Carmen wiped away tears just as the police station became visible up ahead. The piercing ring of alarms snapped her out of her trancelike state, and she finally realized where she was when she saw Amber frantically dart out of the exit of the police station. Carmen quickly swung the door open as soon as Sloane screeched the car to a stop.

Carmen was surprised to see Amber without shoes. Amber's stockings were becoming soaked as she ran down the pavement. She clutched a heel in one hand while her coat and skirt flapped in the rainy wind.

Amber jumped into the car and shut the door before anyone could come to investigate the alarms. Sloane pulled out and blended into the fog-covered traffic just as a pair of officers finally came out of the exit. They looked around in confusion and frustration.

Amber sighed with relief as she sunk back into the seat.

"Are you ok?" Carmen asked hurriedly.

"What happened in there?" Shelby asked.

Amber surprised everyone, including herself, with a sudden rush of tears. "I'm so selfish," she cried. "I left Hayden behind, and now he might be dead."

"What?!" Everyone said in unison.

"We were investigating police files," Amber tried to calm her shaken voice. "Hayden has a cousin who got us in, but it looks like some of the officers were sent by the former detective came in to make sure we don't uncover anything about Rain. They turned off the lights, or maybe it was a power outage— I don't know— but they beat up Hayden," Amber choked back tears. "I couldn't even do anything. I abandoned him."

"Oh Hayden," Shelby gasped.

"You had to leave, otherwise who knows what they would've done to you," Carmen tried to console her.

"Carmen's right," Sloane added. "I don't know who this Hayden guy is, but surely his cousin isn't in on this whole covering up scheme is he?"

Amber wiped away her tears and brushed strands of wet hair back in an attempt to recompose herself. "I don't know," she said hopelessly. Amber hugged herself, shrinking into her shoulders with guilt. It didn't matter to her what everyone else said. She was so selfish. How could she have left him?

"I had a vision before we picked you up," Carmen interjected.

The car suddenly pulled to a stop on top of an empty hill. Rain tapped on the roof of the car as droplets rolled down the foggy windows, revealing a blur of trees. The windshield wipers in the front wiped away water to uncover a view of the cityscape lit up by a hazy pink sunset and red headlights. The vibrating hum of the engine went quiet when Sloane turned the car off. The pink tinted view of the city became blurred by thousands of droplets, and the rain only poured harder.

"This is a good place to lay low for a while. You know, in case the cops are still looking for you," Sloane shrugged while glancing at Amber. Her piercing blue eyes sent a chill down Amber's spine. Sloane's demeanor was almost too calm.

"Where are we?" Amber asked, casting a suspicious glance outside.

Sloane clicked her red nails on the wheel and smiled to herself as she remembered nights she'd spend here with Rain and Joel after clubbing. "Somewhere I haven't been in a long, long time." Finally, she turned back to face the girls. "Carmen, you had another vision. What did you see?"

"I think it might've been the night that Rain died," Carmen realized. She recounted the vision, all the way from the dark emotions that kept Rain awake, to her mother's judgement, to the distorted memories of running in the rain, to the morning she awoke in the graveyard. Carmen told the group about how Rain went to school that day but everyone seemed to ignore her.

"She must have been dead by then," Amber hypothesized.

"And the reason no one paid attention is because she was a ghost," Shelby added.

Carmen held her cross nervously. Rain had heard many voices that night before she died, but which one of them was real? Who was there before she died? The rain outside only amplified Carmen's anxiety. Sloane said she brought the girls up here to "lay low", but Carmen couldn't help but focus on how conveniently secluded it was.

Sloane gripped the wheel. Her face only got more contorted as Carmen continued recounting the vision. Finally, Sloane spoke. "I should've been there for her. She was going through so much, all alone. I shouldn't have treated it like nothing. FUCK!" She slapped the wheel hard and buried her head in her hands.

Shelby reached out to touch her arm gently. "Sloane, you can't blame yourself! You had no idea she was going through this. If you did, I'm almost sure you would've done more."

Carmen gulped down the knot in her throat at Sloane's emotional display of vulnerability. Maybe it wasn't her after all. "You're helping us now, that's what matters. Rain deserves justice."

Amber adjusted her coat and straightened down her pleat skirt when suddenly she remembered the notebook in her pocket. Her thoughts raced back to the articles on the Wall of Shame, particularly the one with Sloane's dad.

"I do have a question, Sloane," Amber started cautiously.

Sloane looked up, wiping away tears and runny mascara. "Shoot."

"Hayden and I found an article in the archives. It said your father got sued by Darren's dad's company. Could you tell me more about that?"

Sloane shrugged. "There's not much to say. All that is stupid businessman drama. All they care about is money, money, money no matter what," Sloane rubbed her fingers together dramatically and rolled her eyes. "I never understood it or cared, to be honest."

Amber wasn't buying it. "But you lost everything, all your wealth. Could Darren have interfered thinking it was you? Why didn't you request to reopen the case?"

"Are you insinuating that I killed my own best friend?" Sloane responded sharply.

Carmen's eyes went wide, as did Shelby's.

"Amber! Stop," Shelby fought back. "Sloane's done nothing but help us!"

Sloane sighed loudly. "Fine, I get why you would suspect me. I... I'm so selfish. I didn't reopen the case because I wanted to move on. Every time I closed my eyes at night, I would see her," Sloane's voice trembled. "And I would cry... Every. Single. Night. It wasn't just losing her that hurt, it's the guilt I carry. I'll never forgive myself for not being there for her. And all because of some petty drama and some stupid girl I had a crush on."

Sloane turned to Amber. "Your theory is that Darren helped expose my father because he thought I was the murderer. I wouldn't be surprised if he did think that. He was very close to Rain."

"If anything, he was the only person she felt she had left," Carmen added.

"Exactly," Sloane agreed. "In the end, my father losing his company gave me an excuse to become someone else for a change— Madam Vadoma." Sloane chuckled to herself before meeting Carmen's eyes. "You know.. I got the name from one of your father's songs, Carmen."

"Did you ever talk with him after what happened to Rain?" Carmen asked.

Sloane shook her head in dismay. "I couldn't reconnect with him in the end.. but believe it or not, I listened to his music on the radio every now and then. Your father was an incredibly talented singer and guitarist."

Carmen smiled gently. Sloane seemed genuine.

Sloane continued, "My darkest fears were confirmed the day you girls visited my shop for the first time. Rain was murdered. I won't forgive myself until I can assure she's resting in peace."

***

Amber awoke the next morning with a call from an unknown number. She rubbed her tired eyes and held the flip phone to her ear as rain trickled outside her third floor bedroom.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Hi, is this Amber Wright? It's Elias, Hayden's cousin. We met yesterday at the police station."

"Oh, um, yes?" Amber stammered as she sat up in bed. Her heart raced in her chest as she questioned whether she should ask about Hayden. What if he was part of the coverup and attack, too? "Yes, I remember you. What's going on?"

"What's going on?" Elias echoed back in confusion. "Amber, what happened? Are you ok? Did... you beat up Hayden?"

"What? No, of course not! How did you get my number? Is he ok?" She finally asked. To hell with being careful, she had to know if he was safe.

"I got it from the form you guys gave me about your school project— but that's not the point here. I found Hayden all bruised up down at the basement with the lights off. I asked around but no one saw you leave."

"Is Hayden ok?" Amber asked again, her breathing coming out rushed. "Where is he?"

"He's in the hospital," Elias said. "Amber, what's going on?"

"I— I have to go," Amber said before hanging up. She had to see Hayden. Amber raced out of bed and changed out of her pajamas. She snuck past the maids and quickly got into her car. Surely, they'd see her car missing or pulling out of the driveway. Either way, that was a problem for later.

***

"Amber?" Hayden sat up in his hospital bed groggily. His head was wrapped up in a bandage and he wore a cast. One of his eyes was puffy and purple.

Amber almost cried at the sight of Hayden in such a state. Without a word, she pulled him into a tight embrace. A few seconds passed before she finally let go and managed to ask with a stable voice, "Are you ok?"

She held his cold hands and studied his face. Elias didn't seem to suspect anything about the other officers. Either Hayden had pretended not to know in case Elias was involved, or he had genuinely forgotten. "Do you remember what happened?"

Hayden looked back at her and squinted a bit. "I remember us visiting the police station for a... school project?" The scent of vanilla sugar from Amber's embrace had enveloped him, and took him back to the memory of their kiss. Hayden blushed and smiled a bit before saying, "I remember us getting a little risqué... Wait, did I make you uncomfortable? Did I do something you didn't like..? Is that why I'm beat up?"

Amber blushed wildly and covered her face before taking his hands again. "No no no, I— I did like it. Do you really not remember who hurt you? Or why we were there?"

Hayden's ears rang as he tried hard to remember, but the memories weren't coming back. He gripped his head and groaned. Suddenly, he heard the voices of those gruff officers. He remembered darkness. Getting docked across the jaw and kicked on the floor. Rain's file. Amber acting like a detective. The mystery of Rain's death. The entire paranormal investigation. Amber's trust. The men...

"Are you ok?" Hayden gritted his teeth. "Tell me they didn't do anything to you."

Amber's face softened as she took a sigh of relief. "No, thankfully I got away in time. And I'm so sorry I left you behind," Amber's voice tightened as she shook her head. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know what to do."

Hayden pulled her into a hug and held her gently. "Don't be sorry, I'm just glad you're safe." He hesitated before forcing himself to say, "Amber... there's something I need to tell you. I... I left you behind too."

Amber pulled away, wiping off her tears. "What do you mean?" Hayden's scared face brought a sudden sense of uneasiness.

"I— I was the one who called the janitor to open the door during the seance. I heard the door slam closed and all the screaming. I swear, I tried to help open it but it wouldn't work. I wanted to save you all, but I didn't want to get in trouble too so I ran at the last second after janitor unlocked the door."

Amber couldn't stop herself from curling her lip in disgust. "Hayden.. I told you I got suspended. And I lost ANY chance I had with that scholarship. And you STILL didn't tell me? I was worried sick about you. How could you keep this from me?"

"I didn't want you to hate me after finding out. I thought I was doing the right thing... I'm sorry," Hayden's eyes teared up. He tried to reach for her hand, but she snapped it back.

Amber shook her head before stepping away. "You are such a coward. I don't know why I even asked for your help."

"This isn't fair Amber, and you know it. I'm allowed to be scared too, you know!"

Amber was just about to leave. She turned around and snapped, "No, you're not! You weren't in that room! What am I supposed to say, thank you? Thank you for calling the janitor and for making me lose my scholarship?" She said sarcastically. "You just ran off after, not caring how I would feel. I worried for days and days. I thought you were DEAD!"

"Well, you know what? I DID try to contact you— through the game, remember? I had no other way, I didn't even know you were suspended until then. And losing your chance at the scholarship? You have no one to thank but yourself for that. If it weren't for you and your friends doing this investigation, you wouldn't have gotten into that situation in the first place."

"Are you serious right now?" Amber crossed her arms in disbelief.

"Guess what? Now we're even!" Hayden tried to shrug theatrically but winced, the pain and constricted tug of his cast reminding him of his broken arm. "You lost your chance at the scholarship, and I ended up with some broken bones at the hospital," he said smugly.

Amber opened her mouth, but no words came out. How could he say all that? Amber could only shake her head and scowl before storming out of the room.

Hayden sunk back into his pillow and blinked back tears. All he wanted was to speak some sense into her. Now, he wasn't sure if losing her was worth his defense.