Page 27

Driving a vehicle with a clutch on the long stretches of road is easy, but the starts and stops are herky-jerky. I panic whenever I pause on a slight incline. If I don’t balance the pedals just right, I might roll back and crash into someone’s car.

“Turn left,” Amelia says, relaying Tina’s directions. She’s reading them from a hotel notepad.

We’ve been driving for ninety minutes. The trip was supposed to be thirty, according to Tina.

“Are we passing this waterfall for the third time, or is it déjà vu?” I slow to a stop.

Water rushes over a beautiful formation of jagged rocks. Tourists snap photos at a crowded overlook.

“These directions are terrible.” Amelia smacks the vinyl seat. “Why couldn’t Tina give us an address to plug into our map app?”

“She didn’t know the address off the top of her head, only how to get there.”

But, clearly, she didn’t know that either.

“Not that I have service on my phone, anyway.” Amelia holds her phone near the window.

“We’re in a rainforest. All those leaves probably act as a shield against technology,” I say.

“Who’s being the Libra now?” she asks with a raised brow.

“I am a proud Aquarius. Thank you very much.”

We drive another thirty minutes. When the waterfall comes into view for the fourth time, I slam on the brakes, grip the steering wheel, and shake my body with frustration. I rest my forehead on the wheel and sigh.

“Nooo!” Amelia cries.

I mean, is finding Adam worth being lost in the jungle? Memories of our time together dance through my head. When I think of his bright smile, boyish charm, and all the promises we made to each other, I’m injected with the willpower to tread on.

I sit up and blow out a long breath. I can do this.

“Let’s look at the directions together,” I say.

Amelia places the paper between us. My eyes scan every line to be sure we’ve interpreted Tina’s handwriting correctly. There must be something wrong. If I look hard enough, I know I’ll find it.

“We did everything exactly as she said.” Amelia slouches into her corner, appearing ready to give up.

“Let’s backtrack to where everything started repeating.” My finger glides over the words. “There’s one road we keep passing. Maybe Tina meant to turn right instead of left.” My mind zeros in on our mistakes. “Because, duh, four lefts make a circle, and that’s exactly what we’ve been doing for the last few hours, circling the waterfall.”

“Why am I so directionally challenged?” Amelia clamps her hands over her cheeks.

“I’m sure it was just an accident on Tina’s part,” I say.

“I should have called my friends. They know the island inside and out.”

“So does Tina, right?” The thought gives me pause, but I quickly move on with a new mission.

I throw the gearshift in reverse, only hitting the brakes when we return to a split in the road. After I turn the wheels in the new direction, I pause. The truck rumbles beneath us. Amelia and I stare down the new road. With its overgrown ferns and dense vines, it’s a little off the beaten path.

“I knew I’d die young, but I was hoping for something more mysterious.” Amelia looks on with worry.

“Come on. You love this kind of stuff.”

“In murder podcasts, in fantasy books, in my delusional theories!”

“This is happening.”

I press my foot on the clutch, switch gears, and press the gas. The truck lurches like a rocket. Before I can control the speed, I run over several potholes. Amelia and I bounce, hitting the ceiling like we’re in gut-churning turbulence.