Chapter 9: It’s not what you think.

Skye

I jerk away from Jace so quickly that my shoulder slams into the wall. “Ouch.” Heat floods my face.

Chloe’s eyes dart between us—Jace and me.

His hand still rests against the wall where my head had been just seconds ago.

Kimberly slowly blinks. “You two were about to kiss.”

“We were not!” I nearly shout.

Jace doesn’t deny it. He simply pushes himself away from the wall and stuffs both hands into his pockets.

Kimberly points dramatically between us. “You.” Then at me. “You.” Then back at him. “What exactly is going on here?”

I open my mouth. Nothing comes out because, honestly, I don’t know.

Jace answers instead. “We were talking.”

Kimberly snorts. “Really? Because from where I was standing, it looked like one very intense conversation.”

Jace merely shrugs. “If that’s what you want to call it.”

I shoot him a glare. “This is your fault.”

“I know.”

“You’ve completely ruined my life!”

“I know.”

“And you don’t even care!”

He looks at me for a second, long enough to make my heart skip, then says flatly, “I’ve got football practice.”

Before I can yell at him again, he walks past the three of us without another word.

Kimberly twists around. “That’s it? He just leaves?”

Neither of us get an answer. We watch him disappear down the hallway.

The silence he leaves behind is somehow worse. I sigh. “I…” I can’t do this. Not here. Not with people still walking through the hallway.

“I need to go.”

Without waiting for either of them, I turn and hurry toward the stairwell.

“Skye!” Chloe calls after me.

I don’t stop. Footsteps race behind me.

By the time I reach the courtyard outside the dormitories, both of them catch up. Kimberly grabs my arm.

“Okay.” She takes a deep breath. “Start talking.”

Chloe nods. “Everything.”

I stare at them—at the concern on their faces, the confusion, the hundred questions they’re trying not to ask all at once.

Tears prick my eyes again. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

Kimberly softens immediately. “Begin anywhere.”

Another long silence. Finally, “I…”

My fingers twist together. “I accidentally went into the wrong dorm room.”

Both girls blink. “What?”

“I was drunk.” My voice is barely audible. “I thought…” I close my eyes. “I thought it was mine.”

Neither of them interrupts.

“I wasn’t thinking straight.”

Chloe exchanges a glance with Kimberly. “So…” Kimberly asks carefully, “You spent the night in Jace’s room?”

I nod. Very slowly. Silence falls.

“So that’s why Tiffany…”

Another nod.

Chloe exhales loudly. “Oh…”

For the first time since they found me, neither of them jokes or teases me. They simply look heartbroken.

Chloe reaches over and squeezes my hand. “This wasn’t your fault.”

I almost laugh. “You don’t know what happened.”

Kimberly frowns. “Then tell us.”

I shake my head. “I can’t.”

“You can.”

“No…” Fresh tears spill down my cheeks. “You’ll hate me.”

Both girls look genuinely shocked. “Never,” Chloe says immediately.

“Not in a million years,” Kimberly agrees.

I bite my lip so hard it hurts. They deserve the truth. But saying it out loud somehow makes it real.

I take a shaky breath. “I didn’t just spend the night in his room…” My voice breaks. “I…” The words refuse to come.

Kimberly’s eyes slowly widen. Chloe’s face loses color, yet neither of them says a word. They’re waiting. Waiting for me to finish.

I squeeze my eyes shut. “I think…” My lips tremble. “I made the biggest mistake of my life.”

Silence. The words hang between us like a storm cloud. Neither Chloe nor Kimberly speaks.

For the first time since I’ve known them, they’re speechless.

Kimberly is the first to recover. “What do you mean?”

I lower my head, unable to meet either of their eyes. “I…” The memory crashes into me all over again. Waking up. The strange room. The tattoo wrapped around his neck. The blood on the sheets.

Jace’s horrified expression when he realized I had been a virgin.

Fresh tears sting my eyes. “I…” My voice cracks. “I slept with him.”

The world seems to stop. Kimberly’s mouth falls open. Chloe blinks once, then twice.

“No…” Kimberly whispers.

I nod. Another tear slides down my cheek. “I did.”

“But…” Chloe struggles to find her words. “How?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Kimberly almost squeaks.

“I was drunk. So was he. I thought…” I swallow painfully. “I thought he was Ethan.”

Both girls freeze. Completely.

Kimberly’s eyes grow so wide I think they might actually pop out. “You…” She points at me. “Thought that Jace was Ethan?”

I nod miserably. “It was dark. I wasn’t thinking. I could barely stand.”

“My God…” Kimberly presses both hands over her mouth.

Chloe is still staring at me. “So…” She speaks carefully. “He didn’t…” She can’t even finish the sentence.

I know exactly what she’s asking. I shake my head immediately. “No, he never forced me; he was drunk too. He thought I was someone else.”

For several seconds, nobody speaks. The only sound is the wind rustling through the trees lining the courtyard.

Kimberly suddenly lets out a long breath. “So it was an accident.”

I nod. “The biggest accident of my life.”

Chloe’s expression softens. “Oh, Skye…” Before I know it, she’s pulling me into a hug.

I don’t even try to hold back anymore. Everything I’ve been bottling up since this morning spills over. “I ruined everything.”

“You didn’t,” Chloe says firmly.

“I did. I confessed to Ethan. I got rejected. I slept with his brother. Now the entire school thinks I’m dating Jace. I ruined everything.”

Kimberly kneels beside us. “No.” She gently wipes away one of my tears. “You made a mistake. That’s different.”

“It doesn’t feel different.”

“It never does.”

I pull away from Chloe and wipe my face. “What am I supposed to do now?”

Neither of them answers immediately.

Finally, Kimberly says quietly, “Maybe you should tell Jace the truth.”

I stare at her. “What truth?”

“That this fake relationship can’t happen.”

A bitter laugh escapes me. “You think he cares what I want?”

The image of him pinning me against the wall flashes through my mind.

“You are my girlfriend now.”

My cheeks burn all over again. “He doesn’t listen. He decides. He always has.”

Chloe exchanges a worried glance with Kimberly. “So what are you going to do?”

I look toward the football field in the distance. “I’ll tell everyone the truth.”