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It was official: Rose was on her own. With Spencer gone, she didn’t have many options. She had driven aimlessly around town, guessing about the location The Midnight Flower could have taken Spencer. She still didn’t know who they were, so how was she supposed to find him?
Her next move had come down to one fact—she needed back-up. She couldn’t do this on her own. The only other people who could help weren’t exactly her favorite people on the planet, but they might help her if they knew she was desperate. She didn’t relish the idea of asking for help, but she was smart enough to know that going after the mysterious, masked stranger by herself wouldn’t end well. That was horror movie survival 101: never go into battle alone, especially without telling someone where you’re going.
But first, Rose needed to go through Mason’s phone. With his dying breath, he had told her to take it, so there must be important information on it. Something that could help her find out who The Midnight Flower was. Mason told her The Midnight Flower tried to enlist him, so this solidified her theory that they were more than one person. They were recruiting others. Why had they wanted Mason to join their team? What did they want from Rose? She was still unsure what their goal was and how it related to her sister. If they were intent on getting revenge on Rose, then it must be because they had dated.
Had they tried to recruit Spencer too, then?
No, that’s silly. He would have told me.
But would he? If Spencer was trying to protect Rose, he might have hidden it from her. After all, she had a few secrets of her own Spencer didn’t know about. Regardless, she needed to get ready, so she didn’t go into a dangerous situation unprepared.
Swiping up on Mason’s phone, Rose was surprised to find that it wasn’t password protected. He might have foreseen his fate and known he would need to give his phone to Rose. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he keep his phone secure, especially if there was information related to The Midnight Flower on it?
Not knowing what she was searching for, Rose went to Mason’s texts. She didn’t think he was dumb enough to name a contact “The Midnight Flower,” so she searched for any names that seemed fake or out of place. He only had a handful of text chains saved, so that helped. With a pang, she saw the texts she had sent him were still saved on his phone. Besides that, he had texts from his mom and younger brother, some guys on the football team, a girl who was probably his new fling, and—
Rose’s heart nearly stopped at the last name in his recent text messages. A name that shot tendrils of uncertainty and anxiety through her chest.
Kylar.
***
Fuming, Rose drove straight to Kylar’s house, which was in the neighborhood next to hers. She parked her car in the street and banged on his front door until the door opened a minute later.
Kylar stood in the doorway, glowering at her, his dark brown hair wet like he had just taken a shower. Was it her imagination, or did his face look pale? Was his anger all an act? Why would he be so mad at her? They had broken up ages ago, after all. There was no way he cared about that anymore. They had only dated for a few months during their freshman year of high school.
“Why are you here?” Kylar asked in a deep, husky voice that was all too familiar.
Rose stared at him, barely breathing. During their brief run-in at the coffee shop weeks ago, they hadn’t said more than five words to each other. Kylar had told her he was getting over a cold, but maybe he had pretended so she didn’t recognize his voice. Now it was all too obvious.
“We need to talk, Kylar.”
She had screwed up by coming to his house without thinking it through, but it was too late. She didn’t believe Kylar would do this to her. Denial sprinkled over her like a light rainfall. Kylar couldn’t be The Midnight Flower. He just couldn’t. When they dated, he had always been so sweet to her. He couldn’t be the same person stalking her and harassing her. He couldn’t have taken Lily . . .
Kylar remained in the doorway, unmoving, but she thought he wouldn’t hurt her, so she shoved past him into his house.
“Is anyone home? Your sister or your parents?”
“No. My sister is a camp counselor at a theater camp for the summer. My parents are both at work,” he murmured, thinking through each word.
He had always been like that. He was the opposite of her in so many ways, which was why she had broken up with him. Their personalities didn’t mesh well, but that didn’t mean she had wanted to hurt him.
Rose stormed into the kitchen, pulling out a chair and gesturing for Kylar to sit down. She sat in the chair across from him. “Do you know why I’m here?”
She saw him visibly swallow and nod.
“I came here from Kasey’s funeral.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Were you there?”
“No, I went for a run to decompress. I just got out of the shower. Sorry about Kasey. I—”
“You’re sorry that you killed my friend?” Rose snorted derisively. “I don’t have time for your games or your fake apologies. Where’s Spencer?”
Kylar squinted at her as if he was confused. “Why would I know where Spencer is? Isn’t he your best friend?”
“What do you mean? Are you messing with me, Kylar?”
Kylar shook his head, his wet hair sending tiny droplets of water across the kitchen table. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“But aren’t you . . . You’re working with The Midnight Flower, right?” Rose asked, suddenly unsure of her assumptions.
Kylar’s face paled even more. He shrank down in his chair for a few seconds before he sprang up, his green eyes searching around the kitchen nervously. “All I did was make the phone calls and show up when he wanted me to give you a note. I didn’t hurt anyone, I swear.” Then he added in a mumble, “And I made the smoke bombs.”
“Well, I guess chemistry was always your strong suit,” Rose replied with a snort.
“Rose, you need to leave. I’m not messing around. It isn’t safe for you to be here. If they find out we’re talking—”
“Then what? They’ll kill us? I think they’re already planning to kill me. They have Spencer. I need to find him before it’s too late.” Tears fell from her eyes, dripping down her cheeks and splashing onto the table. “I can’t lose him, Kylar. He’s all I have left.”
Kylar’s face fell. “Okay. I get why you chose him.”
Rose sniffled, attempting to rein in her emotions. “What do you mean?”
“You never really loved me. You always loved him,” Kylar said simply.
Rose dug her nails into her palms, reflecting on her past relationships. Maybe that was why all her other relationships had failed. She wouldn’t admit it out loud—that would be cruel to her ex—but Kylar was right. It had been Spencer all along.
Instead, she replied in as kind of a tone as possible, “I cared about you, Kylar. I still do. I don’t understand why you’re doing this. Before Mason died, he gave me his phone. I found texts you sent him.”
This time, Kylar’s face reddened, and his hands balled into fists by his sides. “Mason is dead because he wouldn’t listen! He was an idiot. All he had to do was obey The Midnight Flower, and they would have let him go eventually. He screwed up by dating you and getting too close to you. It may not have seemed like it, but he cared about you in his own twisted way.”
Rose pursed her lips. “Mason kept bringing up Lily. It was like he was obsessed with her, with finding out more about what happened. I don’t think he ever cared about me. If he was working for The Midnight Flower this whole time, then it all makes sense.”
“Maybe. You don’t understand their motivation. You—”
“I don’t understand any of this!” Rose exploded, throwing her arms up in the air and standing from her chair. “Explain it to me, so I understand. Please,” she said in a softer tone, hoping she could appeal to the part of Kylar who had once loved her.
Kylar shook his head, turning away from her. “I wish I could, but I can’t. It goes against the rules. You need to go before they find out you were here.” He scanned the room again. “If they haven’t already . . .”
“What will happen if they find out? Who are they, Kylar? Please help me find Spencer. I promise I’ll help you get out of this mess too. It isn’t too late for you to turn your life around.”
“Really? You would help me, even after knowing I’ve been involved?” Kylar’s green eyes appeared hopeful as he took a step closer to her.
“Of course. I want all of us to escape and stop being terrorized by The Midnight Flower. They need to be stopped. Don’t you see that? You aren’t unreasonable. You must know how this has affected me,” Rose pleaded.
The sound of glass shattering interrupted their conversation. Rose turned around. Shards of glass scattered across the ceramic tiles. A gaping hole in the sliding door led out to the patio, and a smoke bomb appeared. Plumes of grayish-black smoke erupted. Rose screamed, diving away from the door. Glass crunched under the soles of her shoes.
“Rose, get out of here!” Kylar yelled.
Rose couldn’t see him through the smoke. The smoke thickened in the small space. It spread throughout the lower level of the house. Rose coughed. Covering her mouth and nose with her sleeve, she headed for the front door.
“Kylar, where are you?”
“It’s not safe. Rose, please leave. Get out of here! The Midnight Flower is here!” Kylar yelled again.
Rose stumbled through the fog with one arm covering her mouth and the other braced in front of her to feel for any obstacles. The fog was thick and made it difficult to breathe normally. She wasn’t sure how long she could continue before her oxygen ran out. Blindly, she kept moving until she reached the front door after what felt like hours, but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes.
She turned the doorknob and escaped the smoke, breathing in deep gulps of fresh air as she stepped outside. Rose sprinted to her car, not looking back as she jumped into the driver’s seat and drove away. She didn’t want to think about whether Kylar was okay or if The Midnight Flower was after her; she just knew she needed to get somewhere safe.