Cindy sticks her head inside my office, probably alarmed by the sound of me blowing off some steam. She knows me well. She gives me a silent look that asks if I need anything from her, I shake my head briefly, and she pulls the door closed behind her. I pick up my cellphone and dial Lia’s number. It goes straight to voicemail without ringing, as if it’s turned off. I try to assure myself it’s just because she’s been in class all day. Of course, she’d have her phone off; she wouldn’t want to get any calls during her exams.

I fire off a text:

Lucian: Baby, where are you? Sam is looking for you.

A long few minutes pass with no reply. I quickly tap out another message.

Lucian: Lia, answer me or I’m coming to find you.

Again, there is no reply. By this time, I’m pacing the floor. When my phone rings, I answer without looking at the caller ID.

“Lia?” Even I can’t miss the quaver in my voice.

“No, Luc, it’s me.” Sam says. “I just left Lia’s last class. Luc, she’s been gone from there for over an hour. The teacher said the test was short, and Lia was one of the first people finished. She turned it in, and the teacher dismissed her.”

“Goddammit!” I roar. “Where the hell is she then? Go back out to the car and see if she’s there now. Maybe she was just sitting somewhere near until it was time for you.”

“Luc…I am outside. It’s pretty much cleared out here now. There are only a few people standing around and none of them are her. How about that friend of hers she lives with? Do you think she’s with her?”

I relax slightly, thinking that’s probably exactly where she is. I don’t have her number though, shit. “Sam, go back inside and have Mrs. Phillips pull Rose’s file and give you her number.”

“And her last name is?”

Damn…“MADDEN! It’s Madden.” Thank fuck I’ve listened when Lia talks about her best friend. Of course, in a school as small as St. Claire’s, Mrs. Phillips could no doubt make the connection without the last name. “I’m heading that way now. If you find her, put her in the car and don’t move. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Keep me updated.”

I grab my keys off the desk and almost run over Cindy on my way out. “Luc, is everything all right?”

“I have no idea,” I answer truthfully. I continue past her; there is no time to stop and explain. Cindy, no doubt, will know what’s going on very shortly; she seems to have a pipeline to Sam at all times. I check my phone again as I turn the ignition of the Rover. Still no text from Lia. “Oh, baby, where are you?” I ask the quiet phone as if expecting an answer. I pull out into traffic and press the gas pedal to the floor when I hit the open highway. The sense of foreboding I’ve felt on and off all morning has returned in full strength. Much the same way as I’d known something was going on with Aidan, I know something has happened to Lia. The last time she didn’t answer my calls, she was sick. My phone rings again and Sam picks up our conversation in almost the exact place we left off.

“I spoke to Rose. She hasn’t talked to Lia since this morning. She said she had a missed call from her around the time of her last class but was taking her exams and had her phone off. She has been trying to call her, as well. She’s going to their apartment now to make sure she didn’t go there.”

“All right, just stay near the car in case she shows up looking for you. I’ll stop by her apartment to see Rose.” I end the call and break a few more traffic laws before skidding to a halt outside Lia’s apartment. I take the front steps two at a time, running into the lobby just as Rose comes running down the stairs, waving something in her hands.

“Lucian, Lia’s not in the apartment and it doesn’t look like she has been.” Audibly swallowing, she holds out what I now see is mail. “Our neighbor handed these to me when I was leaving. She said they were lying on the floor below the mailboxes.” Her hand is shaking as I take the envelopes and see Lia’s name on them. “Where is she?” Rose asks, looking on the verge of full panic. I put one arm around her shoulders, trying to calm her as I reach for my phone to call Sam. There is a sudden commotion to the right of the lobby. I hear shouts of alarm and cries for help. I take off toward the noise with Rose following closely behind. A tall, thin girl with very short, brown hair comes running through a doorway in the corner, near a bank of mailboxes. Rose grabs her arm as she goes to pass, us asking, “Ashley, what’s going on? Are you all right?”

The girl stops as if she’s seen a ghost. She is breathing heavy and in obvious distress. I look around, still trying to discern the source of her anxiety, but see nothing amiss. “Rose, oh God, Rose…The door was jammed, and I needed my golf clubs.” By this time, she is panting and every word is gasped out. “Lia…Lia…”

I take her arm, shaking her lightly. At the mention of Lia’s name, I feel my own anxiety climbing. Something is badly wrong, and this girl has the answers. “What about Lia? Where is she?” I practically shout. I know it’s not wise to yell at someone so close to the edge, but I need fucking answers. Rose is shaking her, as well, both of us talking at once.

“Lia’s down there…Me and Mr. Leslie found her. I need to go for help. She’s not moving!” I drop Ashley’s arm and run for the doorway she came through. I see nothing for a moment but wall-to-wall lockers. Then I hear a voice yelling from the left and take off in that direction. What I find at the end of the aisle has me staggering unsteadily on my feet.

A pair of bare legs and feet are partially obscured by the elderly man kneeling next to them. I catch a glimpse of blonde hair and stumble, overcome with fear. Rose screams, sobbing Lia’s name. The man on the floor spins around, looking like he’s on the point of a nervous breakdown. “Please, help her,” he yells. “I just found her and she’s not waking up!”

I run the rest of the way to his side…and then I see her. “Oh, my God,” I whisper as I fall to my knees beside her. I barely hear Rose’s screams above the roaring in my ears. Something foreign and unfamiliar drips down my face, and I’m shocked to realize it’s tears. As I stare down at the broken body of my beautiful girl, the fear I’m doomed to lose everyone I love pierces my soul.