Page 106 of The Invite
The only way to win against evil is to fight back. Otherwise, there’s no getting out of the rabbit hole.
Within minutes, I’m dashing downstairs with my purse and sliding intomycar.
I’m spooked all the way to the school, not a vehicle in sight beside mine. My run-down car stutters slightly while going up the hill to the school but I push through. In the rearview mirror, I keep checking if someone is following me. This business with Augustus has me so rattled that paranoia is clawing its way back.
It’s when I reach the school and park in my spot that I calm downa little.
Hefting my purse over my shoulder, I exit after unlocking the door. Fresh morning air fills my lungs and I close my eyes for a second to enjoy it. Nobody is around and it gives me a moment to just be.
Smoothening my skirt, I march toward the sliding door and go straight for my classroom. I’m in no mood to make small talk in case there’s staff in the teachers’ lounge. As for confessing my problem to Ace, I can’t risk talking where everyone is looking for gossip to spread like wildfire.
The corridor is devoid of the usual chatter and hustle andbustle of students. It’s still an hour before they’ll begin to arrive.
My heels click on the floor and I slow my gait when I’m in front of the closed classroom. This is weird. None of the other rooms are locked.
I pay it no mind and unhook the latch.
Nudging it open, I step through and approach the desk. Dumping my purse, I glance up—
A gut-wrenching scream rips from my throat.
Staggering back, my hands fly to my mouth as I gape at Capri’s mangled and naked corpse hanging from the ceiling.
I cringe at the macabre sight.
“Oh… God… No!” I half stammer, half sob. “No! No!”
A gruesome image that’ll haunt me for the rest of my life, along with the others I’ve tried to bury and lock in a box.
A noose is roped around Capri’s neck, but it’s evident she was brutally murdered. I stare in horror at the spillage of her intestines stretching to the top of the desk.
Her arms are hanging limply at her sides. Even they are slashed and twisted with the bones popping out of her elbows as though the killer didn’t want to leave any part of her unharmed.
Bile rises in my throat and I turn to the side and dry heave multiple times. If I didn’t have an empty stomach, I’d be vomiting my guts out.
It’s like I’ve traveled into a Charles Manson’s crime scene. There’s just so much blood. A river of it. Trickling out of her. On the desks around her.
On the back wall, a message is written, but I’m unable to make it out. I realize I’m crying as salty wetness stings my tongue.
My gaze keeps drawing back to Capri.
Completely unrecognizable.
This poor girl, so bright and brilliant, cannot be killed so tragically.
Who would do this?
What if the killer is still here and watching me? Despite my loud scream, nobody comes running. I frantically grab my stuff with numb fingers and sprint outside the room, almost tripping in my heels.
As I turn in the direction of the principal’s office, I pull out my phone to call 911. I’m dialing the number when I collide with a wall of muscle. The force knocks me flying backward.
“Ahh!!” I yelp.
A pair of hands grab my waist and yank me into a hard chest. Tilting my head, I meet concerned sky-blue eyes and mild relief pours over me.
“Ace,” I sob, slumping against him.
“Nessa, what happened?” he demands, holding me up against his solid body. Looking over my shoulder for a second, he asks with a tight jaw, “Did someone hurt you?”
