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Layana sat in the driver’s seat, and I was glad not to have to focus on the road. My head was spinning. Would Oscar have gone back to the hotel? Did no one tell him I was here? Or had they taken him somewhere else, like to a larger prison or a lawyer’s office or somewhere else entirely?
“Something’s bothering me,” Layana said.
Me, too.
“Your boyfriend’s name—I’ve heard it before. I swear I have,” she said. “Carrington—is it giving you that brain buzz too?”
My boyfriend.I opened my mouth to protest. He wasn’t my boyfriend. He was so much more than that.
“I don’t know,” I said, feeling lost and numb. “Your brain buzz is probably just the lack of sleep.”
“Maybe….” She sounded unconvinced.
We arrived at the TV station and hustled upstairs. Everyone else was already here, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and downed it as we hurried onto set to join the others.
“Where have you two been? Did you find him?” Glitter asked. “What happened?”
“I haven’t had enough coffee for twenty questions,” I said.
“She asked three,” Chester said.
I ignored him and his weird cheese beard.
“You can’t livestream people when they’re vulnerable and expect them not to be pissed at you.” Layana crossed her arms over her chest. “That was messed up, Glitter.”
The color drained from Glitter’s face. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, Morgan. I didn’t think—”
“That’s right, you didn’t,” Layana said.
“It’s fine,” I said. It wasn’t that big of a deal. I wasn’t mad. Glitter was the type to share everything on social media, and I didn’t take that personally. She didn’t mean anything by it.
“I won’t put you on camera again without your permission,” Glitter said. “I’m really sorry.”
She hung her head and walked away.
Chester frowned at us and followed her.
“I’m not mad at her,” I told Layana.
“You should be.”
“I don’t have the emotional bandwidth for it,” I said with a sigh.
“That’s fair. I’ll be mad enough for the both of us.”
I squeezed her hand, grateful that I had such a wonderful friend who was always looking out for me. I didn’t know how I could survive any of this without her.
People came and went in small groups, likely to film more skits, fake reactions, and faker confessions. This was the worst part of the whole show for me—the waiting. And it was worse today because I wanted to be elsewhere, searching for Oscar.
I slipped into the hall and tried calling the hotel room. No one answered.
Back on set, I waited around some more. I made friendly small talk with Glitter to make sure she knew I didn’t hate her, despite what Layana’s tone may have suggested.
“Layana, Morgan, you’re up,” Gilbert called from the door.
We followed Gilbert to the green screen room. A production assistant positioned Layana and me so we were facing each other, with our bodies angled in such a way that the up-close camera could get a good look at us both. A second assistant handed us scripts.
I skimmed through the pages, picking out words likehateandsabotage.Just as promised, I was again being portrayed as a villain.
