ANATOMY OF A GIRL

part eleven

They met the next morning in Flair and Sapphire's dorm. Leo and Ayden looked just as worn as Sapphire felt.

Flair, completely unaware of what was to come, was strewn across her bed, flicking through a textbook, her glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. Leo sat at Sapphire's desk and played with her paper clips, his eyes heavy from a lack of sleep.

As Ayden arrived, settling onto the couch, Sapphire knew she had to start explaining why she'd called them here, but she wasn't sure where to begin. "Now, this is going to sound a little crazy, but—" She paused, hesitant and unsure how to phrase it. "Last night, I accidentally went into Caelia's room and—"

Leo turned to face her quickly. "How do you go into someone's room accidentally?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

Sapphire shook her head. "That's not the point. The point is that I found something that makes me think she had the motive to kill Arlo."

"Of course you'd find yourself in Caelia's room. You hate the girl, but that doesn't mean she'd be capable of murder, Sapphire."

"You don't understand, just look," she said, pulling the photo out from her beside table's drawer and handing it to Leo.

"What is it?" Flair asked, her words somehow hopeful and fearful all at once. Sapphire's heart lurched in her chest.

Ayden looked over Leo's shoulder briefly, eyeing the photo. The red letters screamed out at Sapphire. ME OR HER. ME OR HER. ME OR HER.

Both boys seemed hesitant about passing the photo over to Flair. Sapphire was apprehensive, too. As a result of her overwhelming, sometimes manic, magic, Flair had a tendency to act out in torrential ways.

It took a few seconds, but eventually Leo extended the photo toward Flair. She'd see it either way. And with the look on her face, he didn't particularly want to experience Flair's abilities first-hand.

At first, her face dulled and she seemed to lose all light. Not a second later, she was glowering. Sapphire was sure the photo would catch alight right there in Flair's hand. Her fingers tightened it, her clenched hands paling. But the photo remained intact, and Sapphire feared it was because Flair's magic was building up inside her. Flair was like the ocean, calm on most days, but slowly building strength. Until one day, when it let loose. And a storm was brewing within Flair.

Sapphire's voice was quieter, gentler than before. "I found it in her diary. She wrote about having feelings for Arlo. It hinged on obsessive. I'm not sure about much, but it just made me wonder, if Arlo didn't reciprocate those intense feelings, she might have acted out." She paused, taking a breath. "She's guilty of a lot of things, but I don't know if she's capable of murder. All I know is that she has the power to drown someone."

"And she's the only lead we have," Leo finished. "Arlo would have fought back, so magic might have been the only thing that could have kept him down."

Flair stood abruptly, dropping the photo onto her bed. "I need air," she said quietly, but with enough force that Sapphire knew she wanted to be alone.

As Flair shut the door behind herself, the room felt quiet — almost icy.

Ayden was the first to speak. His voice was light, full of hope. It reminded her that she hadn't told them to hurt them — to cause any more grief. She'd told them because she wanted them to feel the same hope she did.

"Getting your phone, huh?" He teased.

She shrugged. "I wasn't sure I'd find anything. I didn't need you getting caught doing something so stupid."