Page 66

He sighs, scrubbing his hands down his face. Even CJ seems to struggle with my outburst, his hand gripping the back of his neck.
“Okay,” Cole gives in, not seeming too happy about it.
“Good,” I tell him, trying not to smile.
“What did you get on the girl?” Cole asks CJ, trying to come off as bored.
Allie and I give each other smug little triumphant smiles before relaxing back to listen to everything CJ found out.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
It’s been two days since we brought Allie in on our plan. Since then, I’ve listened to Allie’s advice and taken the rest of the week off, so I can recover. The university has been helpful by sending me what I’ve missed in my lessons to my email account.
It’s also given me a chance to visit the mystery girl from my class. Only, every time Allie and I have turned up at her shared room door, she hasn’t been there. Her name is Becca, and from what I remember about her, the name suits her.
She lives in one of the private halls owned by the university. Most of the first-years have the option to move into the private halls or into one of the resident halls. You can, like me and Allie, also move into your own accommodation or a shared flat.
From what CJ found out, Becca shares her room with another student, which might make it hard for us to talk to her. She’s not going to open up to us with someone else there. We can only hope we manage to catch her by herself today.
“Do you think she’ll be here?” Allie asks as we huddle together under the umbrella.
“I hope so. God, Allie, you should have seen her face on Monday. It still haunts me,” I tell her, my voice cracking.
“We’ll help her,” Allie promises as we step inside the private halls building. Since we’ve made this trip three times already, we’re able to navigate ourselves pretty easily through the building, coming to Becca’s door in no time.
Allie takes in a deep breath before knocking on the door. My pulse beats hard from nerves. A huge part of me is scared about their reaction and the other is worried about what we’re about to find out from Becca.
The door opens slowly, revealing the girl from class. My breath hitches when I see how tired and worn out she looks.
“Hey, I’m Willow,” I greet, introducing myself. Her eyes are as round as saucers when she realises who I am. I see her hand move, hesitant, wanting to shut the door on us. Her gaze goes beyond us, quickly scanning the corridor. Her fingers grip the door, and as she begins to fidget, Allie steps forward.
“Please, don’t shut the door on us,” Allie pleads gently, seeming to read Becca’s intentions.
“We just want to talk to you,” I assure her softly. She glances over her shoulder, back into the room at something or someone, and the hairs on the back of my neck start to prickle. When she glances back at us, her eyes are filled with tears and gut-wrenching sadness.
“I can’t talk to you,” she tells us, her voice breaking. I find it odd for her to say something like that when she seemed so desperate on Monday to unload everything on me. I’m about to ask her why, but Allie gets there before me.
“He already got to you, didn’t he?” Allie sighs sadly, and realisation dawns on me. She’s talking about Logan. He’s obviously turned up here and threatened her not to say anything. It’s a coward’s move on his behalf. He must have done a number on Becca for her to be visibly shaking in front of me.
“He won’t hurt you again,” I promise her, putting all my strength into the promise. She’s about to object, but I’m not going to let him win again. “We’re going to stop him once and for all, but we need your help. Please, hear us out.”
Becca seems to weigh my words, her eyes glancing between me and Allie. Her expression is a mixture of uncertainty and fear. She looks so goddamn petrified and it’s painful to see. It’s a look I’m waiting to see when I look in the mirror.
“Please,” Allie pleads, not hiding her desperation.
Whatever she hears in Allie’s tone must ease her somewhat because she takes one more look at the hallway behind us, like she’s making sure it’s clear, before inviting us inside.
I don’t even get a chance to survey my surroundings when I step inside, not when I’m greeted with the sight in front of me. My gaze zeroes in on the broken girl curled up on the far end bed next to the window, her eyes widening at the sight of us. She’s battered and bruised. I’m pretty sure she was once beautiful, however, it’s hard to tell with all the swelling on her face. My stomach turns just looking at her, my heart hurting.
What happened?
“Oh my god,” I gasp, horrified once reality sinks in.
“What happened?” Allie asks Becca softly over her shoulder. She’s still standing by the door with a fearful and crestfallen expression.
“Becca?” the girl calls, her voice brittle and low, clearly in pain. She doesn’t take her eyes off me and Allie. I can’t say I blame her either. I can’t even imagine what happened to her or how scared she must be right now.
“It’s okay. They’re here to help,” Becca rushes out, moving over to her friend’s side.