The Professional Alibi

Chapter 9: Cleaned

By the time I get to my dorm room, I'm bursting at the seams to talk to Keeley. I don't care if she was up all night. I don't even care if she's sick. I need someone to talk to and she's my girl!

I yank my door open, and stall, mid-step, my mouth gaping. "What the..."

Everything on Keeley's side of the room is gone. Like everything. The pictures above her bed, the pink and yellow duvet, and the pillows. Even the mattress--who takes the mattress?

Gone are her dishes, her make-up, her computer and school supplies. Her closet and drawers are empty, so I check in our bathroom. Her army of beauty supplies and hair products are missing. Any evidence that she existed at all in our dorm room is just... gone.

Even the shower, sink, and counters have been wiped down and cleaned. What the hell happened here? My eyes dart to my desk and I bolt to it, grabbing my diploma cover. I open it to make sure the invitation from APEX is still there, but the cover is empty, except for the stupid diploma.

The world seems to tilt on its axis and I swallow, waiting for my brain to process everything. "What just happened?" I mutter under my breath.

"She's been erased," a deep voice says behind me, by the door.

I yelp and whirl around. Wade is standing in front of my now-closed door. His lips are pressed into a thin line, and he's changed out of his server disguise back into his black jeans and tight black T-shirt. His arms are folded over his sculpted chest, and he's leaning against the wall as if he's casually been observing me all day.

I grip my diploma case and shake it at him. "How did you get in here?"

Wade pushes off the wall and stalks toward me, giving me a better view of his stormy gray eyes and pulsing jaw. "Your roommate invited me inside."

"Why did she invite you inside?" My gut tells me something's off. Wade's reaction is off. Why is he angry? I'd expect irritation if I broke the rules, but we haven't even started yet. He could fire me and two hundred other seniors--well, 75 senior girls, and probably a few of the guys, would line up to take my place as the team's fake girlfriend. He'd be out a few hours--maybe a few days--time. Why this reaction?

I retreat a step, but he keeps moving closer.

"Because something happened to her last night and she called for help. Her parents called in a favor. Since I was already in the vicinity, they had me erase her.

"What do you mean by erase?" My voice rises an octave. "Did you kill her?"

He's almost close enough to touch now. I back up further until my legs hit the wall behind me and I have nowhere left to go except stand my ground. Heaven help me if he killed her. Crap's about to get real if he did because I don't care how big or how good-looking he is, I'm not going down without one helluva fight.

Wade's right in front of me now. Close enough to smell his scent. Soap and some sort of spice I don't recommend. Whatever scent that is, I want to bathe in it forever. If I don't die.

"I didn't kill her," he says, his voice dripping with irritation. "I erased any evidence of her. Just like I'm about to do with you. Her parents called in a favor and APEX made an exception. Keeley is in something akin to protective custody. I don't know the details, but something bad happened here at the Academy. Apex is investigating. Regardless, your friend needs to be someplace safe."

"Is she okay? Will I have a chance to say goodbye?" I ask. What was so horrible she had to go into hiding, and why didn't she tell me when I woke her?

I stare at the ceiling and press the heel of my hand to my forehead. "I knew something was off this morning, but I thought she'd stayed over with a guy--one last fling before she left." I shake my head and look at Wade. "I wanna see her. I need to apologize. She needs a friend."

"Listen." Wade frowns. "We gave her the opportunity to wait for you before she left. She chose to leave immediately instead."

Something on my face must've expressed my betrayal at her leaving because he steps closer and gently grasps both my biceps, rubbing his thumbs up and down the skin of my arm. "I know this hurts. She was your best friend. Probably closer than family. But she has her reasons and you need to respect that."

I shake my head and look anywhere but at him, trying to blink away my tears. "I'm going off-grid, Wade. If she decides she wants to talk, I won't be there. I'll be erased too."