⸻ ❛𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐏 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐈 𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐎𝐒!❜
Rory Hargrove is obsessed to uncover the truth behind Barbara Holland's disappearance, while facing her brother's enemy and buried secrets from...
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RUNNING IN HEELS WASN'T A PROBLEM FOR NANCY WHEELER. For Rory Hargrove, though, it was a bit of a different story. Ever since she twisted her ankle in the woods thanks to a pair of tall boots, she'd made it a rule to only wear comfortable sneakers on search missions—especially when speed was non-negotiable.
Aurora pushed open the school doors in one swift motion and was immediately met by her stepsister's voice echoing down the dark hallway. There was panic in her tone. And then she heard Dustin say something about a trance, Eddie, and Chrissy.
She kept running, the urgency in her legs matching the rising volume of Max's voice. The closer she got, the more she could see: slumped shoulders, a furrowed brow, and a tear-streaked face that betrayed a raw, unfiltered fear as Max turned to face the small crowd behind her.
Aura tried to control her breathing after the sprint, but her heart rate wasn't going to steady anytime soon. She knew that the moment her eyes locked with her stepsister's.
And Rory Hargrove felt that certainty hit her like a wave crashing into her chest.
She understood it fully a few minutes later, sitting in one of the cold chairs inside the classroom—right across from the redhead, who was laying out confidential pages, covered in Ms. Kelley's elegant handwriting. Words that Rory wanted to shred with her bare hands, just to erase them from existence. To tear them from reality itself.
"Both Fred and Chrissy were seeing Ms. Kelley. They were both having headaches, nightmares, trouble sleeping. Then they started seeing things — bad things. From their past. The visions kept getting worse, and then..." Max swallowed hard, visibly shaken by what she now knew. "... everything ended."
Rory didn't need her to finish. The headaches, the nightmares — they had become familiar territory. Too familiar. And now, she understood exactly where Max was going with that.
"Chrissy's headache started a week ago. Fred's, six days. I've been having them for five." No, no, no. Her heart was pounding so violently it echoed in her ears like a war drum.
Hearing Max say it out loud — the very thing Rory had feared — made her stomach twist violently. Her body reacted before her mind did. A burning sensation rose in her throat, and she swallowed hard to keep it down.
One hand gripped the edge of the table instinctively, grounding herself before the dizziness could take over.
Steve, visibly unsettled himself, placed a steady hand on Aura's shoulder. He didn't know what to say — didn't have the words or the answers. But the gesture said what he couldn't: I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you.
