Alejandro Roberto Gonzáles-Santos:

I hesitated, senses on high alert, then turned back to Stefan. "I...I don't know." I pressed my ear to the wall. "It's—somebody's...talking."

"Alex, I don't hear anyth—"

"Shh!" I ordered. "It sounds like...like...Callista..." I ran around to the back side of the room and knelt down to see through a tiny hole in the doorknob. "Oh my gosh," I breathed.

"Alex, what is it?"

Just as I was about to respond, Callista's screaming pitch ripped through the air, and it was the only answer Stefan needed:

"Oh, Hunter!" she cried in a screeching trill. "You're so vicious! And all it took was one drink."

Through the hole, I watched Hunter grovel on the floor as his knees rubbed sloppily against the carpet. Unintelligible mumbles escaping between his lips as Callista stared down at him with a devious smile, he fondled the outer edges of her thighs with frantic arms.

Securing his head firmly between her legs, she retrieved a cigarette from on top of the nightstand beside her bed, then bent down so that her face was inches from his. "Now, darling," she cooed erotically, "inhale my exhale."

She'd lit the cigarette in an instant, drawing in puffs of smoke before leaning to Hunter. Their lips locked, and Callista moaned with delight, just as Hunter coughed out the smoke before falling backwards and crashing to the rug beneath him.

"Oops," she feigned shock. "I forgot—this is your first time, isn't it?" She threw the cigarette to the side and started slipping out of her skirt, Hunter staring up blankly at her from the floor as she stood to her full height to disrobe. "Tell you what. Just this once, I'll take it slow."

"I lubyuh, Asala," Hunter slurred.

"Azalea?" Callista asked, interpreting his mumbles perfectly. "There's no Azalea here, sweetie."

Skirt shed, eyes flashing, she bent down to grip his arms—started moving his hands up her inner thigh, guiding his fingers into slowly peeling back her underwear to uncover her most private parts.

"Alex, what's going on?" Stefan prodded.

"It's Hunter—I think Callista's drugged him." I tried the knob, but it wouldn't budge. "Stefan, we gotta get in there!"

"Well, well, well," came a voice from behind Stefan. "What do we have here?"

I whirled around. "What do you want, Ryan?" I spat.

"It's a party," he fired back. "I want to have fun. And I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. Callista's a little busy right now."

I stood up in rage and grabbed Ryan by the shirt, slamming him into the wall. "What the heck is your problem! Did you put her up to this?"

Ryan grabbed my hands in a single motion and shoved me off balance, then swung his right fist into my jaw, knocking me to the ground. "Back up, chump," he barked.

But I did nothing of the sort. I blinked away the haze from my eyes, then sprang up in an instant and rammed him back against the wall. Then I bashed him in the cheek with my forearm, gripped him by the neck with both of my hands, and lunged with him to the floor to slam his face against the carpet. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?" I screamed as he yelped at the force of the impact. "How could you do this to Hunter!?"

His only reply was to choke out gasping breaths.

"ANSWER ME!" I ordered.

"I...I was paid, okay!?" he finally blurted, gravel littering his words.

"By who?"

"Let me go!" He squirmed against my grip.

I eased up, standing to my full height as he stumbled backward before rising on quaking feet.

"It was some guy," he muttered as his left hand rose to his throbbing neck. "Some dude wearing a glorified silk washcloth."

White Robe!

"And I'm guessing Callista was in on this too?"

Ryan was silent, staring back at me defiantly.

"ANSWER ME, YOU FREAK!" I screamed, anger surging. "ANSWER ME NOW, OR SO HELP ME, I WILL BEAT YOU TO DEATH!" I picked up an old shower-curtain pole that was leaning against one of the hallway walls, my grasp tightening as I inched closer to Ryan.

"Okay, okay!" he squealed back, putting his hands up defensively. "Yeah, she was in on it. That's why she threw this party in the first place...the guy who paid us—he said he wanted Hunter to sleep with her."

"Why!? Why would he pay you to—?"

"I don't know, man! It was easy money, okay!? And what do you care anyway? I'm doing Hunter a favor! Every guy on the team wants in Callista's pants!"

"Stop it!" I ordered. "Stop changing the subject, you prick! I asked you a question—why did White Robe pay you?"

"I told you I don't know! He just said to keep Hunter busy with Callista and make sure no one stopped it."

"Keep him busy?" I froze. "Oh, crap."

"What is it?" Stefan piped up next to me, fear tearing through his voice.

"Azalea!" I gasped. "Dude, it's Azalea! White Robe—he hates her mom, and what better way to get to Luvietta than by kidnapping Azalea!?" My words were frantic as Stefan glanced up at me, the trepidation in his eyes suddenly morphing to full-on terror.

"What the heck are you even talking about, dude!?" Ryan screamed.

I ignored his question. "Ryan, let us in that room. Open the door."

"No way!" He crossed his arms.

I lifted the pole. "I SAID OPEN THE DOOR!"

Ryan jumped at my words. "Okay, okay!" his words came out like begging. He retrieved a key to turn in the lock, then swung the door wide open—just as Callista had moved Hunter onto the bed and began crawling on top of him.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something here!" she shouted. "What do you think you're—?"

I bolted to Hunter, gripping him by the shoulders while Callista was mid-crawl. "Hunter! Hunter, snap out of it, man!"

"What are you doing, you freak?" Callista screamed, disgust and anger written all over her face.

"Hunter, please! Wake up! Hunter!"

"Get off, you dickwad!" Callista curled both feet underneath herself as she suddenly, unceremoniously shoved me from the bed.

My back smacked against the carpet, pain shooting in both of my shoulders. I bit back the sting before rising up again and grabbing Callista by the arms this time. I flung her to the floor in an instant, tossing her body away from Hunter's as a wide-eyed Stefan and a grimacing Ryan watched from the doorway.

Standing from the bed, I glared down at Callista with outrage, readying a slough of biting remarks to hurl at the girl who'd tried to rape my best friend, the filthy skank now lying on her back with narrowed eyes at the foot of her own bed.

But then, right then, I saw it—saw all of it...and what lay before me made me reel.

"You—you monster!" I yelled.

All along her bare upper legs was a long and tortuous line of blistering warts, their pale pink color and rounded edges resembling swollen boils on festering flesh.

I staggered back, inching toward the doorway. "Stefan," I breathed. "That's...that's—"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Yeah, it is." He swallowed uneasily. "Herpes."

Livid red flushed across my face. "What the heck is wrong with you!?" I screamed at Callista. "You have herpes!? You were gonna give Hunter an STD!"

"AND I'D DO IT AGAIN!" she screeched back. "HE HAD NO RIGHT TO JUDGE ME THE WAY HE DID, AND NEITHER DO ANY OF YOU!"

"You dirty slut! How could you—?"

ZZING! ZZING! ZZING! buzzed my phone against my thigh.

My eyes grew wide, my angry scowl feeling almost to evaporate—Sara!

"Oh my gosh," I sputtered the moment I pressed Answer. "I'm so sorry, Sara. I completely spaced about the hospital. I...I'm coming now." I turned back to glance at Stefan, his eyes still spread wide.

"Please hurry!" Sara begged. "I can't find Alma anywhere." Her words fell in frantic shivers. "...What if White Robe's done something to her?"

"Sara, don't think like that. Everything's gonna be alright. I'm on my way now." I breathed, then shot another angry glare at Callista. "Just hang tight for the next ten minutes. I promise I'll be there." I hung up the phone.

By this point, Callista had gathered her clothes and put back on her underwear, but she still looked like a shameless broad to me.

"You're disgusting," I spat. "I can't believe you would do something like this."

Stefan and I helped Hunter up. I slung his right arm over my shoulder and trekked to Stefan's car, brushing past Ryan's slimy frame as I did. Before exiting through the beach house's back door, I turned and stared cruelly at Callista one last time.

Her eyes met mine with defiance, bitterness, pure and unrelenting anger. I slammed the door behind me; and once Stefan and I had made it to his car and helped Hunter inside, we drove off into the distance and didn't look back.