somehow this is a way bigger deal than when Brent asked for it. I think my winter just got a whole lot more interesting.

CHAPTER 15

PRESENT DAY

My dorm smells of dust and damp. But not, to my relief, Saskia’s perfume. Brent’s probably right: we were imagining it. It’s hardly wishful thinking though—not on my part, at least. More like a guilty conscience.

I turn the catch and tug the door to make sure it’s really locked. Whoever left these dorm rooms open for us didn’t leave us keys. I hate that we can only lock these doors from the inside. Anyone could have sneaked in while I was talking to Brent. Feeling slightly ridiculous, I check the wardrobe, then the bathroom—behind the shower curtain even—to make sure nobody’s hiding there.

Satisfied I’m alone, I sit on the narrow bunk bed. I can’t decide which is more terrifying: the notion that Saskia is in the building, alive and well, or the thought of Brent or one of the others having murdered her. The look in Brent’s eyes just now really spooked me. The darkness there.

Now that I have a moment, I want to puzzle out the secrets in the Icebreaker. Is there any truth in them? Someone seems to think so, or why would they have gone to all that trouble?

I scan the dorm for a pen, but this is a hostel, not a hotel, and there isn’t a pen or a desk or even a chair. I’m lost without my phone. I can’t remember the last time I had to physically write something. Usually I just take pictures. I’ll be so mad if I don’t get my phone back.