Chapter 67 The four rose
The sun never fully rose that morning.
It only smeared a pale, washed-out light across the sky, a cold, colorless dawn that clung to everything like a layer of frost.
Lila stood behind the police tape, her breath fogging in the chilly air as she stared at the swarm of officers moving across the athletic field. The hush over the crowd behind her pulsed like a heartbeat fast, uneven, terrified.
No one dared speak above a whisper.
No one dared say what they were all thinking.
Asher stayed beside her, jaw tight, hands shoved into his pockets like he needed to hold himself together. Every minute, Lila saw another group of girls covering their mouths. Another group of boys pale-faced and silent. Another person shaking their head like they couldn’t believe they were really seeing this.
Detective Mara moved with sharp purpose across the bleachers, her footsteps heavy on the metal steps. Lila’s eyes followed her movements. Something in Mara’s posture had changed, she looked angrier, more exhausted, and more determined.
And then the murmur rippled through the crowd:
“They found her.”
“It’s Tessa.”
“Oh my God.”
Lila’s entire body locked.
She didn’t breathe. She didn’t blink. Her heartbeat thudded in her ears, drowning out every voice around her.
Officers stepped aside, giving Mara room as she crouched beside the bleachers. Lila couldn’t see the body from where she stood but the atmosphere changed instantly.
The kind of gravity that came with death filled the air.
Asher set a hand on her shoulder, voice low, steady. “Lila… we don’t know the details yet.”
But they did know.
The silence said it.The way the officers moved said it. The way students clung to each other said it.
Lila swallowed hard, her throat burning.
A female officer came down the stairs with a clipboard and whispered something to Mara. Mara’s head lowered slightly and even from a distance, Lila recognized that expression.
Recognition and dread.
The same dread she herself felt when she saw that rose on her dorm desk. When Ava went missing. When the packages arrived.
Her fingers curled around the police tape until her knuckles turned white.
A few minutes later, one of the officers motioned for a stretcher. Another unfurled a white sheet.
The crowd gasped quietly.
Someone behind Lila started crying softly.
Another whispered, “This is really happening again, the killer’s on campus.”
Lila felt herself sway.
Asher quickly guided her a step back. “Hey. You don’t need to watch this.”
But she couldn’t look away.
She had to know. She had to see the truth, even if it broke her.
Detective Mara stood up, adjusting her gloves, and walked toward the front of the bleachers. Her voice was firm, controlled, carrying just enough for the crowd to hear even if it wasn’t meant for them:
“She’s been dead for several hours.”
A strangled sound escaped Lila’s throat.
She squeezed the tape harder to keep from collapsing.
Someone behind her whispered, “Just like Ava.”
Another added, “Do you think it’s the same person? It has to be.”
They heard more footsteps. More officers moving aside.
And then, as two paramedics lifted the stretcher, the sheet fluttered just enough for Lila to see it.
Four roses. Four perfect red roses arranged on Tessa’s chest.
Her legs nearly gave out.
Asher caught her arm again. “Lila.”
“No,” she whispered, shaking her head. “No, it’s the same thing. The exact same thing.”
Her mind reeled. Ava with roses.
Ruby with roses. Serena with roses. She shut her eyes tightly against the memory.
Her heartbeat pounded painfully.
The whispers grew louder behind her:
“Damian argued with her last night.”
“They fought publicly.”
“And now she’s dead? That’s way too suspicious.”
“He probably snapped.”
“He’s obsessed with redheads.”
“He silenced her, didn’t he?”
Lila spun around, tears burning in her eyes.
“Stop saying his name like that,” she snapped. Her voice cracked but she didn’t care. “You don’t know anything!”
A girl stepped back, startled. “It’s just that everyone saw their fight last night.”
“He didn’t kill anyone,” Lila said through clenched teeth. “Don’t put this on him.”
Asher gently pulled her back again, whispering, “Lila, hey calm down.”
She wanted to. She wanted to breathe. She wanted to stop shaking.
But all she could see was the image burned into her mind, the faint glimpse of roses on Tessa’s chest.
Four fresh roses.
Her skin crawled. Her breath started coming too fast. Her vision blurred.
This is the same pattern. The same signature. It’s him. He was at the party. He never stopped. He's not done.
Asher’s hand tightened slightly on her shoulder. “Come on. Let’s sit for a second.”
But Lila shook her head.
“I can’t,” she whispered. “I can’t move yet.”
And then, something shifted in the corner of her vision.
A figure standing alone at the very edge of the field.
Damian.
Lila blinked hard, thinking maybe she was imagining him but he was really there. Standing a few feet away from the police line, his posture stiff, his shoulders shaking almost imperceptibly as he stared toward the bleachers.
His hands trembled violently at his sides.
His face was pale, tight, and devastated as he turned toward the roses.
The roses on Tessa’s body.
Lila’s stomach twisted painfully.
His expression wasn’t fear for himself.
It wasn’t guilt. It wasn’t anger.
It was horror. And heartbreak.
Like someone had punched straight through his chest.
Asher followed her gaze and stiffened. “Damian?”
Lila took a small step forward unconsciously, unable to tear her eyes away from him.
He looked so lost, so shaken, and so broken.
No one else seemed to notice him yet the crowd focused on the officers, not the lone athlete frozen in shock.
Damian lifted his hand a little, fingers trembling, almost like he was reaching toward the roses from afar.
His throat bobbed with a hard swallow.
And then, faintly, painfully she saw his lips form the words:
“Not again.”
Lila’s breath hitched. Her heart cracked.
Everything around her went silent.
She took another step, the police tape stretching slightly under her hand.