Macy wasn't back by Monday and it was all anyone could talk about.

I'd spent most of my classes in "independent study." Thanks to the rampant gossip mill, no work was getting done in any class, and most teachers had given up. Hanover was the type of place where everybody knew everyone else—and we hadn't had anything this bad happen in a long time.

I was sitting in fifth period, staring at Macy's empty desk, when the intercom crackled to life above us. Everyone looked up immediately.

"Attention," a fuzzy voice said through the speakers. "This is Principal Gregg. I'm sorry to say that Macy Stinson, a fellow classmate of yours, has officially been declared missing as of this morning. I'm here with the Sheriff and the lead detective on her case. Please report to the principal's office if you have any information on Macy's whereabouts. And, please, everyone, be especially careful in the next few days. Keep your eyes open and stay alert."

The intercom went off just as the front door of the classroom opened. A freshman aide came in and handed Miss Alcott a blue slip of paper before scurrying back out the door. Miss Alcott's gaze swept over the class. Everyone was dead silent, but she cleared her throat anyway.

"Miss Buchanan, would you get your stuff? The principal wants to see you."

There was the rustling of clothes as all heads turned toward me. My jaw dropped slightly, but I grabbed my bag off the floor and scooped my notebook off the desk. Usually, a chorus of giggles would have gone up at the mention of someone getting in trouble, but the classroom was eerily quiet as I got out of my chair.

Lucca sat up straight as I passed him, his hazel eyes concerned as I grabbed the note from Miss Alcott's hand and went into the hallway, practically tripping over my own feet as I hurried out of class.

Once in the hall, I leaned against the row of lockers, my chest heaving.

Macy was missing now. This wasn't just an interesting story to trade while you were getting books out of your locker in the morning. We weren't taking bets on where Macy had hitchhiked to. She was actually gone.

I knew what happened to beautiful, rich girls that got drunk and disappeared. I'd watched enough CNN to know that evil lurked around almost every corner—even in a place as safe as Hanover.

Even though I had no clue what Principal Gregg would want with me, I wanted to get it over with. I took a moment to collect myself before I started walking.

A few minutes later, I was sitting outside of Principal Gregg's office, my knee bouncing.

Gretchen and Lucy, two of Macy's closest friends, sat on the end farthest from me, their bodies tilted toward each other. The third to their group, Rebecca, wasn't there yet. They shot me annoyed looks every few moments, obviously talking about me, but I ignored them.

As I stared at my phone, which kept lighting up with texts from Lucca, I heard the squeak of sneakers on the tile floor.

Gretchen and Lucy immediately stopped whispering to each other.

When the seat next to me was filled, I didn't move.

"Hey, Gretch." I tensed at the sound of the familiar voice but didn't look up.

"Hey," Gretchen said. I could hear her turning in her seat. "I'm surprised they took so long to talk to you."

"Could say the same for you," he replied gruffly.

"We talked to the police on Sunday morning," Gretchen replied and promptly sniffled. After a moment, she added, "Becca was still a little drunk Sunday. They wanted to talk to her when she sobered up."

I rolled my eyes. No wonder Macy was missing; if these were the people that were supposed to look after her, I was surprised she'd lasted this long.

The person in the seat next to me shifted. "Azalea? What are you doing here?"

I looked up into the soft brown eyes of my lying, cheating, piece-of-crap of an ex-boyfriend.

Seth Carlton looked the same as he had freshman year: cute, with sandy brown hair that he left in a mop of curls on top of his head, tanned skin, and puppy-brown eyes.

I didn't bother reminding him I didn't go by Azalea—he'd never listened to me before, so I didn't expect him to now.

"Same reason as you."

He frowned. Although he'd apologized numerous times for hooking up with Macy, we'd never been on good terms. It's hard to be friends with someone after they cheat on you with your best friend.

Lucy leaned around Seth when he didn't say anything. "Oz and Macy got in a fight at the party. The police think she might've done something to her." She shot me a dirty look.

I glared at her and stood up. "Maybe you should stop worrying about me and start worrying about your friend."

Before Gretchen or Lucy could get in any kind of retort, the door to the principal's office opened. A tall, dark haired, dark eyed man stepped out, his hand on the broad shoulder of a somewhat familiar looking face.

When Detective Reyes noticed me standing there, he tilted his head. "Oh, Azalea Buchanan, right? We're ready for you."

I glanced at the hand on Eli Parrish's shoulder. I didn't know him well, but in a town as small as ours, it was hard to not remember someone—especially a mysterious and cute someone that had only been in town for a few years.

"I'll see you at home," Detective Reyes said to Eli.

Eli met my gaze briefly before brushing past me.

I followed Detective Reyes into Principal Gregg's office.

Even though I knew I wasn't the only person to get called down to talk to the police, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was in trouble. Sheriff Johnston, who played golf every Sunday with my dad, looked mighty unhappy to see me, which was odd.

Detective Reyes motioned for me to sit down across from Sheriff Johnston, who sat in Principal Gregg's chair. Reyes leaned against the wall behind the sheriff.

"Miss Buchanan," Johnston said, giving me a slightly warmer look than the one when I'd first entered the office. "Thanks for coming."

Like I had a choice, I thought but bit my tongue to keep from saying it.

When I didn't reply, Johnston said, "I'm sure you know why you're here."

"Because of Macy, right?" I asked, tucking my hair behind my ear. I sat up straighter under the heavy weight of Reyes's chilly stare. My parents, both lawyers, had been forced to deal with Reyes on a few different occasions and had warned me about him. Tough guys like that were all the same—if you showed even an ounce of fear, they'd pounce. "Her mom called me Saturday night and asked me some questions. I wasn't much help."

"She told us she called you, but after we asked some of Macy's friends—" I assumed he meant Lucy, Rebecca, and Gretchen, although I'd never call them anyone's friends "—and they said that you two got into a fight the night of the party." Johnston tilted his head at me, his usually kind gaze replaced by something hard. "Is that right?"

I paused. "Yeah, but it wasn't really a big deal." However momentarily I had hesitated, I could see that Reyes had noticed and stored that away somewhere in his brain.

"From what we heard, it was a pretty big fight," Reyes said.

"She called me a bitch," I replied flatly. "I told her to fuck off. That's all. Pretty typical high school stuff."

Reyes tilted his head back, his black eyes narrowed at me.

Johnston asked, "What did you fight about?"

"The same thing we've been fighting about for three years," I said shortly. "She hooked up with my boyfriend. Friendship over. Sometimes we get mad and say rude stuff to each other." I shifted my glare between both of them. "Do I need a lawyer? I didn't do anything wrong. We fought, and I'm one hundred percent sure that isn't illegal."

"No," Reyes said, the corners of his mouth tipping up into a cruel smile. "But murder most definitely is."

A horrified silence descended over the room. Murder?

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking." Reyes shrugged as if it were totally normal to go around accusing people of murder. "You have a long history with Macy. You guys fought at the party and then you both disappeared from it. Now she's missing."

I stood up so fast my chair skidded across the floor. "I would never hurt Macy. You're insane if you actually think that." I looked at Sheriff Johnston. "No one said Macy was dead. I thought she was just missing."

"She is just missing." Sheriff Johnston shot Reyes an annoyed look. "We don't believe you did anything, Oz. We're just asking some questions."

Shifting on his feet, Reyes crossed his arms over his chest. "We don't know anything for sure just yet."

I glared at him. "Then why the hell did you say I murdered her?"

"Let's just call it a gut feeling," Reyes murmured, his eyes sweeping over me. "And trust me, my gut is never wrong."