Azalea: "The moment I realized White Robe had followed me to Hannah's house, I screamed the loudest I've ever screamed in my life."

Hunter: "Yeah, and that 'party' at Callista's was anything but."

Hannah: "I just kept feeling like everything was falling apart—like no matter what we did, we couldn't stop our world from unraveling."

Alejandro Roberto Gonzales-Santos:

Turns out Callista had invited everybody and their dog to that lake-house party. I'd gotten an invitation in the mail on Saturday, and Hunter had said he'd drive me so I wouldn't have to bike there alone.

The moment he pulled into my driveway to pick me up, I noticed Azalea wasn't riding shotgun. I shuffled up the driveway, hands tucked into my pockets, then pulled open the passenger door.

"Where's Azalea?" I asked as I climbed into the car.

"She's...she's not coming," he answered, his eyes falling.

"Couldn't convince her?"

He shook his head.

"I'm sorry, dude. Are you guys still okay?"

Hunter sighed. "I hope so. She said she wasn't angry, but...man, she did not look happy when I dropped her off at Hannah's." He looked up at me, hesitated. "Sara not coming?"

"Nah," I answered matter-of-factly. "She said she needed to rest. She had to work really late at the clinic last night."

Hunter held silence for a moment, then lifted his head and gripped the gear shift with his right hand. "Well, hey, so what if it's just us?" he said, confidence finding its way into his words. "Let's have a blast at this party, bro."

I nodded my head and smiled back at him. "Amen to that."

****

To say Callista's lake house was massive would be an understatement. Countless ropes decorated with miniature lights were strung across the sprawling expanse; the trees of the surrounding forest, the dock overlooking the peaceful water, even the three-story home itself—all were adorned with sparkling white lights that shone like crystals through the night. As Hunter and I stepped out of his car, Callista ran and greeted us with open arms.

"Hunter, Alex! Hi!" she gushed. "I'm soooo glad you could make it." She paused, feigning shock. "You didn't bring any dates? Well, I guess we'll just have to fix that, won't we?"

I glanced at Hunter uneasily.

"I'm just kidding!" she almost screamed. "Goodness! Lighten up, you two." She looped an arm around mine, grabbing Hunter with her other one. "Come inside."

As soon as she'd dragged us into the house, the first thing I noticed was the music—reverberating, pulsating through the air, jittering along my limbs. The main room was dark, save for a disco ball that hung from the ceiling and spun dots of light onto everything. Along the side wall was an open bar the size of Manhattan.

"Free drinks," Callista offered haphazardly, then paused. "What? Don't tell me you two don't drink."

I gulped, turned to Hunter.

"Oh, come on!" she squealed. "For crying out loud, it's a party!"

After some hesitation, Hunter unlooped his arm from inside Callista's. He sighed and shook his head softly. "Callista," he tried, "when you invited me to this party...I had no idea this is what you were talking about."

Callista rolled her eyes. "Oh, get a grip, Hunter. It's just alcohol—"

"I have a grip, Callista," he stressed, then closed his eyes briefly. "Look, I accept your apology, and I'm glad you had a change of heart about me and Azalea...but this—all of this—it's not who I am. I love a good party as much as the next guy, but your idea of fun is breaking the law."

Callista pouted. "You sound just like her."

"What?" Hunter puzzled. "Like who?"

"Like Azalea," she glowered, crossing her arms.

"Callista..."

"That's why you're here, isn't it?" she barked. "You just came here to judge me! I bet Azalea sent you here to prove how much of a slut I am, didn't she?"

Hunter looked shocked. "What? No, that's not it at all. Azalea didn't even want me to come tonight. Look, I'm not trying to judge you—"

"Save it, Hunter! I tried apologizing to you, and you and your stupid girlfriend still won't get off your high horse! Well, you know what? SCREW YOU!" She turned on her heel and stomped away.

"Callista, no! Wait!" Hunter chased after her, following her angry, pounding footsteps down the hallway.

ZZING! ZZING!

Just as I was preparing to bolt after Hunter, I felt my phone buzz inside my pocket. I fished it out and glanced straight at the screen, my eyes going wide the moment I saw the caller.

I clicked Answer immediately—"Sara?"

"Alex, where are you?"

"I'm at Callista's party—the one I told you about, remember?"

Sara hesitated. "...Alex, I...I think someone just broke into my apartment."

My mouth fell open. "What?" I practically screeched. "A-are you okay? Did they take anything?"

"I don't think so," she breathed lowly. "I've been looking around and—oh no. NO!"

"Sara! Sara, what is it?"

"The key!" she screamed. "Someone stole the key! It's gone!"

I felt my breathing turn erratic. "No...this—this can't be happening. Check your purse again, Sara. It's gotta be there."

"It's not, Alex! It's not here!"

Panic began surging through my brain. "W—what do we do?"

"I...I don't know." Her voice was shaky. "Alex, what if White Robe's the one who stole the key? What if he's gonna try to break into the hospital again?"

"But why would he try to..." I froze. "Oh, no. My dad!" I was breathing heavily now. "Sara, I'm on my way. I've just gotta...CRAP! I left my bike at home!"

I started running in the direction I'd seen Hunter chasing Callista. "Sara, I'll call you back," I said into the phone. "I'm gonna borrow Hunter's car, and I'll meet you at the hospital."

"O-okay," she quivered. "Please hurry." After a few more tenuous gasps, she hung up the phone.

I slid my phone back into my pocket and continued ambling forward until I'd made it to the end of the hallway. My eyes darted around frantically, trying desperately to see under the dim, palely orange light. "Hunter?" I called. "Hunter, are you there?"

At first, I heard nothing, just the hollow roil of air blowing amid the humming flicker of fading brightness. But then...then I heard a whisper:

"Hannah, just breathe. Tell me where you are so I can help you."

What the...Stefan?

I moved closer to the sound of his puny, shallow voice.

"I'm still at Callista's party," he said. "Weren't you supposed to be with Azalea?"

I heard mumblings on the other end but couldn't make out any words. I turned the corner and saw Stefan standing in the middle of the walkway, phone pressed against the side of his ear.

"Stefan, what are you doing!?" I barked out. "Is that Hannah you're talking to?"

"I've gotta go," he said into the phone. "I'll be there to get you as soon as I can—"

"STEFAN!" I screamed. "I asked you a question!"

When he looked up at me, I could see fear in his eyes. "Hannah's in trouble."

"What do you mean trouble? Did she put on the wrong dress and forget her matching shoes?"

"Alex, what's wrong with you? I'm serious—Hannah's in danger!"

"Why should I care!? Hannah doesn't care about me or you or anyone else but herself."

"That's not true," Stefan shot back defensively. "She cares about me...and she cares about you too, Alex."

I gave him the most sarcastic glare possible. "Save it, Stefan. If you really believe that, you're lying to yourself. She's nothing but a selfish attention whore, and you know it."

"How can you say that? She's..." He quivered, balled his fists, shut his eyes for the briefest of moments. "...Can't you tell?"

I scowled, raised a brow. "Can't I tell what?"

"That she's still in love with you, you idiot! That the only reason she's been acting weird lately is because she's crazy about you!" Stefan's once-terrified demeanor was swallowed up in a sudden flame of confidence. "I can see it in her eyes every time she's around me. Even at the hospital—she left my side to spy on you and Sara.

"I'm not saying she doesn't have feelings for me, but they're nowhere near as strong as what she has for you. And yeah, maybe she's mad at you for smothering her...but more than that, she's mad at herself for losing you."

I was speechless, absolutely speechless. But Stefan had plenty to say:

"She makes me out to be her knight in shining armor, but I'll never ever be that for her. I can't...protect her like you can. The fire in the student lounge made that pretty clear." He sighed, his eyes falling to the floor. "But you—you're her dream, Alex. And I want to hate you for it, but I can't. It's...I—I admire you. I wish I could be like you—I wish I was one of those guys who sweeps girls off their feet and everything, but...but that's not me. And no matter how much Hannah pretends, I know she's not happy—not like she is when she's with you." He paused, trembling. "It doesn't matter how much I like her. Please, Alex. Don't give her up. You two...you belong together."

For a moment, I couldn't speak. I could barely think. Of all people, Stefan had just begged me to get back together with Hannah.

"O—okay," I exhaled finally. "I hear you, Stefan." I hesitated. "Th...thank you."

He smiled, lowered his eyes.

I hesitated. "...Now, what was it you were saying earlier? About Hannah being in trouble?"

"She's lost," he answered quickly, snapping back to attention. "She just called me and said she woke up in the woods. She's not sure how she got there—the last thing she remembers is seeing Azalea run outside to go after somebody in her backyard."

What? "Did she see who it was?"

"I—I don't know. She said she couldn't make out the face but that it looked like a woman. She's not really sure about much more than that, but...Alex, I think she's in danger. We have to get to her before White Robe does." He lifted a set of keys from his pocket. "Come on. I'll drive us."

I took a moment to steel myself, then nodded my head. "Alright, let's do it—"

BAM!

Stefan and I both whirled to face the wall to my right. The heck?

Stefan stared at me with wide eyes. "What was that?"

I hesitated, senses on high alert, then turned back to Stefan. "I...I don't know." I pressed my ear to the wall. "It's—somebody's...talking."

"Alex, I don't hear anyth—"

"Shh!" I ordered. "It sounds like...like...Callista..." I ran around to the back side of the room and knelt down to see through a tiny hole in the doorknob. "Oh my gosh," I breathed.

"Alex, what is it?"

Just as I was about to respond, Callista's screaming pitch ripped through the air, and it was the only answer Stefan needed:

"Oh, Hunter!" she cried in a screeching trill. "You're so vicious! And all it took was one drink."

Through the hole, I watched Hunter grovel on the floor as his knees rubbed sloppily against the carpet. Unintelligible mumbles escaping between his lips as Callista stared down at him with a devious smile, he fondled the outer edges of her thighs with frantic arms.

Securing his head firmly between her legs, she retrieved a cigarette from on top of the nightstand beside her bed, then bent down so that her face was inches from his. "Now, darling," she cooed erotically, "inhale my exhale."

She'd lit the cigarette in an instant, drawing in puffs of smoke before leaning to Hunter. Their lips locked, and Callista moaned with delight, just as Hunter coughed out the smoke before falling backwards and crashing to the rug beneath him.

"Oops," she feigned shock. "I forgot—this is your first time, isn't it?" She threw the cigarette to the side and started slipping out of her skirt, Hunter staring up blankly at her from the floor as she stood to her full height to disrobe. "Tell you what. Just this once, I'll take it slow."

"I lubyuh, Asala," Hunter slurred.

"Azalea?" Callista asked, interpreting his mumbles perfectly. "There's no Azalea here, sweetie."

Skirt shed, eyes flashing, she bent down to grip his arms—started moving his hands up her inner thigh, guiding his fingers into slowly peeling back her underwear to uncover her most private parts.

"Alex, what's going on?" Stefan prodded.

"It's Hunter—I think Callista's drugged him." I tried the knob, but it wouldn't budge. "Stefan, we gotta get in there!"

"Well, well, well," came a voice from behind Stefan. "What do we have here?"

I whirled around. "What do you want, Ryan?" I spat.

"It's a party," he fired back. "I want to have fun. And I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. Callista's a little busy right now."

I stood up in rage and grabbed Ryan by the shirt, slamming him into the wall. "What the heck is your problem! Did you put her up to this?"

Ryan grabbed my hands in a single motion and shoved me off balance, then swung his right fist into my jaw, knocking me to the ground. "Back up, chump," he barked.

But I did nothing of the sort. I blinked away the haze from my eyes, then sprang up in an instant and rammed him back against the wall. Then I bashed him in the cheek with my forearm, gripped him by the neck with both of my hands, and lunged with him to the floor to slam his face against the carpet. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?" I screamed as he yelped at the force of the impact. "How could you do this to Hunter!?"

His only reply was to choke out gasping breaths.

"ANSWER ME!" I ordered.

"I...I was paid, okay!?" he finally blurted, gravel littering his words.

"By who?"

"Let me go!" He squirmed against my grip.

I eased up, standing to my full height as he stumbled backward before rising on quaking feet.

"It was some guy," he muttered as his left hand rose to his throbbing neck. "Some dude wearing a glorified silk washcloth."

White Robe!

"And I'm guessing Callista was in on this too?"

Ryan was silent, staring back at me defiantly.

"ANSWER ME, YOU FREAK!" I screamed, anger surging. "ANSWER ME NOW, OR SO HELP ME, I WILL BEAT YOU TO DEATH!" I picked up an old shower-curtain pole that was leaning against one of the hallway walls, my grasp tightening as I inched closer to Ryan.

"Okay, okay!" he squealed back, putting his hands up defensively. "Yeah, she was in on it. That's why she threw this party in the first place...the guy who paid us—he said he wanted Hunter to sleep with her."

"Why!? Why would he pay you to—?"

"I don't know, man! It was easy money, okay!? And what do you care anyway? I'm doing Hunter a favor! Every guy on the team wants in Callista's pants!"

"Stop it!" I ordered. "Stop changing the subject, you prick! I asked you a question—why did White Robe pay you?"

"I told you I don't know! He just said to keep Hunter busy with Callista and make sure no one stopped it."

"Keep him busy?" I froze. "Oh, crap."

"What is it?" Stefan piped up next to me, fear tearing through his voice.

"Azalea!" I gasped. "Dude, it's Azalea! White Robe—he hates her mom, and what better way to get to Luvietta than by kidnapping Azalea!?" My words were frantic as Stefan glanced up at me, the trepidation in his eyes suddenly morphing to full-on terror.

"What the heck are you even talking about, dude!?" Ryan screamed.

I ignored his question. "Ryan, let us in that room. Open the door."

"No way!" He crossed his arms.

I lifted the pole. "I SAID OPEN THE DOOR!"

Ryan jumped at my words. "Okay, okay!" his words came out like begging. He retrieved a key to turn in the lock, then swung the door wide open—just as Callista had moved Hunter onto the bed and began crawling on top of him.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something here!" she shouted. "What do you think you're—?"

I bolted to Hunter, gripping him by the shoulders while Callista was mid-crawl. "Hunter! Hunter, snap out of it, man!"

"What are you doing, you freak?" Callista screamed, disgust and anger written all over her face.

"Hunter, please! Wake up! Hunter!"

"Get off, you dickwad!" Callista curled both feet underneath herself as she suddenly, unceremoniously shoved me from the bed.

My back smacked against the carpet, pain shooting in both of my shoulders. I bit back the sting before rising up again and grabbing Callista by the arms this time. I flung her to the floor in an instant, tossing her body away from Hunter's as a wide-eyed Stefan and a grimacing Ryan watched from the doorway.

Standing from the bed, I glared down at Callista with outrage, readying a slough of biting remarks to hurl at the girl who'd tried to rape my best friend, the filthy skank now lying on her back with narrowed eyes at the foot of her own bed.

But then, right then, I saw it—saw all of it...and what lay before me made me reel.

"You—you monster!" I yelled.

All along her bare upper legs was a long and tortuous line of blistering warts, their pale pink color and rounded edges resembling swollen boils on festering flesh.

I staggered back, inching toward the doorway. "Stefan," I breathed. "That's...that's—"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Yeah, it is." He swallowed uneasily. "Herpes."

Livid red flushed across my face. "What the heck is wrong with you!?" I screamed at Callista. "You have herpes!? You were gonna give Hunter an STD!"

"AND I'D DO IT AGAIN!" she screeched back. "HE HAD NO RIGHT TO JUDGE ME THE WAY HE DID, AND NEITHER DO ANY OF YOU!"

"You dirty slut! How could you—?"

ZZING! ZZING! ZZING! buzzed my phone against my thigh.

My eyes grew wide, my angry scowl feeling almost to evaporate—Sara!

"Oh my gosh," I sputtered the moment I pressed Answer. "I'm so sorry, Sara. I completely spaced about the hospital. I...I'm coming now." I turned back to glance at Stefan, his eyes still spread wide.

"Please hurry!" Sara begged. "I can't find Alma anywhere." Her words fell in frantic shivers. "...What if White Robe's done something to her?"

"Sara, don't think like that. Everything's gonna be alright. I'm on my way now." I breathed, then shot another angry glare at Callista. "Just hang tight for the next ten minutes. I promise I'll be there." I hung up the phone.

By this point, Callista had gathered her clothes and put back on her underwear, but she still looked like a shameless broad to me.

"You're disgusting," I spat. "I can't believe you would do something like this."

Stefan and I helped Hunter up. I slung his right arm over my shoulder and trekked to Stefan's car, brushing past Ryan's slimy frame as I did. Before exiting through the beach house's back door, I turned and stared cruelly at Callista one last time.

Her eyes met mine with defiance, bitterness, pure and unrelenting anger. I slammed the door behind me; and once Stefan and I had made it to his car and helped Hunter inside, we drove off into the distance and didn't look back.