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 Iknowwho.
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?—“
