Saira felt sick to her stomach. Even when she saw Scarlett Mako's corpse, it was from a distance, but Robert's? She could smell the sickly stench of lifelessness. It brought back so many bad memories.

She finished transferring money online after talking to a bank accountant at Mama's local town. Luckily, the previous storm had only flooded the one that Silverleaf was local to, Saira's mama was safe.

The bank accountant understood Saira's situation and allowed her to wire a transfer and she would later have to pay back the bank with the real cash Orchid provided her. Bless Orchid's heart, Saira sighed heavily after hanging up. She sat on her bed in her empty dorm.

Suddenly, the door rattled and Saira was alarmed. To her relief, it was just Fareeda who was holding a tray of food—mashed potatoes and a glass of apple juice. "Uh, hi, I realized you didn't come for lunch or dinner, so I figured you were hungry. You don't have to eat it, I didn't really know what you liked, sorry."

Saira blinked. "Oh, thanks, that was really kind of you." She awkwardly stood up and took the tray from Fareeda's hands, placing it on her desk. She took a bite of the mashed potatoes, smiling at the girl. She's so nice to me, she thought.

Why?

"I tried to find you throughout the day, but you sort of vanished," Fareeda said. Shortly after the talk in Headmaster Roux's office, they had carried Bailey to the Nurse's Office. Then Stoll took off, unable to keep a hold of his temper.

Saira never skipped classes, too risky, but she was unfocused. Robert's body. It reminded her too painfully close to home. "I didn't feel very good and stuff," Saira fibbed. "I may have caught a cold or something."

"Oh, it's because I noticed Orchid was gone too, so I thought..." Fareeda cleared her throat. "Never mind that, I'm glad you're feeling better now." She smiled and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

Isn't Fareeda a bit obsessive, Saira rolled her eyes. Suddenly, a letter slipped under her door. Saira plucked it up from the floor, thinking it was from Orchid or Stoll.

Dear Saira Levine,

Hello, Saira, we are so sorry to do this in letter, but your entrance exam and Silverleaf Gothic Literature Club registration form has been rejected. We as the club think you're not a good fit and we wish you the best. I decided to take it upon myself to write this personal letter, thank you for your time.

From, M. X. 

M. X.

Madeleine Xing. Saira crumpled up the letter and threw it in the trash bin, angered. She had never been rejected and it made her feel incomplete. Now I can't even help Gray or Finnegan with sleuthing if I'm not accepted into the club. "Stupid bitc—" She stopped herself before flopping onto her bed.

She knew in her heart that the gothic literature club was behind these three killings, but she needed proof. Now, she had to rely on Orchid and Stoll alone. Can I trust them? It was a question that crept into the back of her mind. Of course, I can, Orchid gave me a buttload of cash.

Maybe Saira was too paranoid with the rise of these murders. Fareeda came out of the shower, her hair slightly damp and sporting a tank top and shorts. "Hi," she said again awkwardly. "What are you doing?"

"Biology study notes," Saira responded, grabbing some sheets of paper and yellow highlighters. "Damn it!" She cursed as dried streaks of yellow bled from the highlighter. "It's dead."

Fareeda tossed her a green highlighter. "Use mine."

To that, Saira crackled. Fareeda frowned, but she hastily added, "I'm not laughing at you, Fareeda. Well, sort of. It's just green and you're a plant psychopath and—" She winced, shaking her head. "Sorry, my humour is twisted."

The girl offered a small smile. "I do like plants and my green." She went over to her bed, scrunching her hair up as she chuckled. "Don't worry, Saira. I like your humour too."

Saira found it hard to hate Fareeda Patel after that. Following that, she did a few rounds of study notes before Saira went to bed, slumped.

"Oh, it won't be that bad, Sarah," Mama said in her sweetest voice. They were in an office lobby, waiting for her new therapist, Dr. Levine. The lobby smelt of hand sanitizer and it made her throat close. And the leather chairs felt too plasticky. "Sar, listen to me, it'll be okay."

She frowned. "Does Papa know we're here?"

"Now, I asked you to stop asking me that, Sar. It's not polite." Mama was good at dodging questions, but so was her daughter. She didn't want to pry, so she decided to stop annoying her mother.

The secretary yelled, "Le Vil, Sarah!"

She found it stupid that they called your last name first. She stood up and so did Mama, they grasped each other hands tightly. "C'mon, Sar," she urged, guiding her down a hall. By the door, there was a woman with a smile on her face.

She had bouncy ginger curls and vibrant green eyes, wearing a brown trench coat. She found it dumb that someone would wear a trench coat in the summer. "Hi, Sarah, I'm Dr. Levine, but you can call me Ally, spelt with a y instead of i and e."

Huh, she thought. Ally, but not Allie. Weird.

"I'll be waiting in the lobby." Mama kissed her cheek and let go. No, I don't want to be here, Sarah wanted to scream. Ally led her into the room that had a sofa, a big armchair, and a few toys cluttered on the floor, but tastefully.

"You can sit on the sofa," Ally told her. She sat down on the sofa as told, twitching. At least it was better than the chairs in the lobby. They were silent for a few seconds until Ally spoke up. "Do you want anything to drink?" When there was no reply, Ally dug further. "Well, do you want to tell me anything? I don't tell your mommy, don't worry. It can be something simple like how your day was—"

"Why is my mama paying you money for us to talk?"

Ally laughed. "Well, sometimes, I also ponder about America's health system, hm?"

"Mama brought me here because I'm afraid of fire and it's apparently abnormal. I don't know why I'm scared of it, I just am, Dr. Levine." She didn't want to say Ally's name aloud, that meant they personally knew each other. "I want to get this over with, please."

Ally nodded her head understandably. "I have a niece like you, Sarah." She dug out her phone and scrolled until she found a girl around Sarah's own age. She had light brown skin and black hair slicked back in a ponytail. In the photo, she was getting her henna done. "Her name is Saira and my niece is utterly terrified of spiders. Everyone thought it was a rational fear since it was so common until I talked to Saira. She was terrified of spiders because her brother once placed one in her hair."

"So what?"

"I'm trying to say, normal or abnormal fear or not, there's a reason behind every fear. And yes, I was paid by your mama, but I'm here to help you talk about it like how I did with Saira."

Sarah—no, Saira—winced. Could she trust this stranger? "It's a secret though," she whispered as Ally watched her immensely. "Not even Mama knows, or she and Papa will be mad."

"Why do you think Mama and Papa will be mad?"

She shut her eyes, quivering. "Because I'm afraid what happened to M-Mama will happen to me." The memory was so fresh in her mind despite it happening a few years prior. "It was scary."

She heard noises from the basement, got up from bed, heading down the dark halls. It was past midnight and she had opened the basement. Down the stairs, she saw Papa burning Mama's wrist with the stub of his lit cigarette. The stub burned into Mama's wrist and left a burning scar. Her mama had a rag in her mouth to prevent screams.

Sarah Le Vil was horrified. She knew that Papa and Mama argued a few hours ago at dinner over something silly, but she was scared. She hated fire. She hated, hated fire with a burning passion—it would destroy people.

"What happened, Sarah?" Ally asked suddenly and quietly, pulling Sarah out of her thoughts. Before she could speak, there was a cry. The door was open and Papa was there, eyes burning with rage. His eyes burned with anger as he glared at Ally and Sarah.

"P-Papa?" She was caught off guard as Ally stood up. Mama was behind him, tugging on Papa's arm, she was shouting that he needed to calm down. "I'm sorry, it was all my f-fault!"

"Sar, no—"

"Who the hell do you think that you can brainwash my daughter, you vile woman?" Papa huffed, looking enraged. The little girl shrunk back on the sofa, her chest collapsing with ragged breaths.

"Mr. Le Vil, we can talk like civil people outside my office," Ally said calmly.

"Civil? My daughter was sent here without her consent and my consent."

Ally was appalled. "I will call security, sir—"

"With all due respect, Dr. Levine, it isn't your place to discipline my daughter. Sarah is just a naughty child who seeks attention by pretending to be scared of fire. I smoke, Dr. Levine, and she has no problem with the flames."

You're just seeking the attention you crave, Papa's voice crept into the back of her mind. Sarah wanted to protest, to shriek that he was wrong. He was wrong, he was wrong, he was wrong—

"Sarah," Papa spoke, his gaze shifting to her. She quivered as he marched over, yanking her up from the sofa. Papa was a strong man, so he held her up with one arm. He sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes. "Forgive me, Dr. Levine, I overreacted and that's an understatement. I just had a bad experience once in therapy, but it didn't end very well. I don't trust therapists very much." He softened, but his eyes hardened.

"I understand, but Sarah still has an hour left for her session."

"Can we rebook? I think I disturbed the whole process," he said smoothly and Ally eyed us carefully. Papa held his gaze and Sarah nodded slowly. She didn't want anyone to be hurt. Ally relented but was wary as she showed as she showed them out the door.

As soon as they reached the car and got inside, Papa's calm face was replaced with fury. "You took Sarah somewhere without my permission? You said you were taking her out to the park, you asshole."

Mama's upper lip trembled. "Her fear i-is not normal—"

"Don't stutter in front of me, woman." He turned on the car and started to drive. She hated it when Papa would drive while angry, it meant he would drive faster than usual. "You made a fool out of me with that damned therapist, Elina."

"I-I just wanted Sarah to feel safe," Mama said in between chokes of tears.

"Safe? Do I not make you all feel safe? I put a goddamn roof over your heads, you ungrateful brat. Both of you are brats, you hear me?" Papa's fingers gripped the steering wheel and his eyes bulged with aggression.

"Papa, please," she begged. "Don't argue with Mama. She's sad."

"Just wait until we get home, you little brat."