Chapter 10
Haven
Abigail and her clones rush to their feet, faces twisted with shock.
“Oh my God!” a student from the Picnic Blanket Study Group yells. “Someone call security!”
And then we’re all running.
And then we’re all stopping, because fuck…
Melissa’s dress is ripped at the shoulder and at one thigh. It used to be cream, but it’s covered in so many stains—blood, sweat, dirt, something pink—that the only way I know its original color is because it’s been in the lineup for ‘what should I wear tonight’ a couple of times.
Her hair is matted. Mascara has turned her face into a horror show. And her eyes—
Her eyes are feral as she struggles to focus on the students forming a semi-circle around her, everyone too nervous to get close.
Because she looks like a gust of wind could topple her.
“Melissa!” I take a cautious step forward, holding out my hands like she’s a skittish cat. “Are you…” I trail off, because of course she’s not fucking okay.
It takes my friend way too long to focus on me. To recognize me.
Add that to her slack jaw, her pasty skin, and the way she sways on solid ground…
She’s not drunk. She looks high as fuck, and suddenly all I can think about is what Kai told me about the coke habit that got her put in rehab.
When she finally registers who I am, she lets out an awful sound, like a wounded animal would make.
She stumbles backward, nearly falling in her haste to get away from me.
“Don’t!” she rasps, stabbing a trembling finger at me. “Don’t—don’t you let him touch me!”
“What? Who?” I glance around.
Abigail stares at Melissa in shock and confusion, then gives me a suspicious frown. I’m immediately on edge, suddenly desperate to tell her—everyone—that I don’t know what Melissa’s talking about.
But somehow I do…
It’s just a glimpse of a hint of a sliver of suspicion, but I’ve been dealing with unhinged people my entire life, so it’s become a skill of mine to put two and two together and get to seven.
Abigail steps forward, wrapping an arm around Melissa’s trembling shoulders. “Who did this to you?”
Melissa’s teeth chatter so hard that I can hear them from where I’m standing. “K-Keep him a-way f-from me!” she stammers, her wide, shell-shocked eyes locked on me.
Abigail turns to glare at me. “Who is she talking about?”
“Wh—” I shrug and raise my hands, taking a step back before I can stop myself. “I don’t fucking know!”
“Please! Please!” Melissa blubbers, collapsing into Abigail’s arms.
They sink down to the grass, Abigail cradling Melissa’s head against her shoulder as she sobs. Someone hands over a fleece top, and Abigail drapes it across Melissa’s shivering legs. A bottle of water appears, but Melissa turns her head away when Abigail tries to give her some.
And all I’m doing is standing here, staring, when I have a thousand questions.
I try to make my voice calm even though my heart is trying to punch through my ribs. “What happened, Melissa? Where were you?”
Abigail scowls at me, but I guess she wants to know what happened as badly as I do, because she swipes hair away from Melissa’s face and gives her a little shake, trying to get her to respond.
“W-w-with him!” Melissa sniffs, eyes squeezing shut. “He kept me—I couldn’t—“ She breaks off and starts sobbing.
“Who? Who did this?” I ask, but Melissa’s shaking her head, lips pulled back from her teeth as anguish pulls at her face.
Abigail pulls Melissa closer, murmuring soothingly to her. “It’s okay. You’re safe now. No one’s going to hurt you.”
My brain is spinning. Five days. She was missing for five days. And now she’s here, covered in blood, talking about someone keeping her somewhere.
And I know who.
Bastian.
The name slams into my head so hard that I actually flinch.
The sound of a radio crackling and heavy footsteps thudding toward us interrupts my thoughts . A uniformed, middle-aged guy with a beer belly, wearing aviator sunglasses despite the overcast day, pushes through the growing crowd.
“Everyone back up. Give her some space.” He kneels down next to Melissa and Abigail. “Miss? Miss? I’m Officer Martin, campus security. Can you tell me your name?”
“M-Melissa Parker,” she stutters, then sniffs and wipes at her nose with the back of her hand. Someone hands her a tissue, but Melissa looks at it as if she’s never seen one before in her life.
“Okay, Melissa. You’re safe now. We’ve got an ambulance on the way, and the police have been notified so they should be here soon.”
His radio crackles, and he turns away to speak quietly into it before turning back to Melissa. “Can you tell me what happened?”
She shakes her head violently. “He said—he said if I told anyone—”
“Who, Miss? Who said that?”
“No, please—” She’s hyperventilating now. “Don’t let him find me!”
“No one’s going to find you. You’re safe. But I need you to tell me who did this.”
Melissa’s eyes find mine. There’s terror in them, like she truly believes her kidnapper is just around the corner. But as soon as she locks eyes with me, rage takes over.
“You know who did this,” she whispers.
Officer Martin turns to look at me, frowning. “If you have information that—”
“What?” I cut in, shaking my head. “No! She just—she just ran out of the woods and started yelling like a maniac.”
Why the fuck do I sound so defensive?
Melissa tugs free from Abigail’s grip, stabbing a finger up at me. “Why are you protecting him?” she shrieks at the top of her lungs.
Everyone turns to look at me.
Everyone.
“I—I don’t know who—“ I stammer.
“Kai!” Melissa wails.
The world stops.
Actually stops.
Like someone hit pause on reality and everything freezes except my heart, which is beating so hard I can feel it in my eyeballs.
“What?” The word barely makes it out.
“Kai took me,” she says, tears cutting lines through the smudges and grime on her face. “He—he took me up and he locked me up and he—he—” She starts ugly crying, and Abigail wraps her arms around her shoulders, pulling her into an embrace.
“Your boyfriend did this?” Abigail whisper-shouts, eyes wide.
“No.” I’m shaking my head, backing away. “No, that’s—that’s not possible. Kai wouldn’t—“
Officer Martin stands and turns to me, taking off his sunglasses. “Do you know this Kai?”
“It’s not him,” I hear myself say. “He didn’t do this. It’s not possible.” Finally, a sliver of clarity breaks through the panicked fog filling my head. “He was with me! He’s been with me the whole time!”
But, fuck, as I say it—
“Oh, he has?” Abigail snaps. “Because he’s sure as hell not with you now!”
My mouth opens but nothing comes out because—
Fuck.
We have been together this week, but not a hundred percent of the time. He had classes. I had classes. Then there was the fight, and he disappeared right after…
“This is insane,” I manage, clearing my throat when I hear how thick my voice is. “Melissa, I don’t know what you think happened, but Kai would never have done this. It couldn’t have been—“
“You think I don’t know who had me tied up?” She shoves to her feet, grabbing onto Officer Martin’s arm when her legs wobble.
Tied up?
“I’m not saying that. I just—“
My phone vibrates in my tote bag.
I ignore it.
Officer Martin turns to me, glancing at my tote bag before focusing on me. “What’s your name, Miss?”
“Haven Lee,” Abigail says, at Melissa’s side in a second. “Her boyfriend’s Kai Jordan.”
Martin glances at Abigail. “Do you know where Kai is, Miss Lee?”
“N-No,” I admit reluctantly. My phone buzzes again. That’s when I realize it’s a phone call, not just a notification. “We had a fight and—”
“You’re covering for him!” Melissa yells. “You’re fucking covering for him!”
Martin stares at my tote. “You gonna get that?”
I wasn’t going to, but I pull it out anyway and check the screen.
It’s Kai. He’s trying to call me.
“I…uh…I have to take this,” I say weakly.
Martin looks like he wants to object, but then his radio crackles and he frowns as he shifts his attention away from me. In the distance, a siren warbles, growing louder every second.
I pivot, about to answer Kai’s call when the ringing stops.
A truncated message notification pops up as I’m still trying to figure out what the hell to do.
@jordan.kai
Where are you? Checked the library…
The rest is cut off.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
I quickly open the app, quickly glancing at the rest of his message before typing my own. Adrenaline has my fingers shaking so much that I can barely text.
@lee.haven
NO!
Campus security!
RUN!
The message shows as delivered at the same time a new one comes through.
@jordan.kai
Where are you? Checked the library but you weren’t there.
Simone said you went to the garden. On my way.
I look up as Kai comes out of the library door. He’s got his phone in his hand, looking grumpy and hungover and completely oblivious to the fact that he’s walking into a nightmare.
Our eyes meet.
His confusion deepens.
I’m shaking my head, waving my arms, mouthing GO as blatantly as I dare, but he’s not getting it. He just stands there like an idiot—
“That’s him!” comes a yell from behind me. “That’s Kai!”
Motherfucking Abigail.
Officer Martin’s head whips around. “You! Stay right there!”
Kai freezes.
His eyes land on Melissa, looking like she survived a close encounter with Ted Bundy. Then they jump to the officer, hand on his radio, rushing in his direction. Then those green eyes dart back to me, confused and panicked.
Kai runs.
“No!” I scream, but he’s already moving, spinning on his heel and bolting along the side of the campus building.
Officer Martin is faster than he looks. He’s running too, yelling into his radio for backup, and Kai gets maybe ten yards before two more security guards appear and tackle him to the ground.
“What the fuck? I didn’t do anything!” He’s fighting them, thrashing under their weight. “Get off me, you fuckers!”
The crowd is massive now, half of them with their phones out, recording.
Kai’s about to go viral.
Melissa is sobbing, Abigail whispering reassurances to her.