Chapter 3

Hailey seized control.

She wiped the ice water from her face, then casually picked up a water bottle from the bench.

She unscrewed the cap and dumped the entire bottle over Vivian's head without a moment's hesitation.

Vivian shrieked and jumped up, her makeup running down her face in streaks.

Brandon lunged forward, reaching to grab Hailey by the hair.

Hailey sidestepped and kicked him hard in the shin.

"Brandon, who the hell do you think you are, demanding an apology from me?"

Everyone stood frozen in shock.

The timid, obedient Sophie they all knew had turned into a force of nature right before their eyes.

"Are you done?"

A cool, measured voice cut through the silence.

Ethan walked out from the crowd, a dry towel in his hand.

He stepped past Brandon on the ground without a glance and walked straight to Hailey, draping the towel over her damp hair.

"Come on. Let me take you somewhere good to eat."

Hailey toweled off her hair, flipped Brandon the middle finger, and strolled out with Ethan.

I was screaming inside my head.

"Hailey! You just destroyed everything between me and Brandon!"

Hailey ignored me completely.

She settled into the passenger seat of Ethan's car, humming a song, perfectly content.

Ethan drove her to an upscale Japanese restaurant with private dining rooms.

Inside the private room, Ethan placed a piece of salmon on her plate.

"You've been surfacing more and more often lately."

The smile faded from Hailey's face.

"She's too naive. If I don't step in, people will eat her alive."

Ethan set down his chopsticks, his expression somber.

"Hailey, you know where this is heading."

Hailey popped the salmon into her mouth and spoke around it.

"I know. I'm going to disappear soon."

I heard every word from inside our shared mind. It hit me like a bolt of lightning.

Hailey was going to disappear?

How was that possible? She had always been there, inside my body. How could she just vanish?

"Ethan, before I disappear, I need to clear the path for her."

Hailey looked at Ethan, her eyes pleading.

"You have to help me."

Ethan was quiet for a long time. Finally, he nodded.

"Okay. I promise."

Over the next few days, Hailey took over completely.

Every day she went with Ethan to the library, to the lab. The two of them were inseparable.

Rumors swept across campus that Sophie had landed the most untouchable name in the city.

All I could do was sit inside my own mind and panic.

I missed Brandon. I wanted to explain things to him.

Finally, on the fifth night, after Hailey fell asleep, I wrestled back control.

I snuck out of the dorm and headed to the bar Brandon always went to.

I'd barely reached the door of the private room when I heard the laughter inside.

"Brandon, is it true Sophie's hooked up with Ethan?"

Brandon's voice oozed contempt.

"So what if she has? She's my sloppy seconds. A desperate clinger like her, Ethan will get bored in a week."

Vivian chimed in, her voice sweet and saccharine.

"Exactly. Brandon only kept her around because she has money. She was just a walking ATM."

I stood outside the door, the blood draining from my face.

He had never cared about me. Not once.

I was nothing but an ATM to him. A backup plan.

Every time I'd swallowed my pride, every ounce of hurt I'd endured, it had all been a joke.

I pushed open the door and walked in.