When I looked up, I fought the urge to groan. Great, everyone was here.

Lucky me.

I could feel their eyes on me. You’d think a girl with leggings, a long sleeve, and leg warmers was something new and riveting.

Maybe it was the fact that I hadn’t touched anyone on that team that made me some prized possession to those pricks. No matter how many times they had seen me, I could still feel the way their eyes roamed over my body.

With my chin raised high, I gracefully made my way to where I had left my duffel bag. I grabbed the guards for my blades and then removed them. My phone had been left on the bench with the screen facing up. The light lit up with a message from an unknown number.

I immediately picked it up as I slung my duffel over one of my shoulders.

Unknown:

1…2…3…4

I know something you don’t know.

The phone fell from my hands as if it were on fire. The taste of copper was on my tongue. I blinked a few times and realized that I had torn through my lip, biting it. I bent down to get my phone, and sure enough, the text message was there.

It was like being trapped in a nightmare, but waking up was the problem here. The hand that I had sworn I had never seen flashed in my mind like a damn neon sign saying I was guilty. I clutched the phone to my chest, and when I looked up, my eyes immediately landed on Grayson’s. His brows were raised in amusement.

My nostrils flared.

Was he behind this?

Making sure everything was secure, I took off toward the exit. I wasn’t running, but it was close enough.

“We scared her off, guys!” someone snickered.

I was too rattled to be annoyed by their remarks. Just as I pushed the door open, I ran straight into someone. My phone went flying again. I heard the thud it made as it hit the ground.

Ignoring the person whom I had bumped into, I immediately went to search for my phone. When I crouched down, I noticed that the guy I had collided with was already handing me back my cell.

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

“You’re welcome, Ava.”

His voice was soft, almost like he didn’t want to speak too loud for fear that I might disappear. My head snapped up, and sure enough, Micah was right there. His brows scrunched in confusion.

Without saying more, I quickly got up and walked away. This was not happening today.

“There’s nothing there,” Grayson stated after a few seconds.

Both Micah and I blankly looked at him.

“It was just a rock. We hit a rock. This is Blackwell Lake, not some fucking Netflix show.”

Micah was the first to move, and he took a second before going to peer back down at the water. I saw his shoulders slump in relief.

“He’s right. There’s nothing there,” he confirmed, and I felt like I was able to breathe properly again.

“Let’s go back,” I said, but it sounded more like a plea.

The three of us huddled together, ignoring Miller as he was still passed out on the floor. Someone draped a windbreaker over my shoulders. When I looked up, I noticed Grayson had taken off his. He didn’t have to tell me tonight had shaken him up. The usual air of cockiness that surrounded him was missing, and I found I quite liked this version of him better.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said as he looked at me.

He began to steer the boat away, when a crunching noise went through the propeller. I screamed and covered my face, but Grayson just drove toward the shore even faster. None of us made a comment. It wasn’t until we got to shore and all of us stood on the dock that I finally spoke.