Blocked

Chapter Nineteen

It was raining again. The kind of rain that soaked through your clothes and chilled you to the bone, as if the weather mirrored the storm brewing inside me. I sat on the windowsill, staring at the diary on my lap—the one we found in Andrew's house. The pages were worn, the ink smudged in some places, but the words on these pages held the key to unraveling the chaos we were now caught in.

Sebastian stood by the door, his tall frame leaning against the wall, arms crossed, his brow furrowed in concentration. Zaire was seated next to me on the floor, scrolling through his phone, though I knew he was just as anxious as the rest of us.

"This has to be it," I whispered, flipping through Andrew's scribbled thoughts. His handwriting was messy, erratic, as if his mind was unraveling while he wrote.

We had to be careful. Whoever killed Andrew was still out there, lurking, waiting for their next move. If we didn't act fast, one of us could be next.

"Anything yet?" Zaire asked, his voice low, eyes glancing up from his phone.

I shook my head, frustrated as I flipped through another set of random, cryptic entries. Teenage thoughts, complaints about school... But then, my fingers brushed over a page that felt different. Heavier. It was one of the last entries, and the handwriting had changed—neater, more deliberate, as if Andrew was trying to tell us something.

"Wait," I said, my pulse quickening. "Listen to this."

I read aloud: *"There's a place... hidden in the shadows where they all go. You won't find it if you look directly for it. Only in the reflection of what you already know."*

I glanced up at Sebastian, who had straightened. His jaw tightened, and he muttered, "Reflection of what you already know? What the hell does that even mean?"

"It's like a riddle," Zaire said, his expression darkening. "Andrew was always into cryptic stuff, but this... this feels different."

"There's more," I said, continuing to read.

*"They call it 'The Last Call'—a party no one talks about, yet everyone's heard of. Drugs. Money. Secrets. But it's all a game. The invitation isn't handed to you. You find it. And if you make it inside, you're part of the circle. Forever."*

My stomach twisted. "The Last Call..." I'd heard rumors about it—the kind of party that wasn't on anyone's radar but somehow, everyone knew someone who'd been there. It was like a ghost, hovering on the edges of our world. Only now, I had proof it wasn't just a rumor.

Sebastian moved closer, the intensity in his eyes growing. "This is how Hannah got involved. She must've gone to that party."

"And Andrew too," Zaire added. "But what's this about the reflection? How do you even get in?"

I flipped the page and froze. Sketched in the margin was a symbol—a circle with a snake biting its own tail. Around the circle were small, barely legible letters: *FAD.*

"What does *FAD* stand for?" I asked, more to myself than anyone else.

Sebastian leaned in, frowning. "A gang? An underground group?"

"It's definitely tied to the drugs," Zaire said, pacing now. "Andrew knew what went down at that party, and he was trying to leave us a clue."

The rain outside grew louder, pounding against the windows, adding to the tension in the room. My heart raced as I tried to piece together Andrew's puzzle.

"I think I know what the reflection part means," I said slowly. "The invitation isn't given—you find it. But it's hidden in plain sight. Like a reflection."

Sebastian looked at me, still confused. "You think it's some kind of mirror?"

"No, not a literal one," I said. "It's like... something that looks like one thing but hides something else. Like a code you need to decode. And we're missing a piece."

Zaire sighed. "Great. So we're supposed to find this ghost party based on a riddle?"

I shook my head. "Not just that. Look at this." I pulled out a loose page tucked between the diary's final entries. Scribbled on it were initials and names, like a list of people. Some were crossed out, but one stood out—*Damien.*

Zaire's eyes narrowed. "Damien... I know that name."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "You know him?"

"Yeah. He's an old guy, lives in an alley near my house. My foster parents always told me to stay away from him. Said he's trouble. But if he's tied to all of this..." Zaire trailed off, his voice tense.

"We need to talk to him," Sebastian said firmly.

We all agreed. Within minutes, we were in the car, driving through the rain-soaked streets toward Zaire's neighborhood. The tension was thick as we parked near the alley, where Damien was said to hang out. The place smelled of garbage and damp, the darkness made worse by the heavy rain.

Zaire led the way, spotting Damien huddled under a makeshift shelter. The moment the old man saw us, his bloodshot eyes locked onto me. His face twisted into a smirk, and he said, "You look just like her... Lexie."

I froze. Lexie. That name... I hadn't heard it in years, but it echoed in my mind, tearing open old wounds. My mother's name.

Sebastian stepped forward, confused. "Who's Lexie?"

Damien's gaze didn't leave mine. "She was part of it once. The circuit. Your mom, she was one of them. Until they killed her."

I felt like the ground had fallen out from under me. My mother... part of *this*? I pulled out a small photo I kept of her in my wallet, my hands trembling. "This... was my mom. Is this the woman you're talking about?"

Damien peered at the photo, then nodded slowly. "Yeah. That's her."

Sebastian moved closer, his eyes filled with concern, but before he could reach me, Zaire was already there. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into a tight hug. He knew how much my mother's death haunted me. "It's okay, Mia. We'll figure this out."

Damien went on, oblivious to my shock. "A lot of rich folks were involved back then. Elite people. Your mom... she got too close to someone. Fell in love. Rumor is they killed her to keep their secrets safe."

"And Hannah's parents?" Sebastian asked, his voice sharp.

"They knew about the group. But they weren't part of it." Damien laughed darkly. "Nowadays, it's the teenagers who run it. They supply the drugs, the roofies. But it's all connected."

My mind was spinning. My mother had been part of this same twisted circle. The secrets she kept... were now mine to uncover.

"We're close," Sebastian said quietly, determination in his eyes. "We just need to find this 'Last Call' and get inside."

Zaire nodded, still holding me. "We'll figure it out together."