Page 53 of Die for You (Diamond Devils #4)
Finn
Another day. Another day without Aurora. Without knowing where she is or what happened to her.
My skin feels like a shell I’ve outgrown. One I want to shed and peel off.
Everything is too much without her. Too loud, too quiet, too bright, too dark.
Search parties gather in the area around campus. Over sixty hours since we returned home to find she wasn’t there. Twelve hours left.
After seventy-two hours, our chances of finding her drop to almost nothing.
I still haven’t been able to track her phone. She must’ve turned it off. Or someone else did.
Damien thinks she was taken. Knox believes she made good on her threat to leave us. With each day that passes, I don’t know what to believe. Every possibility is too terrifying to imagine.
Someone has her, someone killed her, or she left all on her own.
“You’re always such a mystery, Finn.” At my side, Sienna flashes me a watery smile. She’s been crying every night in Luke’s room while he comforts her. During the day, she bottles her tears up so we don’t see them. “What are you thinking?”
“You know.”
“I know you’re thinking about her. We all are.”
My throat bobs. Can barely think the words, let alone say them out loud. “What if she left?”
“You mean, like, what if she went willingly? Ran away?”
I nod. At least if she ran and called, I’d know she was safe. That’s better than the alternative.
But that wouldn’t stop my heart from shattering.
I don’t think I could recover from Aurora leaving me because she wants to. Because she doesn’t want me anymore.
“If she ran away, it’s because she felt like she was more trouble than she’s worth.” Sienna's tone is certain. Spoken from experience. “It’s because she cares about you and Damien and Knox, not because she doesn’t.”
Grass whispers beneath our feet. Sienna is probably right. Aurora is exactly the type of girl who would carry guilt and shame for someone else’s actions.
“But I don’t think that’s what happened,” Sienna continues, scanning our surroundings for any sign of Aurora. “At least, that’s not the whole story. If she ran away, Aurora would’ve let us know that she was safe by now. She wouldn’t put us through something like this.”
No, she wouldn’t. She cares about us, all of us, too much to make us agonize like this over her disappearance. If she was safe somewhere, she’d at least give us the courtesy of putting us out of our misery.
We join Damien, Juliet, Trey, and Luke on the nearby sidewalk. Gray clouds blot out the sun, a drop landing by the toe of my trainer.
“Don’t you think it’s weird that Monica showed up again as soon as Aurora went missing?” Sienna frowns at the brunette hovering close to Knox, who’s talking with one of the police officers aiding in the search.
Sienna has a point. Monica has been by his side every day since Aurora disappeared. She hasn’t been flirting with him. None of her usual antics. But the timing is strange. Convenient.
Damien’s thick brows pull together. “What would she have to gain by helping us look for her?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Juliet lifts a dark, pierced brow.
“To make Knox think she’s changed. She’s not a horrible person anymore—she’s the sweet, thoughtful girl who helps him look for his missing girlfriend.
She’s there to comfort him when his girlfriend never returns.
There to put the pieces of his broken heart back together.
With Aurora out of the picture, she gets what she’s always wanted: him. ”
None of us knows Monica as well as Knox does. But maybe there is something more sinister beneath the surface of her sweet, helpful act.
The search parties are starting to dissipate now as the little remaining light from dusk starts to ebb away.
Damien shoots daggers at the spot where Monica follows Knox as he grabs a sweatshirt from his car and slips it over his head. “One way to find out.”
Before he can charge their way, I plant a hand on his shoulder, rooting him in place. Shake my head.
Accusing Monica of shit won’t get us the results we want. If she did have anything to do with Aurora’s disappearance, we won’t get answers by throwing the accusation in her face.
“Relax,” he assures me. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
We break away from our friends, smiles forced for Monica. Knox’s brows furrow when he sees us coming.
“Thanks for showing up,” Damien tells her. Almost sounds sincere. “You’ve been a huge help.”
“A real angel,” I add.
That last word catches Knox’s attention.
Monica waves us off but basks in our attention. “No problem. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, okay?”
She gives Knox one final smile and squeezes his arm. He frowns, about to shake her off before she loosens her grip and heads for her car.
As soon as she starts the engine, Knox asks, “What was that all about?”
Damien keeps his voice low. “We need to follow her.”
“Why?” Knox’s head tilts.
“Because there’s only one other person besides Jeremiah who would want to separate us from Aurora. Who would want to separate her from you .”
Takes every ounce of willpower not to stare after the yellow sedan. Can’t risk tipping her off.
Knox blanches. “You think Monica—” He doesn’t finish the sentence. Only grabs out a jingling set of keys. “Let’s go.”