LOGINWren's POVI didn't sleep again. I lay there with the phone clutched against my chest until the room started turning gray with early light, running through every possible explanation for how he'd known about the police station within hours of us leaving it.By the time Anna stirred awake, I'd already made a decision."We need to show everyone," I said, the second her eyes opened."Show everyone what?" She sat up, hair a mess, blinking against the light. Then she saw my face. "Wren. What happened?"I handed her the phone instead of explaining. She read it twice, her expression sliding from confusion into something closer to fear."He knew we went to the police," she said slowly. "Like, knew within hours.""That's what scares me the most. It's not just threats anymore. He's tracking us somehow."We found everyone in the kitchen already, Ross at the stove again like cooking had become his only coping mechanism, Dani at the table scrolling something on his laptop, Ryan leaning against the
Wren's POVNobody slept much that night. I know because I heard footsteps on the stairs at almost every hour, Ross checking the locks again, Dani's door opening and closing somewhere around two, even Anna shifting restlessly on the air mattress we'd dragged into my room so she wouldn't have to drive home in the dark.By morning, the five of us were gathered in the kitchen looking like a support group for people who'd all had the same nightmare."We need an actual plan," Dani said, sliding a mug of coffee toward me without being asked. "Not just locking doors and hoping.""What kind of plan?" Ryan asked. He'd come back over before sunrise, unable to sit at home not knowing what was happening here. "We can't exactly go arrest him ourselves.""No. But we can figure out where he actually is right now." Dani leaned against the counter. "If he's been in that group chat, there's a chance he's said something about location. Where he's staying. Who he's with.""I can check," Ryan said. "I'll s
Wren's POVThe campus security office smelled like burnt coffee and old carpet, and the officer behind the desk looked like he'd rather be anywhere else, scrolling through something on his computer that definitely wasn't related to us.“Threatening text messages, do you have a name attached to the number?”“No,” I said. “It's unknown. We think it might be a student named Blake Lawson. He's currently suspended."That got a flicker of actual attention. He typed the name into his system, squinted at the screen, then looked back up. "Blake Lawson is suspended through next week. Banned from campus grounds for the duration.""He was on campus three days ago," I said. "I saw him near the athletics field during cheer practice.""You saw him, or you think you saw him?"I hesitated.“Look, without a clear photo, a confirmed sighting from someone else, or a name actually attached to the number sending these texts, there's not a lot I can officially do beyond logging the report. I'd suggest block
Wren’s povAnna showed up twenty minutes later, hair still damp from a rushed shower, sweatpants thrown on over what looked suspiciously like one of Ryan's old shirts. She didn't say anything about it, and for once, neither did I.“Show me again,” she said, dropping onto my bed.I pulled the messages up and handed her the phone instead of reading them out loud. She read both texts twice, her face going progressively paler. “Okay. We're telling Ross. Right now.”“I know.”“I mean it, Wren. This isn't a let's wait and see situation anymore.”“I said I know.”We found him downstairs, already elbow-deep in cleanup from the night before, a trash bag in one hand. He looked up when we came in and immediately set the bag down.“Why do you two look like that?”“Like what?” I asked.“Like someone died. What happened now?”Anna didn't bother easing into it. She held her own phone up, the screenshot already pulled up from when I'd forwarded it to her, and handed it over. “Read this.”Ross read i
Wren’s POVI woke up with my head pounding and my makeup half down my face, still in last night’s dress, the blanket Ross had pulled over me tangled around my legs. For a second I just lay there, replaying the night in pieces, the kiss, the fist connecting with Dani’s jaw, Theo’s headlights disappearing down the street.I groaned and pressed my palms into my eyes.Someone knocked softly. “Wren?” Dani’s voice, careful. “Can I come in?”I sat up too fast and regretted it immediately. “Yeah.”He opened the door slowly, like he wasn’t sure what he’d be walking into. He had a bruise blooming along his jaw, dark and ugly, and he was holding two mugs of coffee, one of which he held out to me.“Thanks,” I said, taking it, not quite meeting his eyes.He sat on the edge of the bed, leaving careful space between us. “How are you feeling?”“Like I got hit by a truck.” I glanced at his jaw. “He really did you dirty.”“Theo’s got a mean right hook. I’ll give him that.”“Dani.”“I’m fine, Wren.”I wr
Dani’s POV Ryan pressed the ice pack against my jaw harder than necessary, and I winced. “Easy.” “It’s not even that bad, you’ll have a bruise for like a week, that’s it. Maybe a little swelling tomorrow morning. Theo’s got a decent right hand, though, I’ll give him that much.” “Thanks for the diagnosis, doctor.” “I’m not a doctor, but I’ve taken enough hits on the field to know the difference between broken and bruised.” He hopped up onto the counter beside me. “What the hell were you thinking, by the way?” I didn’t answer right away. I was still replaying it on a loop, Wren’s face crumpling as she told me about the girl kissing Theo, her voice cracking and instead of being someone she could actually lean on in that moment, I’d kissed her. Like that solved anything. Like that wasn’t the single worst possible moment in the history of moments to do it. “I wasn’t thinking,” I admitted finally. “That’s the whole problem.” “Yeah. I noticed. Everyone noticed, Dani. There we
Wren’s povThe room was very quiet.Dani’s hand was still extended from the handshake, his eyes on Theo, Theo’s eyes on him.Ross looked at me. Then at Dani. Then at the ceiling briefly.“I need to make a call,” he said, producing his phone from his pocket. “Outside. Where there's a signal.” He mov
Wren’s POVRoss’s arm wrapped around me before I even realised I was shaking.“Hey, look at me." His voice was firm, steady. “Breathe. Just breathe.”I couldn’t. The air kept catching somewhere between my throat and my lungs, and every time I closed my eyes, I saw Dani crumpled on the floor of that
Dani POVThe house was quiet after Wren left.I sat at the counter for another minute, finishing what was left on my plate. The way she’d said ‘I’ll do it’ across the counter like she was placing something down carefully and watching to see if I’d handle it right.I rinsed my plate and went upstair
Wren’s POVThe doorbell pulled me out of sleep.Once. Twice. Then continuously.I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling.Footsteps in the hallway. Ross’s door. Ross on the stairs, moving fast.Then his voice as he opened the door, stripped of its composure, “Get the hell away from this door.”A







