Chapter 15

Our final examis tomorrow morning.

I've still got a few hours left in the evening until I'm too tired to think straight. The exam should be in the forefront of my brain right now, but all I can think about is Abe. I can't stop wondering what he's hiding from me and why he refuses to tell me the truth. Until I get an answer, I'm not going to be able to focus.

My only choice is to confront him.

I'm going up to Abe's room, and I'm going to offer him an ultimatum: the truth or I walk. Simple as that. If Abe cares about me, he'll make the right decision.

I hope.

I felt so sure of myself when I composed my plan to confront Abe, but as I walk up the stairs, it occurs to me that I've never successfully talked anybody into anything in my life. I'm a complete pushover. That's why I always try to bring friends with me shopping, so the saleslady won't talk me into buying half the store. How am I going to be strong enough to force Abe to tell me what is obviously a really big secret?

And then there's the other side of the coin. If he does confess, maybe I won't want to hear it. What if he really did kill someone? What then?

But no. It can't be that. It can't.

I knock on the door to Abe and Mason's apartment and wait patiently for the sound of Abe's heavy footsteps. They don't come, nor does the sound of Mason's comparatively lighter footsteps. The inside of the dorm room is completely silent.

It hadn't even occurred to me that Abe wouldn't be home. But of course, it's the night before the big exam. Everyone is at the library.

I clench my fists in frustration. It's Abe's fault that I can't focus, and now he's not even home. What now?

On a whim, I rest my hand on the doorknob. I hadn't really expected it to be unlocked, but then the knob turns under my palm. I apply some gentle pressure, and the door swings open.

"Hello?" I call out.

There's no answer. Nobody is home. Abe and Mason both went out, leaving their dorm room unlocked.

It is, in fact, a golden opportunity.

But I can't go into Abe's room and start shuffling through his things without his permission. That would be a terrible thing to do. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself, and moreover, if he found out, he would never forgive me.

Then again, Abe is never going to tell me the truth. If I don't figure it out on my own, we are done.

Before I can stop myself, I enter the dorm room. As always, it's a bit of a mess, but nothing unusual. I step around a pair of jeans that have been abandoned on the floor and also a pair of scrubs, although these scrubs, thankfully, are not stained with blood.

And then I'm in Abe and Mason's bedroom.

I walk over to Abe's desk, pushing away the surge of guilt in my chest. I'm doing this for us—so that our relationship has a chance. I can't take his lies anymore, but maybe if I find out the truth on my own, it will be something I can live with.

Yeah, just keep telling yourself that, Heather.

Abe's desk is a complete pigsty. It's even worse than the rest of the apartment. There are papers stacked everywhere. And what's even stranger is that it doesn't look like the papers have anything to do with anatomy or even biochemistry. I sift through them, a sense of growing dread in the pit of my stomach.

What the hell is all this?

And then, while I'm holding a stack of papers, I spot something else lying on the desk. Something that terrifies me beyond words.

Oh no. This is so much worse than I ever could have imagined.