Page 41 of Chaos & Corruption

“That shit in his arm…do you know what it is? Can you help me look for the vile?”

“What the fuck does it matter what it is? He’s unconscious and unresponsive. You’re not a fucking doctor and neither am I. If we don’t get him medical attention—”

“I gave him heroin.”

“What?”

“After practice, I came back here, and he was freaking out. He asked me to get him some H, said he couldn’t go on without.”

“Wait a fucking minute—you and Webber—”

He cuts me off.

“I don’t use it, I just sell it. Tuition is crazy, man, and not all of us have a rich daddy footing the bill.”

Ignoring his jab, I swipe a hand over my face. None of this makes sense and I don’t have the time to overanalyze anything, but we’re fucking drug tested regularly. I peel my hand away from my face and that’s when I spot Webber’s phone lying beside him. It chimes with a message and I quickly reach for it.

The number is unknown.

Just like all my missed calls.

“Do you know his passcode?” I ask Robinson.

“Zero, six, six, six.”

Punching it in, I open the text.

It’s done.

What the fuck does that even mean? I scroll up and my breath fucking hitches because I spot a video and the frame shows Victoria’s face. With my heart in my goddamn throat, I hit play.

“The topic of my thesis paper is chaos and corruption…”

No, no, no.

I drop Webber’s phone and stand to my full height.

“Was that Victoria?” Robinson asks.

I don’t pay any mind to him and frantically pull Victoria’s number up on my phone.

“Answer the phone,” I rasp. “Please answer the fucking phone.”

“What the hell is going on? Why does Webber have a video of your girlfriend in class?”

My call rings once before going directly to voicemail. I hit send again, bringing my gaze back to Robinson.

“Do you have Mila’s phone number?”

“What? No. Why would I have that girl’s number?” He pauses for a beat. “Alex, your girlfriend can fucking wait. Webber is going to die.”

That’s where he’s wrong.

Victoria can’t fucking wait and thanks to Robinson, Webber is as good as dead—I won’t stand back and let her suffer the same fate. The phone rings more than once this time but it eventually goes to voicemail. I contemplate calling again but before I can my phone dings with a text.

Victoria’s name illuminates the screen and I swipe to view the message. But as soon as I see the photo, I wish I hadn’t. There lying facedown in the dirt is Victoria with her clothes tattered and torn.

Bile rises in my throat and my knees buckle.

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