As soon as I turned from my locker, I froze. There, across the hallway, was Andrew—one of Chad's friends. One of the guys who had been there that night. My chest tightened, and my fingers instinctively went to my phone. I flicked it open, scrolled through Instagram, and blocked him without a second thought.
Maybe... maybe he'd disappear too. Maybe I had the power to make them all vanish, just like Hannah. It was a ridiculous thought, but after everything that had happened, could I be blamed for thinking like that?
I glanced back up, expecting him to be gone, but instead, someone stepped into my view—Sebastian. His presence caught me off guard, blocking my line of sight.
Annoyed, I pushed him out of the way, but not hard enough to make him stumble. He looked at me, surprised.
"Whoa, Mia! What's going on?" His voice was calm but concerned, noticing my obvious distress.
I didn't answer. My eyes searched for Andrew, who was already halfway down the hall. Without thinking, I started sprinting after him, not caring how I looked. Not caring that Sebastian was calling after me.
"Mia, stop!" he shouted, but I didn't listen. I couldn't.
I had to know. If it wasn't me making Hannah disappear, then what was it? I followed Andrew for what felt like an eternity, weaving between students and pushing open the heavy school doors to the outside. My lungs burned, but I didn't stop.
After about five minutes of chasing him, I finally slowed down. I stood there, panting, my mind racing. Andrew was fine. Still there. Still walking. Blocking him hadn't done anything.
I felt a wave of relief... and a sinking dread. I had no idea what was happening to Hannah.
Finally, Sebastian caught up to me. He was out of breath too, but his eyes were filled with concern.
"Mia," he panted. "What... what are you doing? Why did you run like that?"
I glanced at him, wiping sweat from my forehead. "Nothing. It's nothing."
"That didn't look like nothing," he said, his voice softer now. "Come on, talk to me. What's going on?"
I shook my head, biting my lip. I couldn't tell him. Not about Andrew, not about the insane theory I had in my head. No way.
"Just... forget it, Sebastian. It doesn't matter."
He didn't push further, but I could tell he wasn't convinced. Still, he nodded, letting the conversation drop. "Alright. But if you need to talk..."
"I don't," I interrupted, my voice sharper than I intended. "Let's just... go home."
Surprisingly, he didn't argue. "Okay. Do you want me to walk with you?"
This time, I didn't protest. "Yeah. Sure."
We started walking in silence. For the first time since all of this began, I didn't mind the quiet presence of someone beside me. Sebastian didn't ask questions, didn't pry. He just walked, and for once, I didn't feel the need to scream or run away.
As we reached my house, something shifted in me. Maybe it was the exhaustion from running, or maybe it was the relief of having someone who didn't push too hard. Either way, before I could second-guess myself, I turned to him.
"Do you... want to come inside? For a minute?"
Sebastian looked surprised, but he nodded. "Yeah, sure."
We walked into the house, and Mrs. Black was in the kitchen. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw us. I could tell she was relieved. It was the first time I'd invited someone in since everything happened.
"Hey, Mia, how was school?" she asked gently, glancing at Sebastian with a warm smile.
"It was... fine," I muttered, avoiding eye contact as I led Sebastian to the living room. But I could see the look of relief on her face. It was like, for once, things were starting to feel just a little bit normal again.
As soon as we sat down, Mrs. Black came in with two glasses of her signature smoothies. She handed one to each of us, smiling warmly as she asked, "Sebastian, how's everything at school?"
I stayed quiet, sipping on the smoothie I didn't taste. I wasn't paying much attention, but somehow, they started talking about Hannah—again.
I shifted uncomfortably, zoning out as they exchanged words about how strange it was that she was still missing. My eyes wandered to the TV remote, and without thinking, I grabbed it and turned on the TV, hoping for some distraction. But instead, the screen flickered to life, displaying something that made my stomach drop.
The news.
It was the sewer next to our school, and a breaking headline ran across the screen: "Body of Missing Student, Hannah Frost, Discovered." My breath hitched, and then the image appeared.
Hannah's body.
Hanging from a tree branch, next to the school sewer. N*ked. Brutally injured. And on her pale, lifeless skin, the word "BLOCKED" was carved in deep, red gashes.
My entire body went cold.
I couldn't process it. The room spun, and the bile rose in my throat. I felt sick.
Without thinking, I stood up. My vision blurred, and my legs moved on their own. I didn't even hear Mrs. Black or Sebastian calling my name. I just needed to get out of there.
Before I knew it, I ran out the door, heading straight for Mrs. Black's car parked in the driveway. My hands fumbled with the keys I had grabbed in my panic. I heard someone shouting behind me—Mrs. Black's voice—telling me to stop. But I didn't.
I started the engine, my mind racing, barely able to focus. I just had to get away.
Sebastian was already running after me, calling out, but his voice was muffled by the pounding in my ears. Mrs Black shouted something too, her voice filled with worry.
"Stop, Mia! Please!"
Sebastian turned to her, reassuring her, "Don't worry, I'll find her. I'll make sure she's safe."
But by then, I was already speeding down the road, the image of Hannah's body burned into my mind, the word "BLOCKED" echoing like a scream I couldn't escape.