8
Sienna.
By Monday, everything had changed.
Rumors swept through campus like wildfire—someone had seen something, heard something, pieced together the shadowy corners and lingering glances we thought were hidden. Whispers trailed me down every hallway. My friends eyed me with curiosity too sharp to be innocent. Professors spoke my name with new caution, and even the air in Adrian’s classroom felt charged, brittle, as if it might shatter at any moment.
I told myself I didn’t care. But the truth was, fear lived under my skin now—hot and jagged, scraping at every nerve. I kept my head down. I scrolled through cryptic messages: Is it true? and Heard you were “helping” Dr. Wolfe after hours. I wanted to scream, but I swallowed it, held it in and locked it up tight.
By afternoon, I couldn’
