⸻ ❛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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SUGAR WATER WORKS MIRACLES. And the miracle in question was helping Rory come to her senses enough not to collapse while the security guards carried her and sat her down in a chair inside Dr. Hatch's office.
Her legs were still weak, and her mind was foggy—like she was trapped in some dissociative state, half-asleep, a zombie, walking dead. She could hear the voices around her, but the words tumbled into her brain in a chaotic jumble, impossible to understand.
Before she knew it, her arms were draped over the shoulders of two girls—being half-carried, one on each side, toward the bathroom.
"Rory, if you knew there was a good chance this could go wrong, or that you couldn't handle it, you shouldn't have taken the risk." Wheeler spoke in a low tone that still carried the edge of arrogance her nerves always brought out, glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one could overhear from beyond the closed bathroom door.
"Rory always does her best, Nance, you can't blame her..." Robin turned on the faucet, wetting her hand to gently wipe Rory's face. Hargrove was still trying to ground herself in time and place. "What matters is we got what we came for, right?"
Wheeler crossed her arms at her hips and nodded, thoughtful.
"God, Buckley, I... I just need to sleep," Rory mumbled, her voice dragging as she braced both hands on the sink's edge. Her eyelids felt like they were weighted, and gravity seemed to be playing cruel tricks on her body.
"Hey, please, I know, but don't pass out on me again." Robin clumsily dampened a paper towel and kept wiping Rory's face. "I don't have the strength or physical coordination to haul you up again—because we need to get to the police station."
"Wait, what?" She didn't have the energy to yell, so her indignant question came out more like a whisper. She clung to the sink, squinting as the bright white bathroom light stabbed at her eyes.
"In case you didn't notice, when they gave you the sugar water, you were back in Hatch's office. And the cops were already with him. He knows our cover's blown."
"Oh, shit." She dropped her head into her hands, nearly pressing her face into the sink.
"You look like you got hit by a truck." Robin's paper towel dragged across Hargrove's face, which was starting to crumble into exhaustion. "What went wrong? I'm not judging, the stuff he was saying was gruesome—imagine actually seeing it..." Robin shivered. Rory's abilities had always fascinated her, but this was different.
"Uh... I think I feel more like I'm hungover." Rory sighed and tilted her head to look at her. "I'll explain on the way."
"On the way to the station? In the back of a police car? Yeah, not a great plan," Nancy said with a strained, ironic smile.
