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"Well?" Sarah asked, practically bouncing in her seat. "How'd it go?"

Emily hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "He's… quiet," she said, trying to downplay the strange feeling lingering in her chest.

"Quiet? That's it?" Sarah groaned, looking disappointed.

"Sometimes, quiet is enough," Emily replied with a small smile. The truth was, she felt like there was something beneath that quiet exterior, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

As they gathered their things to leave, Emily found herself glancing back toward the bookshelves. Max still stood there, looking as though he belonged to a world only he could see. And though she barely knew him, she had a feeling their paths would cross again.

She couldn't say why, but something told her this was only the beginning..........

The Space Between Us;   
(Max and Emily)

The sun was barely up when Emily found herself back in the campus library, flipping through the worn pages of the school archives. Sleep had been elusive, her mind racing with questions and fragments of conversations. Max's confession still lingered in her heart, but the mystery surrounding Ethan wouldn't let her rest.

The archives room was empty except for Sarah, who sat across from her, scanning old disciplinary files.

"This feels like searching for a needle in a haystack," Sarah muttered, stifling a yawn.

Emily pushed a photo across the table—Ethan's sophomore year portrait. "If whoever's behind this wants me to doubt what I know about Ethan, there's something we're missing."

Sarah's fingers brushed against an envelope tucked into one of the files. "Hey, check this out."

Emily leaned over as Sarah opened it. Inside was a disciplinary record from Ethan's junior year. It was vague—an incident involving "inappropriate conduct" during a school trip—but it had been dismissed without consequence.

"This doesn't make sense," Emily said. "Ethan never mentioned anything like this."

Sarah frowned. "Do you think Oliver knew about it?"

Emily's stomach churned. "If he did, he didn't tell me. But someone clearly wants me to find this now."

As they pieced together more records, one name kept appearing: Professor Caldwell. He had been Ethan's mentor during his final year and had supervised the trip where the incident occurred.

"We need to talk to him," Emily said.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Caldwell retired last year. He lives off-campus now. Are you sure he'll remember anything?"

"It's worth a shot," Emily replied, determination hardening her voice.

Later that afternoon, Emily and Max arrived at a modest house just outside town. Max had insisted on coming along, unwilling to let her face this alone.

Professor Caldwell greeted them at the door, his lined face lighting up with recognition. "Emily. I haven't seen you in years."

She forced a smile. "Hi, Professor. I was hoping you could help me with something about Ethan."

At the mention of Ethan's name, Caldwell's expression darkened. "Come in."

Seated in the professor's cozy living room, Emily explained the situation, careful not to reveal too much about the messages she'd been receiving.

Caldwell sighed, his hands clasped tightly. "Ethan was a bright student, but…he had his struggles."

"What kind of struggles?" Max asked.

Caldwell hesitated. "He had a temper. A few times, it got him into trouble with other students. There was an incident on the school trip—nothing serious, but it raised some concerns."

Emily's chest tightened. "What happened?"

Caldwell looked at her sadly. "There was an argument with another student. I don't remember all the details, but it was intense enough that I had to intervene. Ethan was...volatile, but I never thought he'd hurt anyone."

As they left Caldwell's house, Emily felt a heavy weight in her chest.

"I don't understand," she said, her voice trembling. "Ethan was kind, caring. He wasn't like that."

Max walked beside her, his expression thoughtful. "People are complicated, Emily. Maybe there's more to Ethan's story than you knew."

She shook her head. "But why would someone dredge this up now? What do they want from me?"

Before Max could respond, her phone buzzed. She pulled it out, her blood running cold as she read the message.

"You're getting closer. But are you ready for the truth?"

Attached was another photo—this one of the disciplinary file they had found earlier.

Emily showed the message to Max, her hands shaking.

"They're watching us," she whispered.

Max's jaw tightened. "They're trying to scare you. But they're also giving us clues. Whoever this is wants you to keep digging."

Emily stared at the photo, her heart pounding. "Then that's exactly what we'll do."

Shadows AGAIN.