“You know, Lila, curiosity killed the cat,” Tessa’s voice dripped with mockery as she appeared beside me in the hallway.
I stiffened at her sudden presence, gripping the strap of my bag tighter. I had been avoiding her ever since our last confrontation, but of course, she always had a way of finding me.
“What do you want, Tessa?” I said sharply, not even bothering to mask my irritation.
She leaned casually against the lockers, her perfect blonde hair falling over her shoulder as she studied me with an amused smirk. “Relax. I’m just here to warn you… again.”
“I don’t need your warnings,” I replied, glaring at her. “And I don’t need you following me around, either.”
Tessa laughed, a hollow, bitter sound. “Oh, but you do need my warnings, Lila. You just don’t realize it yet.” She stepped closer, her expression hardening. “You’re digging into things you don’t understand, and it’s going to blow up in your face. Just like it did with Evelyn.”
The name sent a chill through me. I had heard it too many times now—always tied to danger, mystery, and fear. But this time, something felt different. Tessa wasn’t just taunting me. She knew something, and she wanted me to know it too.
“Evelyn,” I said, my voice steady despite my nerves. “The girl in the photo. The one who disappeared after dating Grayson.”
Tessa’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “Oh, so you figured it out. Good for you. But do you know how it ended for her?”
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to meet her gaze. “No. Why don’t you tell me?”
Tessa laughed again, softer this time, almost pitying. “She got too close, Lila. Too close to their secrets. She thought she could handle Grayson and the rest of them, but she couldn’t. And when things went bad… well, let’s just say the Cross brothers don’t exactly have a reputation for protecting girls like her.”
“Girls like her?” I repeated, narrowing my eyes.
Tessa rolled her eyes. “You know, poor. Helpless. Disposable.” She said the last word with a deliberate edge, and it made my stomach churn.
“So what?” I snapped. “You’re saying they only target people who can’t fight back?”
Tessa’s smile widened. “Exactly. That’s why I never had to worry. The Cross brothers wouldn’t dare mess with me. My family’s name is too powerful for them to touch. But Evelyn? She didn’t have that kind of protection. And neither do you.”
Her words felt like a punch to the gut, but I refused to let her see how much they affected me. “If you’re so untouchable, why are you so obsessed with warning me?” I shot back.
Tessa’s smirk faltered for a moment, and I caught a flicker of something in her eyes—anger, pain, maybe even guilt. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared.
“Because you’re walking straight into the same trap she did,” Tessa said coldly. “And I’m trying to save you from yourself. But hey, if you don’t want to listen, that’s your problem.”
She turned to leave, but I wasn’t done. “Why do you care so much about Evelyn?” I called after her. “You didn’t even like her, did you?”
Tessa froze, her back still to me. For a moment, I thought she wouldn’t answer. But then she turned around, her expression icy and unreadable.
“No, I didn’t like her,” she said quietly. “But that doesn’t mean she deserved what happened to her.”
And with that, she walked away, leaving me alone in the hallway, her words echoing in my mind.
Diary Entry
Date: October 7th, 11:45 PM
Dear Diary,
Tessa said something today that I can’t stop thinking about. She said the Cross brothers only go after girls who are “poor, helpless, disposable.” She said that’s why they left her alone—because her family is too powerful for them to touch. I don’t know if I believe her, but the way she talked about Evelyn… it’s like she knows more than she’s letting on.
What happened to Evelyn? How did she disappear, and why does it feel like everyone’s hiding something about her? Tessa makes it sound like the Cross brothers are dangerous, like they ruin people’s lives for fun. But why? What’s the point?
I’m starting to think I don’t really know Grayson, or Aiden, or Asher at all. And maybe… maybe I don’t want to.
Lila
The school was eerily quiet that night as I crept through the dimly lit hallways. My heart pounded in my chest as I approached the records room, my palms slick with sweat. I shouldn’t have been here, but I needed answers.
Tessa’s words haunted me, twisting around my thoughts like a vine. Poor. Helpless. Disposable. Evelyn had been all of those things, and now she was gone. If I didn’t figure out what had happened to her, I might be next.
The door to the records room was locked, but I had expected that. I pulled a bobby pin from my pocket, my hands trembling as I worked to pick the lock. It wasn’t the first time I had done this—Aiden’s influence, I supposed—but it didn’t make it any less nerve-wracking.
Finally, the lock clicked open, and I slipped inside, closing the door softly behind me. The room was dark and cramped, the air thick with the smell of old paper. I switched on a small desk lamp and began rifling through the files, my fingers shaking as I searched for Evelyn’s name.
When I finally found it, my breath caught in my throat. The file was thin, almost too thin, and the label on the front was simple but chilling.
DECEASED.