Chapter 3

I ignored the whispers and judgmental looks coming from the hallway.

Instead, I opened my contacts and found Ms. Karina Dawson's number.

Then I called her and put the phone on speaker.

After the second ring, Lily suddenly realized what I was doing. "Jamie, what are you doing?"

She lunged for my phone, but I sidestepped her and shoved a chair into her path with my foot.

"Ouch!" Lily stumbled straight into it.

The call connected.

"Hello? Jamie?" Ms. Dawson's groggy voice came through the speaker. "Do you know what time it is? What's wrong?"

The entire hallway went silent.

The girls who'd been craning their necks through the doorway immediately backed away, suddenly much less interested in offering their opinions.

Even Sophie took a nervous step back.

Lily had ended up on the floor after running into the chair. Her face was ashen now, and she was frantically trying to catch my eye. She pressed her palms together, silently begging me to stop.

"Sorry for waking you, Ms. Dawson," I said calmly. "But there are two urgent situations I need to report."

"First, my roommate, Lily Carter, says her cramps are so severe that she's close to passing out and needs to leave campus immediately for medical treatment.

"I don't have the authority to approve her leaving this late, and I'm not comfortable taking responsibility for her safety once she's off campus. Could you please come over and arrange for someone to take her to the ER?"

"She's lying!" Lily shrieked, trying to keep her voice down even as she scrambled toward me.

She reached for my face, apparently hoping to cover my mouth. "I'm fine! I don't need to go anywhere!"

Ms. Dawson sounded wide awake now. "What's going on over there? Who's yelling?"

There was a brief pause before her voice sharpened.

"Lily? If you're in that much pain, why are you refusing medical care and causing a scene in the dorm?"

I continued in the same measured tone, "There's a second issue, and this one is more serious. My driver's license disappeared from my room. Lily just admitted that she took it without my permission, and now she either can't or won't give it back.

"At this point, I'm treating it as theft. I'd like you to come to the dorm and deal with this immediately. If we can't resolve it through the school, I'll contact campus security and file a police report."

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.

Theft in a college dorm wasn't something the administration could simply brush aside. Once a formal complaint was made, it could turn into a serious disciplinary case.

"Jamie, stay calm and don't call the police yet," Ms. Dawson said quickly. "Keep everyone there. I'm on my way."

The call ended.

I slipped my phone into my pocket and looked down at Lily, who was still sitting on the floor.

"There's no need to wait until tomorrow anymore." I pulled out a chair. "We're settling this tonight."

Lily was trembling all over. She jabbed a finger at me and finally dropped all pretense of innocence.

"Jamie, you bitch! Are you seriously trying to ruin my life over this? Fine! I took your license! So what? It's not like I stole your money!"

Sophie jumped in. "Jamie, this has gone way too far. It's an ID, for god's sake. Did you really have to wake Ms. Dawson up and turn this into some huge disciplinary thing? We're all living together. How are things supposed to work after this?"

I sat down and crossed my legs. "If we can't live together, one of us can move. I'm not sharing a room with someone who thinks stealing is no big deal."

Just then, a phone began vibrating urgently inside Lily's pocket.

In the dead silence of the room, the sound seemed impossibly loud.

Lily stiffened and clapped a hand over her pocket.

Another wave of comments flashed past.

"Here we go! Mr. Miller's getting impatient!"

"He's asking why she isn't there yet. He already paid for the hotel room."

"Get her phone! This is where it gets good!"

My eyes settled on her pocket.

"Why don't you answer it, Lily?" I asked coolly. "It's pretty late for someone to be calling you this many times. Who's so desperate to reach you?"

"N-none of your business!" Her words came out in a stammer. Beads of sweat were already forming along her hairline.

The phone kept vibrating.

A few of the girls who'd retreated earlier had crept back into the hallway, curiosity getting the better of them. Now everyone was watching Lily.

"What's wrong?" I pressed. "Is that the clinic calling to remind you to pick up your medicine?"

Lily kept one hand clamped over her pocket as she backed away from me.

"I'll… I'll just put it on silent!"

She hurriedly pulled out her phone and fumbled for the button to dismiss the call.

The instant the screen lit up, I moved.

I lunged forward, caught Lily by the wrist, and twisted her arm just enough to make her lose her grip.

She cried out, and the phone slipped from her hand.

It hit the floor face up, the bright screen impossible to miss in the dim room.

A message notification filled the lock screen.

And because Lily had her message previews on, every word was right there for anyone to see—including Ms. Dawson.

She had just arrived at our doorway, slightly out of breath and looking ready to tear into all of us for causing such a scene.

Then she followed my gaze to the phone on the floor.

The anger vanished from her face.

The message was from a contact Lily had saved as "Big Daddy Mr. Miller".

"What's taking you so long? Room 302 at the Briarwood Inn. I've been waiting for you."