When morning arrives, I awake with a start; my head foggy and eyes sticky with sleep.

I'm not ready to get out of bed. I spent most of the night with fragments from Kate's conversation plaguing my dreams.

I don't want to believe it. Drew is—was—my friend. Only a couple nights ago, he was here in my room, sitting on this very bed. Hands creeping beneath my shirt, hungry lips devouring my neck.

How stupid can I be? Not just the poor judgment I used bringing him up here in the first place, but that I chose to trust him at all? He may have been the father of my sister's baby—and he might be the person responsible for taking both of their lives.

I need to get Ava's phone. I need to go through their texts and piece together what happened for myself. Maybe then, I can take it to the police and clear Ava's name. But how am I supposed to do that when it's obvious Kate hates me? It's not like I can just come right out and tell her what Xander and I overheard. Even if I did, she would never hand it over.

Maybe Xander came up with a plan?

I roll over and reach for my phone when something stops me in my tracks. Iris is sitting up in bed, her hand holding back the blinds from the window. A haze of muted sunlight illuminates her face. All I can make out is her profile, but I know immediately something's wrong.

I push myself onto my elbow. "What's going on?"

She doesn't answer.

A fist of dread curls in my chest. I try again. "Iris—what is it?"

Slowly, she turns to face me, and a whisper floats through her parted lips. "Something happened."

I push out of my covers and dive onto her bed. Iris scoots over to give me room. Shoving the blinds aside, we peer out the window together. Emergency vehicles are parked along the sandy shoreline near the cliffs, their lights an unending series of blue and white flashes.

An eerie silence falls over us as we take in the scene.

"What do you think it is?" I finally ask.

Her widened eyes meet mine. "I don't know. But the last time this happened—" She stops herself before finishing.

"What?"

Before she can answer, something vibrates on my desk. I bounce up and grab my phone, my gaze moving over the words on my screen. When I look up, Iris is watching me. "It's a text from school," I tell her. "They want all students to report to the auditorium in half an hour."

Her face pales. "Bloody hell. Not again."

"Iris—?"

She swings her legs over the side of the bed. "There's no time. We need to hurry."

After we're dressed, we head over to the Humanities Building, neither one of us having much to say. As we fall in line with a group of students, Iris is uncharacteristically apprehensive, her back straight, shoulders tense. Eyes fixed on the path. Everyone is silent. Too silent. Even the ocean whispers as its waves roll onto the shore.

When we file into the auditorium, it's dimly lit, with the majority of lighting coming from above the stage. Several students are already sitting while others congregate along the aisles, their hushed voices carrying over the rows of seats.

I follow Iris toward the front, taking note of the somber faces we pass along the way.

The air is heavy, like all of the oxygen has been sucked out of the room. Once we're seated, my gaze searches for Xander, and I finally spot him a few rows back. When our eyes meet, an expression I can't make out tweaks the barbell in his brow.

Shoes shuffle across the stage. Even though it's the weekend, Mr. McKenzie is dressed in a trademark navy suit, his blond hair slicked into a perfect coif. When he reaches the podium, he clears his throat. "Good morning, students."

A low murmur rumbles through the crowd.

"I've asked you here today to share some news," he says. "Sometime, in the middle of the night, Kate Baxter's roommate awoke to find Kate missing from her bed. As that is out of character, she was rightfully worried, and tried to reach her. When she couldn't, she brought the situation to our attention. Law enforcement was immediately notified, and after an extensive search of our campus, Kate was found."

Mr. McKenzie pauses, lips quivering, and turns away from the audience. When he finally looks back, his eyes shine beneath the lights above the stage.

"Students of Maliseet Bay, it is with a heavy heart that I inform you, Kathleen Marie Baxter is no longer with us. May her soul rest in peace."

As a collection gasp rises above the crowd, something uncomfortable spirals in my chest. Next to me, Iris' breath catches, and it's then that I realize I've stopped breathing as well.

The headmaster continues. "We are withholding further details pending a formal investigation, but if anyone has information they feel may be of importance, they're encouraged to contact the Maliseet Bay Police. They may even be speaking with Kate's closest friends over the next several days to gather data. In the meantime, there will be no classes this week so we can process our loss and make arrangements for a memorial. Counselors will be on hand to meet with students should they feel the need, and I implore you to take advantage of their services. Mental health is so very important, and we've seen first hand how—"

He hesitates again to compose himself. When he finds his voice, it's quieter than before. "Please keep Kate and the Baxter family in your thoughts and prayers. They're going to need our support as they navigate—" Again, his sentence cuts off.

Mr. McKenzie pulls a handkerchief from his pocket and holds it to his nose as the deputy headmaster takes over the podium. She says a few words in remembrance of Kate, explains the email they'll be sending to our parents, and excuses us from the auditorium.

No one moves. We all remain seated, still as statues, as Mr. McKenzie's revelation sinks in.

Kate is dead.

It was only yesterday when Xander and I saw her downtown, talking to some mystery person about my sister's missing phone. This can't be happening. There was no love lost between me and Kate, but that doesn't mean I wanted anything bad to happen to her. They won't even tell us how she died!

The flashing lights by the cliffs. That must be where they found her. Why else would a bunch of emergency vehicles be parked on the beach on a Sunday morning? Not again, that's what Iris said. That can only mean—

The sting of bile rises in my throat. Not again...

There's a hand on my arm. "Are you okay?" Iris' brows draw together.

My chest is heaving, but I can't get any air.

"Mia, you're scaring me. Should I get someone to help?" She's halfway out of her seat.

I shake my head and pull her back, trying to calm my frantic lungs. "Please, don't leave me."

Iris sinks back in her seat and grasps my hand, her thumb moving in small circles over my clammy skin. She doesn't know what I know. Doesn't realize what Kate had in her possession. Isn't aware of what Drew may have done.

Everyone is still in their seats. My eyes skim over the crowded rows, bouncing from one shocked face to the next. Searching for someone in particular.

But Drew is nowhere in sight.