Grace, Max, and Nate, who was currently on call, walked through the campus with some caution. The place was big, bigger than most colleges in the U.S., so you were allowed to drive your car around the campus. Getting hit by a car was not on their list of things to do during the night, so they made sure to look behind their shoulders and left and right. The light from the lampposts was their only source of illumination, so it was a bit scary walking.

  “Thank you for helping me bring my car to the shop. My dad would have killed me if he knew his wheel had popped.” Max said, rubbing his neck as if his worry was starting to subside. Grace nodded her head and gave out a sweet smile. She didn't need to say much for Max to smile back to acknowledge her kindness. Nate didn't respond; however, he was in his own conversation with his mother, and by the looks of it, it was not going well.

  “Mom, I told you I’ll be home on Saturday, and then I’ll help you with your problem there. I can’t go home. I—” Mumbling from the phone could be heard. It was hard to understand what she was saying, but by the look on Nate’s face, it exhausted him to no end, and it was almost pitiful to see him so tired and upset. Nate, despite being the butt of the joke sometimes, was loved by the entire group. Anything the guy said made everyone else smile just from how innocent he sounded. It made Grace furrow her eyebrows in worry, and Max, despite not showing it, was pretty annoyed that Nate’s parents were bugging him to this point, especially when this wasn't just some rare occasion.

  “Ok, love you too. Bye, Mom, bye!” Nate yelled before turning off his phone and letting out a sigh that was accompanied by his shoulders sagging. Grace and Max looked at each other with worry before looking back at Nate.

  “Your parents being a pain in the ass tonight, I see?” Max said, bumping Nate’s arm with his own arm. Nate nodded exhaustedly. He fixed his black-framed glasses on his face before looking up to the sky.

  “My mom wants me to come to the house to help with growing her garden. I told her I couldn't go, and she wants to have an argument about me never being around to help her with anything, which is a lie because I do. She just wants to guilt trip me to come now,” Nate confessed. They knew Nate’s life wasn’t easy, especially the responsibilities he had outside of his education. Max patted his back.

  “Well, if you need a place to chill out at, you could always come to my dorm. I don’t mind.” Nate gave out a tired smile and responded with a thank you. Grace elbowed Max with a smile.

  “Heh, looks like the big tough football guy here has got a soft spot after all,” she joked. Max scoffed immediately.

  “No, I don’t. I just feel kind tonight.” That earned an eye roll and a smirk from both Nate and Grace. Max showed affection in other ways abnormal to other ways people show they care. Max was known as the “tough guy” and played on the football team alongside Miles, but they were on separate teams. It was funny to see how both Max and Miles were very caring in their own ways. Miles would show off his care physically; there were times when he’d hug Emma whenever she was sad, he always talked to the guys when they were at their lowest, and Miles was considered a teddy bear in the group for his kindness. Max, on the other hand, was pretty lopsided. He was very standoffish at one point and can be an asshole to a lot of people, although when it came to his team or his friends, he was very kind and sometimes even protective. His words were harsh, but you could always sense that care to it that not many people get from him. Max was a good guy at heart; you’d just have to dig through him to get to that center. As they walked, they heard a weird sound of something falling and hitting the ground hard.

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  “What was that?” Grace slightly jumped up.

  “I don’t know, but it didn’t sound pretty.” Nate responded. He wanted to move forward, but it was like his body was telling him not to. Max, on the other hand, crossed his arms and walked to the sound. Grace quickly grabbed his arm and looked up at him with fear in her eyes.

  “Wait, Max, let’s go a different route; it could be dangerous there,” she said. Max furrowed his eyebrows and took Grace’s hand off him.

  “Listen, someone is going to need to figure out what that sound is. And I’d rather be the one to see it than some unexpected rando to find it and get their butt kicked.” Nate’s face grew bewildered from that statement.

  “Stop trying to act tough and play hero, dude. You're going to get hurt!” Nate cried.

  “Well, it’s not like any of you crybabies are going to do it, so I’m going to do it. Plus, I like danger.” As Max finished, he walked over to the sound, with Nate and Grace frantically following him from behind. Max felt the anticipation run through his body as he finally made it towards the sound. Turning the corner, his eyes widened with shock. He slightly stepped back, feeling his heart beat quickly.

  “What is it? What’s—” Nate stopped, slowly casting his eyes towards a body. The body of Amelia.

  “Wrong…”

  Grace's eyes widened when she saw Amelia, her mouth gaped open as she felt her legs have a mind of their own as she ran to Amelia’s body.

  “Amelia! Amelia! What happened to you?!” she cried, trying to wake Amelia up.

  “I think that sound was her…” Nate said, not taking his eyes off his friend's bleeding, unmoving body. Max blinked, and without needing anyone to tell him to, he quickly called 911 and went to lean up on a wall to support his shaky body. Grace could feel the tears well up in her eyes as she struggled to hold them down. She couldn't feel a heartbeat at all from Amelia, and she was really starting to lose her mind with the thought Amelia had no heart at all. Nate walked over to Grace and placed a hand on her arm. Grace turned her head in a bit of surprise. Looking into Nate’s soft eyes that said it all. Pain.

  “I’m sorry, Grace. She’s gone.” Grace’s heart dropped. The pressure was all too much, and those words finally put the nail in the coffin as her tears fell from her face. Her friend was dead. And she would never see Amelia again. Nate gave her a hug, and Grace fell into his embrace as she cried on his shoulder. The tone from everyone that night was quiet. Neither one of the three said anything to each other. What more could be said after all? But under all that, there was a hint of understanding that whoever did this, once they were found by them, was dead.