That was it. She was done with him and he would accept that. He’d done all he could do, and though it made him sad, he didn’t blame her.
“Well, I should get you to your uncle—”
He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. Lupe grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him against her, and kissed him.
Acknowledgments
There are so many wonderful humans who provided support in this endeavor it is hard to include them all without another fifty pages!
Overpowering thanks to my agent, friend, and fellow Boricua, Linda Camacho, who saw the potential in this story from day one and helped me bring it to fruition. My brilliant editor, Ali Fisher, who loved Lupe as much as I did and helped make this a stronger, cleaner, and fleshier novel. My fabulous publisher, Kathleen Doherty, and the Tor Teen team, including production editor Melanie Sanders, art director Peter Lutjen, designer Heather Saunders, interns extraordinaire Sarah Yung and Anna Parsons, the Macmillan sales force, and the Tor/Forge marketing and publicity team. Thank you all for your support and belief in this project.
Huge gratitude for my brother, George Hagman, who read the manuscript more times than was his sibling duty, gave me great feedback, and shares my love of good horror. My Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) family, specifically the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program. I cannot adequately express the support and love this community has given me. Especially our president, Thomas Christopher Greene, who has been a mentor in my writing and professional life from the very beginning. And, at VCFA, Sharon Darrow, Dana Walrath, and Daphne Kalmar, my power writing group whose early feedback was invaluable. Gary Miller and Gary Moore, a pair of talented writers and friends who read and gifted ideas to me. Sarah Madru, Rene Lauzon, and Sabrina Fadial, who read early versions and gave me emotional and psychological support and friendship throughout. Domenic Stansberry, who, on a balcony in Puerto Rico, taught me all about minions and human threats (Marisol wouldn’t have come into being without Domenic). To fellow speculative writer, Vermont Latinx, and dear friend and author William Alexander, who gave me friendship and lunches where we talked about monsters, and a fabulous blurb! To writers I idolize and respect who were willing to do a blurb read of my little ol’ manuscript: Julianna Baggott, Nova Ren Suma, and Cynthia Leitich Smith. Generous and lovely literary citizens all. A special thank-you to Mary Cronin and Jim Hill, fabulous writers and friends and my submissions support group. I would have given up on it all if not for you.
Thanks to my sensitivity readers, Fernando Betancourt and Bianca Vinas: gracias, lovelies! Mi prima Tere Dávila, who not only did a sensitivity read, but took me around the island for research, talking it through and making invaluable suggestions (though I ignored her repeated urging to “Kill the priest! You’ve got to kill the priest!”). And my cousin Carlos Dávila, who would get bizarre messages from me about local expressions or the geography of the island and would reply quickly and with enthusiasm. And my beloved tío Esteban, who got texts like, “What kind of gun would a heroin dealer have?” and answered with no question as to why the hell I was asking. Ed Baker, MSW, for his professional input on narcotics addiction and addict behavior (any mistakes were totally mine and not his). Sheryl Scarborough and Nicole Griffin, dear friends, brilliant writers, and amazing beta readers who brought this to another level. My mentors who are young enough to be my children but smart enough to be my betters, Cori McCarthy and Amy Rose Capetta (AKA the Queer YA Power Couple), for their unrelenting advice, support, and enthusiasm. Miciah Bay Gault, my friend and partner through this incredible publishing journey … we did it, girl!
And as always, to my beloved husband, Doug Cardinal, who read through the book and was my rock and go-to person through the entire process. I’m so grateful for our long conversations on the porch about addiction and plot. My lovely and talented son, Carlos Cardinal, who not only supported me emotionally throughout, but wrote the El Cuco reggaeton song for his namesake, Carlos “Papi Gringo” Colón.
I am grateful to you all!
About the Author
Ann Dávila Cardinal is a novelist and the director of recruitment for Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA), where she also earned her M.F.A. in writing. She comes from a long line of Puerto Rican writers, including poets Virgilio and José Antonio Dávila, and her cousin, award-winning fiction writer Tere Dávila. Ann lives with her husband, Doug, in Vermont, where she needle felts small reading creatures and bikes four seasons a year. Five Midnights is her first solo novel. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
July 4, 11:30 P.M.
July 6, 12:50 P.M.
July 6, 4:15 P.M.
July 6, 4:45 P.M.
July 6, 6:36 P.M.
July 6, 11:36 P.M.
July 7, 2:04 A.M.
July 7, 3:40 A.M.
July 7, 4:00 A.M.
July 7, 1:00 P.M.
July 7, 1:50 P.M.
July 7, 2:05 P.M.
July 7, 2:15 P.M.
July 7, 4:15 P.M.
July 7, 4:28 P.M.
July 8, 10:00 A.M.
July 8, 11:48 A.M.
July 8, 1:26 P.M.
July 8, 1:53 P.M.
July 8, 4:31 P.M.
July 8, 4:48 P.M.
July 8, 8:23 P.M.
July 8, 10:54 P.M.
July 8, 11:54 P.M.
July 9, 1:16 A.M.
July 9, 8:58 A.M.
July 9, 9:42 A.M.
July 9, 11:40 A.M.
July 9, 4:15 P.M.
July 9, 6:42 P.M.
July 9, 9:15 P.M.
July 9, 10:15 P.M.
July 10, 12:15 A.M.
July 10, 10:55 P.M.
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
FIVE MIDNIGHTS
Copyright © 2019 by Ann Dávila Cardinal
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Naomi Romero
A Tor Teen Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-29607-8 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-29608-5 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250296085
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: June 2019
Five Midnights Page 25
