Heavy droplets washed over Camilla’s face as she tipped her head to the overcast sky. The cold raindrops pricked her skin. The clouds shifted above her, dark and menacing. Distant thunder rumbled in a warning, but she stayed in place, unwavering.

A bit of danger did not concern her. Not today.

It had been a month since Ava infiltrated the newspaper committee, and they still had not published any articles exposing what they knew about Camilla. As regretful as Ava was to continue helping Camilla, she maintained their alliance by informing her of any updates.

There was not much to say. The committee told Ava everything they knew—enough to concern her about Camilla's honesty, no doubt. The committee met every Monday and Wednesday after classes ended to write articles and discuss their next moves. Lately, there was little they could do about Camilla. According to Ava, they went by each meeting attempting to find leads that were out of their reach.

The problem was how much they already knew without any investigation. Camilla’s first murder against Chloe Lynch, which she was formerly confident she had gotten away with, was now being pinned to her. Now that the entire committee knew, it was only a matter of time before the rest of the school found out. From the damage done to her reputation by Amy alone, Camilla could not risk another accusation. The viral video had already stripped away Camilla’s class president status.

She did not have to turn around when she heard Zach's truck approach her from behind. As it slowed to a stop, she eyed her surroundings. The student parking lot was nearly out of sight, and what few cars were left there seemed to be unoccupied when Camilla had passed through a few minutes before. Zach's truck was positioned close to the windowless side of the school building, temporarily out of sight of cameras.

As Zach exited his truck, Camilla held her breath. Every movement of his body gave her chills as he approached. His hand snaked along her waist with sudden determination, yet she was not surprised.

“Long time, no see,” he muttered in her ear. She clenched her jaw. His teeth grazed her ear. “Ask me how much I missed you.”

Camilla's gaze pushed as far away as possible. “I don't have to ask,” she replied. “I can tell.”

Zach’s fingers trailed from her hips to her pelvis. “Good.”

In an escape attempt, Camilla rushed forward, but his elbows locked her in place against his chest. Hot air blew from her nose. “We have a mission today, Zachary.”

“And you have some overdue payments.”

Camilla tried to whip around, but she could only partially face him. “What are you talking about? You got me into trouble with River. You aren't owed a thing for that fuck up.”

As her hands craned over her shoulder to press against his chest, Zach snatched her wrist and pried it away. “What about Tiffany, then?” Camilla opened her mouth to retaliate, but no words came out. “Yeah, exactly. You owe me a lot, especially from all the missed time. You've been practically ignoring me.” He guided her clenched fist to the lower half of his torso. “That's not what a girlfriend is meant to do, is it?”

Camilla bit her tongue as he pressed her closed hand against himself. She shakily forced herself to relax, and he pried her grasp open. She knew it was only a matter of time before he resorted to this.

“Baby,” Camilla said softly, “we don't have a lot of time. Once we finish the job—”

“I don't care,” Zach snapped.

“We can't afford to miss this opportunity, Zach.”

“I told you, I don't care.”

“If you just wait until Saturday, I can spend the entire day with you. I'll let you do whatever you want.”

Zach chuckled. “You've lied about that before.”

“No, I haven't. Things just came up because our plans didn't go well. As long as today goes as planned—”

“Nope, I'm not hinging on that. I'll only get the job done if you give me my payment right now.” Camilla wanted to stab him as he stared her down with hungry eyes. “Come on. Hop in the backseat.”

She elbowed his stomach, and he released his grip. Camilla wished she could bury him where he stood, but instead she dragged herself to his truck and yanked the door open.

“Good,” Zach said, creeping behind her. As he crawled into the back with her, he quickly slammed the door. His fingers climbed her legs, and he latched onto her waistband.

Camilla winced at the roughness of his tugging. “Make it quick. We don't have much time before their meeting ends.”

He smirked, flipping the bottom of her sweatshirt up, exposing her stomach. As he lowered his head, Zach snatched her wrists, pinning them down to the cool leather seats. His teeth latched onto Camilla's hip, sinking into her flesh. She yelped in pain, but he only bit down harder.

“Zach!” Camilla shouted.

He lifted his eyes to her, slowly opening his jaw as he murmured, “I'm going to take my time.”

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦

“Damn, it's pouring,” Ava said. “Are you sure y'all want to go out there right now?”

“It's not going to get any better,” Leah replied, slinging her backpack over her shoulders.

Amy frowned, saying, “Be careful. I'm sure the roads are going to be awful.”

Zoey smiled. “Are you worried about us?” She watched as Amy swallowed. “There is no reason to worry. I am a safe driver. I appreciate your concern, though. It is sweet.”

“Yeah, uh, you're welcome,” Amy muttered.

Zoey eyed Amy once more before turning to the door and snatching up her umbrella. “Are you both leaving soon?”

“In a bit,” Ava responded. “I want to see if the rain calms down.”

Leah chuckled. “I doubt that,” she said.

Zoey, however, did not seem amused. Her eyes narrowed at Ava, who only blinked in response. “Text me when you get home,” Zoey said to Amy.

“Aw,” Ava cooed, “look at you looking out for me and—”

“I was speaking to Amy,” Zoey interrupted.

Ava reeled her head back and scrunched her face. “I know that. Damn, I can't even tell jokes around here.”

“Not if they are bad jokes,” Zoey shot back. She turned back to the doorway. “See you on Wednesday.”

“Bye,” Amy called as the duo departed.

Ava watched, tapping her finger to the desk. Once she assumed they were far enough down the hall, she whipped her head to Amy. “So,” she began, drawing out her words, “you and Zoey, huh?”

Amy's gaze darted to the side. “What?”

“Girl, don't play dumb with me. I see how she talks to you.”

“She's just being a good friend.”

Ava laughed. “She don't talk to anyone else like that. Not even Leah.”

Looking down, Amy rubbed her arm. “Yeah…, I guess not.”

Ava tilted her head. “That's not a bad thing. I don't want to assume you have feelings for Zoey, but if you do—which you seem to—isn't that good?”

“It would be… if we weren't in this situation.”

“What situation?” Amy stared at her, brows furrowed. “Oh, with Camilla?”

Amy winced. “Yes.”

“What does that have to do with you and Zoey? I get that the situation led to you two meeting, but…”

Amy's eyes locked on the desk. “Why would we even think about pursuing anything further when we're going through this?”

“I don't know. For companionship? Support through hard times?”

“I already have her as a friend.” Amy shook her head. “I don't need more right now.”

“But why hold back your feelings—?”

“I fear for my life every single day,” Amy snapped, green eyes piercing Ava, “but I fear for Zoey's more. She has a life. She has friends, family, hobbies. She has a purpose. Most importantly, she has no reason to put her life at risk to help me. If Camilla knew how much I cared about Zoey…, she would kill her just to destroy me.”

“Do you really think she would do that?”

“She did that. She killed Tiffany. And she—she….” Amy's voice became hoarse as the lump in her throat expanded. “She would do that to anyone if she knew it would hurt me.”

“Woah, hey, don't cry! Shit, do we have any tissues in here?”

“I th-think I used the last box.”

“What? When? I've never even seen you cry before.”

“Because I hide it from you,” Amy admitted through choked sobs.

Ava paused. “Why?”

“You don't need to be dragged into this, too.”

Shaking her head, Ava stood up. “I involved myself voluntarily. You have nothing to hide from me.” She quickly grabbed her phone. “I'm going to run to the restroom and grab you some toilet paper to use instead of tissues. Are you going to be okay on your own?”

“Yes, but y-you don't have to—”

“I'm already gone!” Ava shouted as she sped out the door.

The hallways were still lit as if classes were in session, but they were empty. Most clubs didn't meet on Mondays. Perhaps that was why Camilla was so adamant to confront Zoey and Leah today.

After the football game that past Friday, Camilla had stopped Ava in the locker room before she could leave. It wasn't out of the ordinary for Camilla to meet with Ava and discuss the committee's business in private, but there had been nothing of interest for so long that Ava was confused. She already despised being near Camilla; the less she had to speak with her, the better.

She did not have such a luxury this time.

As the last teammate left the locker room, Camilla asked, “The committee meets this Monday, right?”

Ava raised a brow. “Of course we do,” she replied. “We always do.”

Camilla shrugged. “According to you, there's been so little going on there, so I wasn't sure.”

“This again? If you really can't believe me when I tell you nothing significant has happened, why did you appoint me in the first place?”

“I wasn't going to say that.”

“That's a first,” Ava shot back. “What is it, then?”

Camilla propped her foot against the wall and leaned back. “I need you to do me a favor at the next meeting.”

“Another favor? What's in it for me?”

Camilla rolled her head in a swivel on her neck. “Do you care about Amy?”

Ava froze. Ever since joining the committee, she pitied Amy. She had never seen someone lose so much in their life and still push on through the misery. She felt that Amy hardly had a support system—Zoey was a poor excuse for a friend in Ava's eyes—so she wanted to be there for Amy in any ways she could be. As much as Ava could, she grew closer to Amy, much to Zoey’s disapproval. Although Ava befriended Amy out of pity at first, she couldn't help but enjoy the girl's company. She was young and hard-headed, considerate and hot-tempered. She reminded Ava of herself, only with less profanity and with horrors even someone like her had never experienced.

Ava narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

“If you do care about her,” Camilla said, “you should keep her out of this.”

“Out of what?”

Camilla straightened. “I'm going to confront Zoey and Leah on Monday after your meeting.”

“What? Why would you do that?”

“The last time we spoke—during the interview—it went horribly.”

“Yeah, I heard.”

“So, I want to talk to them again. I'm sure I can resolve some things.”

“You can't. They won't listen to you. They know what they saw.”

“Leah doesn't, according to you. She's standing by Zoey because of their friendship, but she doesn't know anything. Well, Zoey doesn't know anything either because it's all a lie, but she thinks she knows.”

“So does Amy. Do you not want to change her mind?”

“There's no changing hers. She's set on her stance. Plus, she's terrified of me. I don't want to cause her any more trouble. That's why I need you to keep her from seeing me.”

Ava shook her head. “You can't change Zoey's mind either, and I doubt you'd change Leah's without proving your innocence.”

“What if I could prove my innocence? Or, rather, prove someone else's guilt?”

“How would you be able to prove that?”

“Ever since the interview, I've been digging around. I didn't think I'd find the man responsible for Chloe's disappearance, but I did.”

Ava stepped closer. “Who?”

“I can't say yet. I don't have enough evidence, but I need the committee's help.”

“Good luck with that.”

Camilla sighed. “I know. Can I at least get your help for now?”

Ava paused. “Keep Amy away. Got it.”

“Just keep her in the classroom for ten minutes after Zoey and Leah leave. That should be all the time I need. I'll speak with them in the hallway or something.”

Ava nodded. It wasn't until after their agreement that she began to question Camilla’s motives.

Ava had not lied to Zoey in her interview to join the committee. She believed that Amy must have been telling the truth, at least in her mind. She believed that Amy had seen Camilla at the scene of the crime and concluded that she was responsible for River's disappearance. The rest, Ava didn't know what to think. She had no reason to trust Zoey and what she claimed to have seen, and she didn't even trust Amy's judgement, given her mental state.

But Ava knew she could not trust Camilla. She was afraid of her—not for her own safety, but for André's. She could not lose him, not after giving up her entire life to follow him. The only reason Ava did not warn Zoey and Leah that Camilla was going to confront them was to save the skin of her unreciprocated lover.

As she wandered the halls, Ava wondered if she had made a grave mistake. Despite Camilla’s promise to speak with them in the school, Ava saw no sign of Zoey or Leah. She heard nothing but the rushing rain outside.

A flash of lightning drew her attention out the window. The sky was dark, clouded by heavy rainfall. Though she could hardly see much, through the splattered glass, she instantly recognized two people walking along the sidewalk towards the student parking lot. Ava frowned. Camilla must have missed them. They were much too far for her to stop them now.

As the girls were nearly around the corner—behind which their cars were parked—a tall figure lunged out from behind a divot in the white walls. Ava gasped. His long arms snatched them both in a swift reach, dragging them around the corner and out of sight.