I awoke to the sound of my phone pinging as I received a text. I rolled over and buried my face in my pillow in denial. I'd been in that blissful moment between sleep and consciousness and wasn't ready to fully wake up just yet.

Who would be texting me this early, the boys usually took the approach of barging into my room to act as my alarm clock. I don't think my dad even had my number and that left only Mina but she far preferred to call because texting didn't allow her to express everything she needed to.

Curiosity got the better of me and I flung a hand out to my bedside table and scrambled about trying to feel for my phone without lifting my head up to look. Finally I managed to grip it and yank it towards me. Lazily I lifted up one half of my head to blink one bleary eye at the screen. It took a moment for the text to fall into focus.

Then I was fully awake and bolting upright in my bed, this couldn't be right. My hand covered my mouth slightly as my eyes darted all over the screen hoping I would be proved wrong about what my sleepy eyes had first seen.

The text contained no words only a single image. It showed a swimming pool filled with clear icy blue water broken only by a single figure rippling the smooth surface. Grey.

My hand flew to mouth as I gasped, they were actually here, they'd taken a photo of Grey. Oh my god.

My first thought was panic, immediate overwhelming fear and terror that consumed every part of me. Not Grey. I'd caused this to happen to Grey and now he might be in danger because of me. I had to do something.

My second thought was of saving Grey, I had to get to him. I needed to make this right.

I was up out of my bed and sprinting towards Grey's bedroom door in a split second. I'd never moved so fast in my life. I flung the door open hoping beyond sense that he would be in there. I hoped that it wasn't him in the photo even though my gut knew I would recognise that dark hair and distinctive body anywhere. I hoped the photo had been taken a while ago and they were just using it now to scare me. I hoped and I willed and I prayed.

His bed was empty. My heart clenched.

His sheets lay strewn half on the floor and his pillow was still half sunken in the middle from where his head had been all night but wasn't anymore.

"Cara!" I had been too gut punchingly scared I hadn't even noticed Sawyer in his bed in only his pyjama bottoms with his t-shirt on the floor beside my foot. My head was spinning too much to concentrate on his toned chest or the adorable way he rubbed his eyes. I could tell the exact moment he realised something was wrong with me as he leapt up off his bed and ran to place his hands on my shoulders to hold me steady. Under usual circumstances I would've taken notice of how close our bodies were and how little clothing we had on between us, me in just an oversized t-shirt and pants. But these weren't usual circumstances; all I could think of was Grey and what they would do to him. "What's the matter?"

"Where's Grey?" I demanded, not caring how I sounded.

"He usually goes to swimming practise in the mornings,"

"Oh my god," I sunk to my knees and stuffed my hands into my hair as I gripped my head hoping that would help me straighten out my thoughts. I had to think, I had to sort this out.

"Cara, what's happened? Is something wrong?" Sawyer was at my level now and I hated how his voice was so fearful. I couldn't bare to tell him what I'd done to Grey. He was going to hate me.

"Nico and Mitch!" My moments were awkward and jilted as I got up, spun around and flew across the corridor towards their room.

Mitch was lying on his bed only in boxer shorts with no sheet on and Nico was curled up in a tight ball in a too small Spider-Man top and boxers with his sheet over his feet. A sigh of relief escaped my lips, they were safe.

"Cara, what is going on?" Sawyer pleaded with me. I was scaring him and I knew it.

"Too early," Mitch moaned from his bed yanking his pillow over his face blearily.

"Somethings up with Cara, she's not telling me something about Grey," Sawyer announced and immediately Mitch was awake, his comfortable bed and deep sleep forgotten in a moment as he launched himself towards me.

He looked in my eyes for a moment and I knew he could see all my terror in them, I let him. Then I changed my mind and tried to turn away. I couldn't tell them; I couldn't, wouldn't, put them in harms way like I'd done to Grey. I wasn't going to let any more of them get hurt because of me.

"Shurupmsleepin," Nico mumbled incoherently.

"Cara," Mitch gripped my shoulders tightly, but soft enough to ensure he didn't hurt me, "what are you not telling us about Grey?"

"I can't ..," I choked, there were tears trickling down my face now, I was just so scared and had no idea what to do, "hurt .. all my fault." The words stumbled out in incomplete sentences as salty tears filled my mouth.

"Cara, I don't give a shit, where is Grey?" Mitch snapped his brow creasing with frustration, I'd never seen him this furious. Then I understood, this was about so much more than me and my own troubles, they were friends. They'd all been friends far longer than they'd known me. They understood each other and cared for one another with a bond that took years to form. Mitch was going to protect his friend at all costs even if I stood in the way and in an odd way that made me respect him so much more.

"I got this text this morning," I held up my phone to show him the text. There was no point in hiding it anymore, wasn't this what everyone had been telling me to do for months, let someone in. I was letting them in now and I hoped I wouldn't live to regret it.

"Who is it from?" Mitch demanded. Nico had woken up now and wondered over confused at all the serious expressions.

"What's going on?" He asked in that early morning bleary voice. Mitch just handed him my phone, "is that Grey?"

"Yeah, who took this Cara? What does it mean?" Mitch repeated more insistently this time.

"The guy who killed my mom," I began hating myself as I said it, "he's been texting me threats, he kept saying I couldn't get too close to people as he thought I would tell them about my moms murder. He texted me last night saying someone would have to pay. I thought they were just empty threats but now he sent this."

"Fuck," Mitch stepped back like I'd just slapped him. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and when he opened them they were full of fury but I knew it wasn't at me. It was at himself, he was angry at himself for not protecting Grey, how messed up was that. He should be angry at me. I wanted him to be because I deserved it.

"Cara, why didn't you tell us about this?" Sawyer whispered trying not to sound accusing but I could hear it in his voice all the same.

"I was dealing with it," I shook my head not even believing myself.

"What are we going to do?" Nico posed the question the rest of us had been too afraid to voice out loud.

"We're getting Grey," Mitch decided and began storming out the room towards the stairs. I raced to catch up with him and grabbed him by the back arm feeling my fingers grip his bare skin.

"Stop, this person is dangerous, they killed my mom Mitch, we don't know what they'll do to Grey, or to us if we try to get him," I reasoned. I wasn't going to let him walk into the lions mouth too, that would be too horrific for words.

"What am I fucking supposed to do Cara? Leave him there!" Mitch shouted into my face spraying me with spit. I flinched back from the harshness in his voice but I didn't blame him, his friend was in danger, I would've done the same. After a moment he became aware of what he'd done and instantly regret dawned on his face, "oh my god I'm so sorry Cara. This isn't your fault, I didn't mean to shout at you."

"It is all my fault," I shook my head dismally and pressed my hands to my face in shame. I would never forgive myself.

"Don't say that, it's not. He's going to be okay," Mitch reassured but even he didn't sound entirely sure. Not even Mitch who always had a plan and always had our backs knew what to do.

Mitch and I stared at each other our eyes telling everything our mouths could not. Me forgiving him and him accepting that. Him understanding me and me thanking him for that.

"I'm going to call him," Sawyer broke us out of our trance, ever the voice of logic, "maybe he'll hear and we can get him out of there."

"Why didn't I think of that?" Mitch berated himself.

Sawyer silenced him with a look as he put his phone on speaker and held it out in the huddled circle the four of us had formed.

The dial tone rang out and with each bleep my heart would squeeze a little just praying that he would answer. But every time it passed I felt my heart sink further and further down my body until it reached the floor when the voicemail recorded message played;

"Hi you've reached Grey's phone but I'm obviously not here. Leave a message and I'll call you back if I think it's worth my time."

Our last hope had been exhausted, Grey wasn't going to pick up so the only way to save him was to go to him ourselves.

In my pocket my phone buzzed loudly, everyone went deathly silent for a moment just looking at me before I reached down and snatched it out. My fingers fumbled on the screen in a panic hoping it would be a text from Grey. It wasn't.

I dropped my phone and watched it clatter to the floor but I was having an out of body experience as if I was watching the phone fall from afar. As if it was someone else's eyes who'd seen the image I'd just been sent. I was a mere spectator watching from above who wasn't involved in this mess that was steadily getting worse. I watched from a body that didn't belong to me as Mitch, Nico and Sawyer scrambled to get my phone and see what was on the screen. I watched as one by one their faces turned pale and they gasped.

From a blocked number I'd received another picture, this time of the tiled floor around the swimming pool that swum with a mixture of water and red liquid that looked a lot like. Blood. In one corner I could see a hand, a hand that belonged to Grey curled in a ball.

What had they done to him?