Page 77 of Dig Your Grave

He and I found ourselves quietly able to attend classes again, though we were behind.Professors offered some leniency, not daring to penalize us after the fiasco.Kate’s reporting soared.The Howler published a multi-part exposé, with cameo quotes from us under pseudonyms.National outlets picked it up.The justice for Toccara became a rallying cry.

One crisp afternoon, I stood near the chapel site, gazing at the boarded-up door.Police tape fluttered.I thought of that final standoff, the gunshots echoing.Then a gentle hand touched my back—Anubis.

“Figured I’d find you here,” he said softly, stepping beside me.

“Just…saying goodbye, I guess,” I replied.“It’s so quiet now.”

He nodded, hooking an arm around my waist.We stayed a moment longer in silence, the wind rustling fallen leaves.Then we turned away, letting the place rest as a memory, not a prison.

Days bled into weeks.Investigations continued, but the everyday hum of campus life resumed.A memorial plaque for Toccara was installed by the library steps, and the Board promised deeper reforms.Some cynics scoffed at half-measures, but at least the conversation was open.The Skulls, as they once existed, were no more.

Anubis and I found a new equilibrium.We studied, we helped the Howler piece together final chapters of the exposé, we took quiet walks by the river—no longer haunted by the threat of watchers.Sometimes, we visited that plot of roses behind the language arts building, sharing kisses under the dappled sun, talking about the future.Our future.

One late afternoon, as we strolled back from class, arms linked, he paused and turned to me.“Hey,” he murmured, a quiver in his voice.“I’ve been thinking about the break after final exams.Maybe we should travel somewhere new.Start fresh.Just for a bit.”

My eyes glowed.“I’d like that.Where?”

His lips curved in a playful smile.“Anywhere but here—some coastal town, maybe.We’ll watch the waves, write our own stories.No more secrets.”

A surge of emotion swelled in me, tears prickling at the corners of my eyes.“Yes.Let’s do it.”I reached up, cupping his cheek.“We deserve it.”

He leaned down, pressing a tender kiss to my mouth.In that moment, the world felt wide open, brimming with possibilities.Toccara’s death wouldn’t be forgotten.The brand on our shoulders wouldn’t vanish.But we carried the lessons forward, forging a new path away from the gloom that once ruled Edenvane.

As we walked on, the evening sky flared with oranges and pinks, a beautiful reminder that even after the darkest night, the sun rises, painting the world in fresh color.And hand in hand with Anubis, I stepped into the glow, ready to live free from the shackles of a secret society, to love openly and fiercely, and to shape a tomorrow that was truly ours.

The early spring sun streamed through the tall, arched windows of Edenvane’s main library, warming the polished floors and casting shifting light over the rows of study tables.I settled in a corner seat, hugging my laptop, my heart drumming with a sense of nervous anticipation.

Over the last month, the campus had undergone a radical transformation.Where once the Skulls’ presence cast long shadows, new committees and external investigators now roamed the halls, shining bright flashlights on old secrets.Students, myself included, were still reeling from the upheaval.But I felt an undercurrent ofhope.

“Are you sure you want to do this here?”Kate’s hushed voice startled me out of my reverie.She dropped her satchel on the table, glancing around with a conspiratorial look.

“Here” was the same library that once housed security cameras we sabotaged, the hush that used to feel oppressive now just felt academic.I forced a small smile.“The library is neutral ground these days,” I said softly.“If we’re going to finalize my feature piece, it might as well be in the place that started it all.”

Kate nodded, lowering herself into a seat across from me.Her phone, perpetually glued to her palm, buzzed.She took a quick look, then locked the screen.“I guess it’s as good a place as any.Everyone’s hungry for more details about the Skulls scandal.The Howler’s circulation is triple what it was last semester.People want the story behind Toccara, the watchers, the new order—everything.”

I exhaled, the knot of tension in my gut never quite dissipating.“It’s still surreal,” I admitted.“Sometimes I wake up expecting to see watchers in black hoods.Then I remember half of them are in jail, and the rest are in hiding.”

Kate grimaced.“We’re not rid of them all, but at least the big players are gone.With the Dean under investigation and the caretaker administration in charge, it’s a new era.Or so we hope.”

She opened her laptop, propping it between us.“So, your piece.Have you decided if you’ll go on record with everything, your kidnapping, the brand, the infiltration?The press has been hounding me to connect them with you.”

I hesitated.“It’s not just my story.It’s also Anubis’.We went through all of this together.I don’t want to tell it without him.”

Her eyes warmed.“You two are quite the power couple these days, you know.Everyone whispers about how the ‘Edenvane heir’ and the scholarship girl brought down a secret society.”

I half-laughed.“I’d rather not be romanticized like that.The reality was terrifying.”

“No doubt,” Kate said, tapping keys.“But the campus is seeing you and Anubis as a symbol of how we can break old traditions and build something better.That’s a story in itself.”

I let the weight of that sink in.“I’ll talk to him,” I said quietly.“If we both agree, I’ll share the full story with the Howler.But I don’t want to see us turned into—I don’t know, a tabloid sensation.”

Her smile was gentle.“I’ll protect your voice, Suede.You know that.”Then she glanced at the clock on her phone.“I have a staff meeting in fifteen minutes.Let me know once you’ve talked to him.Then we can do a formal sit-down interview.”

She shut her laptop and slung her satchel over her shoulder.“Take your time, okay?We can hold a few days.I’d rather get it right.”

“Thanks.”I watched her hurry off, the teal ends of her braids swishing behind her.A pang of appreciation filled me.Without Kate, none of this would’ve come to light.Toccara’s memory might still be buried.

As I packed my laptop, a text popped up on my screen:

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