Her Death, Their Sinful Secret

Chloe died, I

rying to finish a paper

the table, a text f

ned at the dorm.

ling washe

books in a b

nd two police cars cut through the ev

nce. A small crowd of student

he edge of the cro

asked, my breath ca

ispered, not looking at

d went

e

for the tape. A campus se

t go in the

said, my voice shakin

his head, his

cer. He wasn' t looking at the building, he was looking at the crowd, his eyes scanning every fa

ersity m

fa

ung woman overwhelmed by academic pressure. The

ey finally let me back into

e wall. Her desk was wiped clean. Her laptop, her phone, her little colle

ked the resident advisor, who

s," she said, reciting a line she' d clearly b

ndard procedur

e' d been quiet, withdrawn. She had bruises on her arm last week she' d laughed off as clu

dn' t ju

onvince

the detective assigned to the

rovided her academic and counseling records. All si

he university is covering someth

"We will loo

ouldn' t. The c

e counseling and a single room for the rest of the semester. They wanted me to be

burner phone she kept hidden in a loose floorboard under her bed. She' d sho

ther book she wrote in every single

cient, but they weren't detective

t back into

ipped out of my temporary room and went back to my

side. The emptiness of her side

ing the notched edge of the l

cheap plastic phone a

ick. This was it. This was the proof. Whatever she was h

and stood up, t

or swu

lway light. He wasn' t a student. He wasn' t campus security. H

here," he said, his

hone and the jou

are

ing the door behind him. The click

e holding," he said.

om in two strides, his hand clamping over my mouth. The other hand grabbed for the items. I struggled, kicking an

nd phone fell

ead slammed against the

Black spots dan

me, his features in

e better left al

arp, blinding pain a

en, no

.

zing

ss, annoyi

d shut. My head throbbed wi

forcing m

dow, hitting me directly in the f

my head, the movement sending

k. The one I used fo

read: WEDNES

nes

asn' t

iday night. It should

wimming. The room w

ver at Chl

were on the desk. Her favorite worn-ou

ath hi

en I s

scrolling through her phone. She was humming

was

This was a dream. It had to be a dream. A cr

voice was a

face. "Morning, sleepyhead. You

Real. Soli

The attack. The man in the suit. The empty ro

it had h

adn' t hap

d and grabbed my phon

ked th

day, M

ee

up three day

ing to die i

sical force, knocking the air fro

ld sa