Spencer is dead.
I try to make that sentence compute in my brain, but it refuses to accept it. There's no understanding that concept, no way of making it real. I don't want it to be real.
As I lay on my bed, I go through the whole scenario over and over again, what the person in the tree was wearing, the shape of his body, the color of his hair … There aren't a lot of guys at this school with silver-ash hair.
That is … except for Eugene Mathers.
My mood perks up a bit, and I scramble out of bed, looking for my laptop. I took this one pic of the school to send to Monica way back when, and Eugene just happened to pass by as I was doing it. It should be saved in my messenger somewhere …
I flip open the top on my computer and scroll back through my conversations with Monica (add another layer of frosting to my depression cake, thank you very much social media).
There it is.
I zoom in and squint at Eugene's hair. It's about the same color as Spencer's, like he was trying to copy him and got close, but just didn't execute it as well. The mosaic plagiarism version of a hairstyle. There are parts that look old-man gray instead of silver, like the style is more geriatric than anime-cool.
And, like, Eugene is an asshole, right? I feel sort of bad for hoping he's the dead guy, but also … maybe it's karmic justice?
I start up a group message with the guys when I hear a rock ping against my window. Earlier, my dad sent me back to the dorm with Nathan, the creepy security guy, and some uniformed police officers to grab my stuff. I grabbed the bag with the weapons in it, too, so I'm fully armed when I tiptoe over to the window and look out.
But it's just the Student Council waiting for me in all their glory, moonlit and beautiful, every last one of them. Well, except for Spencer, of course. My stomach twists, and I exhale in an attempt to ward off the nausea.
Carefully, I crack my door and listen to my dad's snores. I feel like there should be police officers guarding the house or something, but there aren't. There are a few on campus, patrolling for the night, but that's about it. It's like nobody's taking this murder seriously.
Or else … they don't think the boy hanging in the tree was murdered?
Quick as I can, I change from the tank top and sweats I was wearing into a new, clean uniform. I still don't want the whole school to know my secret, especially after what I've been through recently. Clearly, someone—several someones, actually—are out to get me.
“What are you guys doing here?” I ask as I slip out the back door with my bag over my shoulder and my laptop under my arm. I push my glasses up my nose and shiver in the frigid air. It's freezing here, even though it's March. It's supposed to be spring; it's supposed to be warm. Have I ever mentioned how much I miss California weather? The northeast is chilly year round, I swear to god.
“We're going to look for Spencer,” Tobias says, sighing heavily. He doesn't look very hopeful.
“For all we know, he could still be off sulking somewhere and maybe he doesn't even know about the guy in the woods.” Ranger sighs and ruffles up his dark hair with his fingers, closing his sapphire eyes for a moment. This all must be doubly hard on him, considering how his sister died.
“Look.” I take my computer out and show the picture of Eugene to the guys. “He's got the same hair color as Spencer, right? Maybe that was Eugene that we saw?”
“Why do you have a picture of Eugene Mathers on your laptop?” Micah asks, like he's all butt hurt about it. I give him a narrow-eyed look. As much as I find his tiny spark of jealousy comforting, now is not the time.
Spencer … We need to figure out what happened to Spencer.
“I keep all my numbers on the cloud, so even with a new phone …” Church whips out a brand-new iPhone, and I narrow my eyes. See what I mean? Replacing my broken iPhone with a Samsung was a purposeful jab. It’s been half a day, and he’s already secured a replacement for himself. “Yes, I still have Eugene's number. I could text him and see if I get a response.” Church is already tapping his fingers on the screen. He's definitely got the leader vibe, this natural charisma paired with a take-no-shit attitude. He doesn't ask questions; he just takes action. “Now we wait. And while we wait, we search. Let's start with the staff cabins.”
