Page 103 of Seeking Stars
"I don't know yet what time they'll want me there, but I usually get up around 4 or 5."
"4?!"
"Fuck," Ely muttered under her breath.
Ana left the screen to stare at her best friend. "Everything okay?"
She frowned but flicked a hand in Ana's direction. "Forget about it. You can go back to romancing Liam."
"What's up?" Liam asked.
"I don't know," Ana said. "Ely doesn't want to say."
"It's for the best," Ely insisted. "Forget about it, I didn't mean to say anything."
"You know it makes me think it's bad news, right?"
"Then let it go," Liam said.
Ana turned her eyes back to her boyfriend, and caught a notification as it came in. A text from an unknown number.
(Unknown): Your ex spilled the beans. Search Ana Lira is a liar
A deep chill ran through her veins. Her bones turned to icicles.
"Ana?" Liam said. "What's wrong?"
"I… someone… I just got…"
"Hey, hey— shit, Ana, shh." Ely put an arm around Ana's shoulder. "It's gonna be okay."
Ana's throat seemed blocked by a cold, rough cannon ball. She spoke around it, her voice thin. "Someone reached out to Dave."
"What?!" Liam exclaimed on the phone.
"It was all lies, Ana María. Forget about him."
"You read the article?!" Ana had a slight ringing in her ears.
"I skimmed it."
"Do you have an alert or something?" Liam asked. His tone was harsh but Ana could barely take note of it; she'd gone numb.
"Don't judge," Ely said. "Someone has to keep an eye out here for my best friend, see what I need to protect her from."
"There's nothing you can do. C'mon, Ely, she doesn't need this stuff."
"I didn't plan for her to know! But I need to know. It's about feeling protective of her."
"How is this protecting her?"
"Because anything they say about her could affect her. She's worked so hard to get here—"
"What did Dave say?" Ana asked, ignoring them both.
"Fuck this," Liam exclaimed from Ana's phone again. "It shouldn't matter what he said."
"What did he say?" Ana asked again.
