The next morning came too quickly.
Auriella's alarm blared at 7 a.m., jolting them both awake.
"Ugh," Penny groaned, burying her face in the pillow. "Why did we agree to 8 a.m. classes?"
"Because we're idiots," Auriella muttered, dragging herself out of bed.
They got ready quickly, grabbed breakfast, and rushed to their first lecture.
And so began the week.
Classes. Lectures. Assignments. Studying.
The days blurred together in a relentless cycle of academic pressure. Blackthorn didn't let up. Every professor expected perfection. Every assignment was graded harshly. Every test felt like life or death.
Three days had passed swiftly.
Celeste was still no where to be found .
Auriella and penny would occasionally look for her .
Whenever they bumped into Lincoln , Auriella often felt guilty for not telling him the truth she just hoped that crazy girl would come back quickly and start laughing at their faces .
Penny's phone rang.
She glanced at the screen and smiled. "It's my mom."
Auriella was sitting on Penny's bed, flipping through notes.
"Penny!" Mrs. Ashford's warm voice filled the room. "How are you, sweetheart?"
"I'm not good Mom. Tired, and I feel like my brains are going to explode."
Oh really." When have you ever done anything without complaining penelope Ashford."
Mom ." You don't care about me
Penny frowned.
Looking like a child who wasn't getting the attention she wanted .
"And Auriella? Is she with you?"
"I'm here, Mrs. Ashford," Auriella called out.
"Oh, wonderful! How are you both doing? Is the school treating you well?"
"It's intense," Auriella said with a laugh. "But we're managing."
"Good, good. And you're both staying out of trouble, I hope?"
Penny and Auriella exchanged a quick glance.
"Of course," Penny said smoothly. "We're model students."
Mrs. Ashford laughed. "I'll believe that when I see it. I know Auriella is a model student but you ,I'm not so sure .But seriously, if you need anything—anything at all—you call me, okay? Both of you."
"We will," Auriella said. "Thank you, Mrs. Ashford."
They talked for a few more minutes before Mrs. Ashford had to go.
When Penny hung up, she sighed. "I love her, but she doesn't even care about her only child."
"She cares," Auriella said. "That's a good thing."
Penny nodded, then her expression shifted. "It's been four days Auri ,I'm starting to get scared."
Auriella didn't need to ask what she meant.
"Four days since anyone's seen Celeste,"
The unease settled back over them like a heavy blanket.
"Lincoln's getting worried," Auriella said. "He asked me about her again after class today."
"What did you say?"
"That we haven't seen her either."
Penny bit her lip. "Do you think we should tell him? About the party?"
Yeah I'm thinking the same ." Whatever trouble she gets into when Lincoln finds out she went to that party ,is better than this thing happening right now.
What if something happened to her?"
Auriella's stomach twisted.
Before penny could answer, there was a knock on the door.
Penny frowned and opened it.
Lincoln stood there, and he looked terrible. His hair was disheveled, his eyes red-rimmed like he hadn't slept.
"Lincoln?" Penny said, alarmed. "What's wrong?"
"I need to talk to you both," he said, his voice strained. "About Celeste."
They sat in Penny's room, Lincoln pacing back and forth while Auriella and Penny watched him anxiously.
"Her mom called me again," Lincoln said. "She's freaking out. Celeste hasn't answered her phone in days. She's not responding to emails. I'm really worried cause they left me in charge of her.I should have checked on her more properly"
"Lincoln—" Auriella started.
"I know she does this," Lincoln interrupted, running his hands through his hair. "I know she disappears sometimes. But not like this. Not for this long. And her mom said she had plans to call her on Tuesday. Celeste never misses calls with her mom."
Auriella and Penny exchanged a look.
"There's something we need to tell you," Penny said quietly.
Lincoln stopped pacing and looked at them.
Auriella took a deep breath. "The party Last Saturday night. In the storage room near the boys' dorm."
Lincoln's eyes widened. "The party that got busted?"
"Yeah," Auriella said, guilt heavy in her voice. "We were there. All three of us. And when security showed up, everyone scattered. We lost Celeste in the chaos. We haven't seen her since."
Lincoln stared at them, his face pale.
"Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Because Celeste said you couldn't know," Penny said. "She didn't want to get in trouble or—"
"She's been missing for four days and you didn't think to tell me?!" Lincoln's voice rose.
"We did ,but you said she was just hiding out!" Auriella said desperately. "You said she does this all the time!, we thought she'd come back soon.
"Are you guys being serious right now," Lincoln said, his voice cracking.
He turned and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Penny asked.
"To her room," Lincoln said. "Right now."
"We're coming with you," Auriella said, standing.
Lincoln didn't argue.
They hurried across campus to Ravenwood Hall and climbed the stairs to the second floor.
When they reached room 243, Lincoln didn't bother knocking.
He tried the handle.
It was locked.
"Celeste!" he called, pounding on the door. "Celeste, if you're in there, open up!"
Nothing.
Lincoln stepped back, his jaw tight.
Then he slammed his shoulder into the door.
"Lincoln—" Penny started.
He did it again.
The lock broke with a sharp crack, and the door swung open.
They all froze.
The room was trashed.
Completely trashed.
Books were scattered across the floor. The desk chair was overturned. Clothes were strewn everywhere. The bedsheets were half-torn off the mattress.
It looked like someone had torn the place apart.
"Oh my god," Penny whispered.
Lincoln stood in the doorway, his face ashen.
Auriella's heart pounded in her chest.
"We need to tell the school," Lincoln said, his voice hollow.
"Right now."