The next two days were hell.
Lincoln avoided them completely.
Every time Auriella saw him on campus— the hallways, or cafeteria—his expression would harden, and he'd turn and walk the other way.
It hurt more than she expected.
Penny tried to approach him once after their shared Philosophy class, but he'd walked right past her without a word, leaving her standing there.
"He won't even look at me," Penny had said quietly that night.
Auriella didn't know what to say. There was nothing to say.
Lincoln had every right to be angry.
They'd kept the truth from him. They'd wasted four days. Four days when Celeste could have been found.
And now she was still missing.
But Lincoln's anger wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was everyone else.
the entire school knew that Celeste was missing.
the rumors started.
In the cafeteria, heads turned when she and Penny walked in. Whispers followed them to their table.
A group of guys sitting nearby stopped talking when they passed, watching them with open suspicion.
"Do you think they did something?" one of them muttered, not even trying to be quiet.
Penny's jaw tightened, but she said nothing.
They sat down with their trays, but neither of them had an appetite.
"Everyone's staring," Penny whispered, her hands trembling slightly.
"I know," Auriella said quietly.
She could feel it. The weight of dozens of eyes on them.
It made her skin crawl.
The next day it got worse.
The rumor had evolved.
Now people weren't just whispering. They were talking openly.
And it all traced back to one person.
Anita Hargrove.
The tall, perfectly styled girl Penny had cursed out in the hallway outside Celeste's room.
Apparently, she hadn't forgotten.
Anita had a group of friends—wealthy, popular, the kind of girls who thrived on drama and social hierarchies. And she'd made it her mission to make sure everyone knew that Penny and Auriella were somehow responsible for Celeste's disappearance.
"I was there," Anita said loudly in the student lounge, her voice carrying across the room. "I saw them breaking into her room. And Lincoln looked devastated. Why would he look like that unless they did something?"
"Maybe they were fighting," one of her friends suggested.
"Exactly," Anita said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "And now she's gone. Coincidence? I don't think so."
Auriella had been walking past the lounge when she heard it. She stopped, frozen in place.
Penny, who was beside her, clenched her fists.
"Don't," Auriella said quietly, grabbing her arm. "It's not worth it."
"She's lying," Penny hissed. "She's making things up."
"I know. But if we confront her, it'll just make it worse."
Penny's eyes were blazing, but she let Auriella pull her away.
Everywhere they went, people stared.
In class, students would glance at them and then lean over to whisper to their neighbors.
In the hallways, groups would part to let them pass, conversations stopping mid-sentence.
At the library, Auriella felt eyes on her constantly. When she looked up, people would quickly look away, but the damage was done.
She couldn't escape it.
Neither could Penny.
"I can't do this anymore," Penny said , her voice breaking. They were in Auriella's room, the door locked, the curtains drawn. "Everyone thinks we did something to her."
"I know," Auriella said, her own voice hollow.
"Anita's telling everyone we fought with her. That we're hiding something. That Lincoln won't talk to us because we're guilty." Penny's hands were shaking. "And people believe her."
"Let them believe what they want," Auriella said, though the words felt empty. "We know the truth."
"Do we?"Because right now, it feels like we are responsible. We went to that party. We lost her. We didn't say anything for four days. Maybe... maybe we are the reason she's gone."
"Don't say that," Auriella said firmly, grabbing Penny's hands. "We didn't do this. We made mistakes, yes. But we didn't hurt her. We didn't make her disappear."
"Then where is she?" "Why hasn't anyone found her?"
Auriella didn't have an answer.
inside, Auriella felt the same crushing guilt.
The same fear.
Where is Celeste?
What happened to her?
And why does it feel like everything is falling apart?
That night, Auriella laid awake again.
Penny had gone back to her own room, exhausted and emotionally drained.
Auriella stared at the ceiling, her mind racing.
Lincoln's anger.
Celeste's empty room.
And that feeling.
That persistent, unshakable feeling that something was watching her.
She'd felt it in Onim's office. In the library. And sometimes, late at night, she'd feel it in her own room.
Like invisible eyes tracking her every move.
Auriella turned onto her side, pulling the blanket up to her chin.
She closed her eyes, trying to will herself to sleep.
But the unease wouldn't leave.
And deep down, she felt like this was only the beginning