Thank you for staying loyal to this story, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

It was nearly dark before I finally decided on a destination, and it was completely dark by the time I got there. I had shut my phone off hours ago, tired of screening calls from Haley and then from Dimitri when he realized I hadn't gone back to school.

I had driven around aimlessly, circling the highway and wasting gas, for the first few hours, needed the sound of my car and the road underneath me to calm me down.

I couldn't get the photographs out of my head. Some of them were recent, and some dated back to when I was still on the cheerleading squad, which I had noticed when the pictures went all over the floor. Lissa was in some, Sydney was in some of the newer ones, but all of them included me. And all of them were in Haley's house. It didn't escape my notice that a few of the photos that Haley had were also hanging on my wall in my apartment the night my apartment had been broken into. Not all of them, but enough, though it didn't matter to me if it had been one picture or all of the pictures.

What was done was done.

The house was dark when I pulled up and looked exactly the same as the last time that I saw it. I pulled into the driveway and the first garage, letting the door close behind me before getting out. I grabbed the few bags of groceries from my car that I had stopped for and walked into the house through the garage door, locking it behind me.

I walked over to the breaker box in the dark, already knowing the way. No lights turned on immediately, and I walked into the kitchen to turn on the kitchen lights. The fridge was already running, and I placed a few of my groceries in there, leaving the rest on the counter.

I couldn't bring myself to eat and walked through the kitchen into the living room, and into the main bedroom off the living room. The bed was meticulously made, and I curled up in the center of the bed under the covers and quickly fell asleep.

Two days passed with me hiding out in the house, not daring to turn my cell phone on, knowing that I would have even more missed calls from Haley and Dimitri and probably from Lissa now too. Tomorrow was Monday, and I had already made the decision to go to school tomorrow, though how I was going to avoid Haley and Dimitri tomorrow was something I hadn't yet figured out.

I was sitting on the couch, scrolling through the guide on the television in the living room, when I heard the sound of the front door opening. I quickly muted the television and ran back to the kitchen. I turned on my phone, prepared to call the police if I needed to. Then I grabbed the first weapon I saw, a chef's knife, and held it out in front of me as I walked back through the living room towards the foyer.

I could see a figure walking towards me, and I adjusted my grip on the knife.

"Who's there?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"Rose?"

I turned on the light for the foyer, still holding my knife in front of me, and recognized the ashy blonde hair immediately. I sighed, letting the hand holding the knife fall to my side. "McKenna."

Dimitri POV

I drove the streets surrounding the school and surrounding her apartment again, hoping that third's time the charm would come true now. But I drove for hours, with still no luck. I kept trying to call Rose's phone, only to be sent immediately to voicemail. The first few times I had called on Friday, the phone had rung a few times before being sent to voicemail, and my texts had said delivered. But now, I was being sent to voicemail immediately, and my texts wouldn't deliver through. Her phone was either off or broken somewhere.

Sighing, I pulled over to the side of the road. I conceded that I wasn't going to be able to find her by myself and picked up my phone to report Rose missing. Before I could dial the memorized number, my phone dinged with a new notification.

New Location Found, the notification read, Rose's number showing under it.

I clicked the coordinates to plug them into my map and turned the car around, following its instructions.

Rose POV

"What are you doing here?" I questioned, walking back to the kitchen to return my knife.

"I'm just swinging through town, and I didn't want anybody to know I was here. I know we haven't talked since everything went down earlier this year, but I figured the offer of the house would still stand since you weren't living here."

"How long are you planning on staying?"

"A few days. I'll be out by mid-week. How long have you been staying here? If I had known the house was being used, I wouldn't have come."

"A couple of days," I said. "Why?"

"Why?" she repeated, bemused.

"Why are you back?" I said. "I thought you didn't want to come back here."

McKenna shrugged. "I had no plans to, but I didn't have a choice. There's something here that I need to take care of."

"I'm sorry," I blurted. Even though she was right and we hadn't talked in months, I still felt like I owed her that apology.

McKenna smiled. "It wasn't your fault, Rose. I know that you didn't do it. I think Coach Tegan knew that you weren't at fault too, but someone was whispering in her ear."

"She seemed pretty firm in the belief that I was the one sabotaging the squad. And how can you say that when your chance at continuing to cheer in college was ruined because of me."

McKenna shook her head. "Like I said, it wasn't your fault. And my chances weren't ruined. My university was already committed to having me on their squad, and they helped me get the best physical therapy afterward. Plus, it was only a concussion and a sprained ankle. I was lucky compared to others. We all were compared to Thea."

"Thea?"

"You don't remember?"

"My memory has been wonky since the kidnapping," I admitted. "There's stuff that happened before that I can't remember fully. I remember Thea joining the same year we did and that she left part of the way through our junior year, but that's it.

McKenna frowned. "Rose, she broke her back while doing a stunt while flying. You were benched during that game, and she was the flyer who took your place. It was after the first accusation of drugs in the water. It led to us all getting tested again."

"Oh my God, why don't I remember that?" I said. "I remember getting tested like three times but not that. Was she okay?"

"She's alive," McKenna said. "Thankfully not paralyzed, but she had to have surgery that fused parts of her back together, so she has limited flexibility and isn't able to cheer or do any sports."

"I'm glad she's okay. Did the bases not catch her?"

"The bases tossed her too much, and she lost control in the air. The spotter wasn't paying attention, but her fall was broken a little bit by the spotter when Thea landed partially on her. I can't remember who it was now."

I bit at my nails. "And then they tested everybody for drug use."

McKenna nodded. "I think they finally figured out that someone had put drugs in the water."

"I got kicked off the squad for that."

I remembered vividly the day that Tegan called me into her office and yelled at me for an hour straight before demanding that I hand in my captain's armband and my uniform.

McKenna paled. "You did? I thought they never proved it was you."

"They couldn't prove it was me because it wasn't me. They only accused me because as the captain, I was the one responsible for providing the water at every practice and every game. They thought that I was slipping something in the water that was making the squad high. It didn't help that I always had a thing about bringing a full water bottle and then refilling when I ran out. The day that they did the random drug test, I had only drunk out of my own bottle, so I was the only one to come back negative." A bitter edge took my voice as I explained. "I, of course, denied everything, and Tegan believed me at first. I know she did. I've never had a problem before this, and I was, at the time, a model student. But she connected it to when the entire squad got sent home early a few weeks prior because we were all missing cues, and after the third time it happened, her belief dwindled.

"It must have been after Thea's accident that the police and FBI were called in," I realized. "But despite me insisting that I had nothing to do with it, nobody believed me. And less than a week after I was kicked off the squad, I was taken. But nobody believed me when I said that I was being followed and that I felt uneasy because they just thought I was going through "withdrawal" from the drugs."

"Oh my God," McKenna said. "I didn't know any of that happened. I thought you had quit. That's what Coach Tegan told us."

I laughed humorlessly. "Why am I not surprised?"

McKenna's eyes softened. "If anybody should be saying sorry, it should be me."

I frowned. "What for?"

"For not being there when you needed me. I can't help but think that if I had been there, you wouldn't have been taken."

"What? McKenna, you had nothing to do with that."

"You don't remember," she breathed.

"Remember what?"

"You called me that night. The night that you were taken. You said that you felt uneasy and like something bad was going to happen. You asked me if I would come over and spend the night with you here since nobody else knew about this house." She paused and looked down, ashamed. "I was mad. I was so mad. I thought you had left and cut all of us. You had ignored all of my messages from the week prior, and now knowing how Coach Tegan twisted the story, I understand why.

"But I didn't want to talk to you; I didn't want to talk to anybody. I let my anger blind me, and I told you no, told you I was too busy, and hung up. When you called back less than an hour later, I ignored it. I saw it! I saw you calling, and I could have answered, but instead, I will still pissed and still mad, and I sent it to voicemail. All this time, I couldn't help thinking that if I would have said yes, if I would have come over, then they wouldn't have been able to take you."

"McKenna," I said. "I don't think that would have stopped them."

"I could have fucking helped!" she said, her voice cracking. She was silent for a long time before continuing. "That voicemail, God, it's fucked up, Rose. You heard someone downstairs, and you were so scared. I could hear it in your voice; I could practically feel your fear. You were asking if it was me, you were shouting my name, trying to see if it was me. The last thing I heard you say was "What are you doing here?" and then I heard an awful cracking noise and then nothing."

I blanched. "Are you serious? I knew who it was?"

She nodded.

"Did I say a name?"

"No, that's the only reason I didn't take it to the police. There was no proof of anything of there because the crack could have been anything. You weren't even reported missing for a few more days, so it would just seem insane. If you had said a name or even part of a name, I could have done something with it and been able to help. And if I would have been there, I could have fucking helped."

I shook my head sadly. "They planned it out too well. They set everything up perfectly to deny my credibility with the drugs, and they knew exactly what they were doing. They exiled me from my friends, made me paranoid. I don't think you being here would have stopped them. For all I know, they might have taken you too, or worse, killed you."

"Rose—"

"I don't remember, but I don't blame you. You can't blame yourself either."

"Sometimes I can't help it," she murmurs. "I haven't heard from you in so long, and I've been scared to reach out because I thought you hated me."

"McKenna, I could never hate you."

She smiled. "I'm glad. I could never hate you either."

I grabbed a bag of chips off the counter and held them up. "Want to binge shitty reality TV and see how quickly we can eat these chips?"

"Sounds like a plan." McKenna grinned mischievously. "Wanna make it more fun?"

I narrowed my eyes. "How?"

"Have you ever smoked?"

I started to smile. "I did with Lissa last summer. It was an interesting night, but it provided some great stress release."

"You look stressed right now." She held up a tiny bag. "Wanna get high with me?"

Dimitri POV

It took a little over half an hour to reach where the GPS was directing me. There was a gate blocking a road with a sign that said NO TRESPASSING, and it didn't take much to move it so that I could get onto the road. The road was overgrown with weeds and grass, obviously neglected. Despite that, I could see fresh tire marks in the gravel.

As the road twisted and turned, I crept along, trying to keep the sound of my tires on the road as quiet as possible. A mile or so down the road, a reflection caught in my headlights and I saw a giant house looming in front of me. It was two stories, and many of the windows that I saw had vines growing across them. I switched my headlights off, so only my running lights were on, and crept up to the closed garage. There was a small car parked in front of the garage next to where I parked, but it wasn't Rose's car. There was a light coming from a couple of rooms in the house, and I got out of the car, shutting my door softly.

I walked around the side of the garage and noticed that a window on the far side was cracked open, just enough for me to slide my fingers underneath and hoist myself through. I landed with a nearly inaudible thump. There was a door directly in front of me, and slowly, I tried the handle, only to find it locked. I turned around and looked for another entrance, as I preferred not to pick a lock tonight if I didn't have to.

About ten feet down, there was another door, and this one was blessedly unlocked. I opened my phone's flashlight and shined it around the room, discovering that it was the laundry room. I was getting ready to back out of the room when I noticed another door next to the dryer. I hid the light from my phone and tried this door, finding it also unlocked. This one led to a bigger room that was nearly completely dark, save for the TV flickering against the far wall.

I could see light coming from my right and turned that way. A few steps closer and I heard Rose say, "Want to binge shitty reality TV and see how quickly we can eat these chips?"

I moved closer to the source of the light, trying to see what was going on in there without revealing myself.

Rose spoke again. "I did with Lissa last summer. It was an interesting night but provided some great stress release."

"You look stressed right now. Wanna get high with me?"

Oh no. Not happening.

"Rose." I stepped out of the shadows and into the room. "What do you think you're doing?"

She whipped around, and I saw the fear etched on her face before she could hide it. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

I arched an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same. What even is this place?"

She looked away. "None of your damn business. You can leave anytime."

"And let you two stay and get high?" I laughed. "You do realize how much trouble I could get in for letting a student smoke, right?"

Rose shrugged. "Not on school property, not like it's any of your business."

"And do you really want more drugs on your record?"

I immediately regrated my words, but they had already made their impact.

Rose flinched. "I never fucking did any drugs, you asshole. Go fuck yourself."

Before I could say anything, the other girl jumped in. "McKenna Andalle."

"Dimitri Belikov," I said, introducing myself. A gleam of recognition flashed in her eyes, and I silently groaned. "I'm one of Rose's teachers."

Confusion showed next in her eyes, but she didn't say anything.

I turned back to Rose. "So, what is this house, and why are you here?"

"It's my parents," Rose admitted. "It was our house before they died. Afterward, I moved in with Lissa's family. Lissa's parents held on to it for me; they told me about it when I was fourteen, and ever since, I've been coming out here for peace and quiet. Nobody knew about it; it was my special place. When Lissa's parents died, I came out here because I couldn't bear being around her. We had gotten the news of their deaths towards the end of one of our cheer practices, and Lissa went off with her grandparents. I had just turned sixteen and had gotten a car. So, I took it out and came out here. McKenna followed me."

"Why didn't you want to come here when we were trying to find a place for you to stay?"

Rose grimaced. "I was here when I was kidnapped. Tonight is my first night being back here since then, actually." She plucked the bag of weed from McKenna's grasp. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get high."

Rose POV

I took the bag from McKenna and made my way back into the living room. I sat down on the ugly couch that my mother loved, and my father hated. I dug out the lighter hidden in the side of it and rolled a messy joint. McKenna had joined me in the living room, sitting in the armchair next to the couch by the time that I finished rolling it, which took longer than I'd like to admit. I had heard her and Dimitri talking in the kitchen, but I couldn't make out anything they were saying.

The smoke slowly curled out of the joint, and the high hit me a lot faster than it had the last time I smoked. McKenna and I went through the whole joint while Dimitri looked on disapprovingly from the other couch in the room.

"Okay, Rose. That's enough. Let's go."

"Buzzkill!"

"Rose—"

"Have one joint with us, and then we can do your hardass way."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"That's because you don't know how to have fun, Belikov."

Dimitri's eyes hardened at the challenge. "Fine. Hand it over."

I was too clumsy to roll another joint, so I patted the couch beside me and slid the weed and rolling papers to him once he had joined me. He rolled a near-perfect joint and lit it, taking the first inhale quickly, before passing it to me. The closer we got to the end of the joint, the closer Dimitri and I got on the couch. McKenna started telling us hilarious stories about her time away at university and turned in soon after Dimitri rolled the third joint. She waved to us and left the room. I faintly heard her shoes on the stairs as she made her way upstairs.

"Looks like it's just you and me, big guy," I said.

Dimitri smirked, and I blushed as the innuendo made itself clear. I didn't even bother clarifying myself, and instead, as soon Dimitri took the first puff–again–I moved to straddle his lap and locked our lips, sucking the smoke into my mouth. It tasted like regular weed, with a hint of spiciness that I associated with Dimitri.

"Rose—"

I shushed him by pressing our lips together again, this time without weed between us.

"Not high enough for this yet?" I questioned, pulling back for air.

"This isn't a good idea."

"Who makes good decisions when they're high?" I laughed. "I'm the queen of making bad decisions, so I might as well make another, right?"

I took another draw of the joint before shotgunning it to him, and this time, he was the one to press our lips together after breathing out the smoke. I buried my hands in his hair, tugging on the glossy strands, tilting his head up. He returned the favor, running his fingers through my long hair as he moved his lips to my throat.

In the back of my mind, I knew this was a horrible idea, but I couldn't remember why. And in that moment, the smoke settling in around us, I couldn't think of a better idea. And apparently, neither could Dimitri.

Okay so, I know this isn't the best place to end the chapter, but I wanted some opinions on where to start the next chapter off. I could either write out the scene following this, i.e. the actual sex scene, or I could skip to the next morning and continue from there! Let me know what y'all think and also, sound off in a reply about whether what you want the next flashback to be! I debating doing one from before, i.e. along the lines of how Rose met McKenna, one from when she was kidnapped, or maybe what happened during the missing time when Rose was in detention with Dimitri?

P.S. I have never smoked weed or been around anyone actively smoking weed enough to know that much about it, so if I got something wrong or if something just isn't right, feel free to let me know in a review or in a PM!