Chapter 47 Aria
By the time last period ended, Silverpine High felt like it was vibrating under people’s skin. Students whispered about the “animal attack” near the field, teachers acted like nothing unusual ever happened in this town, and Luca?Luca barely said more than three words all day.
He kept watching the doors and everyone. And that terrified me more than the supposed “animal.” Because Luca Hale didn’t get nervous, flinch, or scan a room unless he thought something was terribly wrong. I tried to play it normal by walking to my locker like everything was fine but my stomach was twisted in a way that didn’t lie.
When I opened my locker, a thin slip of paper floated out like someone had wedged it just enough for it to come loose when the door swung open.
At first, I assumed it was another dumb flyer or a prank. Silverpine had no shortage of bored students but when I picked it up and saw the symbol sketched across it, my breath snagged.
It was a sharp angle forming a broken circle with line that slashed through the center like a blade. Small runic marks branching out like spider legs. I remembered the symbol cause I’d seen it before in Sienna’s notebook. But there was something underneath it this time. A line written in quick uneven handwriting like the writer was in a rush.
Wolves die first.
My hands shook not because of the threat but because someone put this inside my locker in a building filled with people. Someone was getting bold and wasn’t hiding anymore. Footsteps clicked behind me and of course, to crown it all, fate sent the worst possible person.
Avery Thorne.
The Queen Bee of Silverpine. Beautiful, cruel, and effortlessly terrifying. Her perfume hit me before her nauseatingly confident voice did.
She stopped when she saw my expression. “Aw,” she cooed, “did someone fail a pop quiz? Or is there no mirror around for you to cry at?”
Her minions snickered behind her. I shoved the note into my pocket before she could see it. The last thing I needed was Avery sniffing around something actually serious.
“Move,” I said flatly.
The smile on her bright-red lips sharpened. “You’re getting bold. Is it because Luca talked to you this week? Don’t mistake ‘eye contact’ for ‘interest,’ Aria. Boys like him—” she dragged her gaze over me, slow and insulting, “—don’t do girls like you.”
“Thanks for the advice,” I muttered, slamming my locker shut. “Truly inspirational.”
Her nostrils flared. She hated when I didn’t crumble.
“It won’t last,” she said, smoothing her perfect ponytail. “Guys like him always wake up. And when he does? I’m sure he’ll be embarrassed he settled for the bargain version.”
A dozen comebacks lined up in my head but I didn’t have time for her. Not today with the note burning a hole in my pocket like a warning shot. I walked away without giving her the satisfaction of a reaction. Behind me, I heard her huff but her voice wasn’t the one echoing through my head.
It was the note Something was wrong. Something bigger than the “attack.” Bigger than Avery. Bigger than Sienna’s weird notebook and Luca’s tense shoulders.
I walked home faster than usual, legs buzzing with leftover fear—or adrenaline, I couldn’t tell which. When I got inside, the familiar sound of soft music and the smell of garlic greeted me.
Mom stood at the stove stirring pasta sauce, but she turned the second I entered. “Aria? Honey, what’s wrong?”
I froze. Mom knew everything, even the things I didn’t want her to. She had this uncanny ability to read my face like a billboard.
“Nothing,” I said, dropping my bag a little too quickly.
She gave me a look that could cut through steel. “Try again.”
“It’s stupid.”
“Perfect,” she said, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Tell me the stupid thing.”
Despite myself, I laughed, weak and strained. “It’s just school stuff.”
“Since when does school stuff make you look like you saw a ghost?” She softened her voice. “Aria, come here.”
She nodded toward the kitchen island. I sat, pulling out the note without meaning to. Mom’s eyes immediately locked on the edge of the paper.
“What’s that?”
I flipped it face down. “Just something from school.”
She reached out, covering my hand. “I know when something scares you. Talk to me.”
My throat tightened. “It’s about Luca.”
Her eyebrows perked instantly. “Ah! Boy drama.”
“Mom.”
She grinned, but it faded fast. “Tell me.”
I inhaled deeply. “I think someone’s trying to hurt him.”
She blinked. “Hurt him? As in physically?”
“I don’t know yet. But weird things keep happening in school. There was an attack near the school and it's the way teachers and the rest of the school seem not to care. Someone is probably watching students from the woods and this note…”
Mom’s whole posture shifted. “Let me see it.”
I hesitated, but handed it over. “Who would send you this?” she murmured.
“I don’t know but I know Luca’s involved somehow. And if someone is targeting him—” I cut myself off before I said too much.
Mom didn’t seem to notice my slip. “Aria, you care about him.”
It wasn’t a question.
“I do,” I admitted. “Maybe a lot.”
She reached out and brushed hair from my face. “Then you can’t pretend nothing’s happening. You’re not foolish. If you feel danger, trust that and yourself.”
“It’s not just danger,” I whispered. “It feels more targeted.”
“Toward Luca?” she asked.
“Toward anything connected to him.”
Mom exhaled and pulled me into a warm hug that made my eyes sting. “Then you be careful. You pay attention and you don’t deal with this alone.”
When she stepped back, she cupped my cheek. “If this boy matters to you, then so does keeping him safe.”
My chest tightened painfully. “I don’t want anything to happen to him.”
“Then stay aware,” she said softly. “And stay brave.”
I nodded, clutching the note again as I went to my room only this time, I looked at it with a different kind of fear. Someone wanted Luca dead and I was the only one connecting the dots fast enough to see it.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
Avery is back in full venom mode, Aria is DONE pretending nothing’s happening, and we finally have our first threat. Silverpine High is no longer safe and Aria knows it.
The danger is about to get LOUD, my lovelies. 🐺🔥