Se connecter"Are you okay?" Jody asked, falling into step beside me as we walked toward the party arena."Yeah," I said, smiling at her. "Just a little nervous."It was a lie, and every step I took beside her made it harder to maintain, because Graham's words had been living in my head since the moment he climbed back out of my window.And walking next to Jody right now while knowing what I knew, or what I thought I knew, was one of the hardest things I had done all week.I kept telling myself to slow down and think clearly, because what if Graham had made all of it up just to get me on his side and hand him the captain position back? He was more than capable of that.But then again, the video had been real, the voices had been real, and Jody's face in that footage had been relaxed and comfortable in a way that did not look like someone who had accidentally ended up in the wrong place.Jody grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "Hey. Look at me. You have got this, Eva. Whatever happens in there, you h
EVA."Jody, I really don't think the yellow dress is giving what it needs to give tonight," I said, holding it up against myself in the mirror and already knowing the answer.Jody stood back and looked at it from head to toe like she was studying a painting in a gallery. "Eva, I promise you this outfit speaks well."I rolled my eyes because she genuinely believed that, which was the most Jody thing about her.The problem was that I had a perfectly good red dress from Kenzie's wardrobe last night, and I was so happy to get to campus to show it off to Jody.Now, I'm here on campus, at my dorm, trying to make her understand that the dress was screaming everything I needed it to scream tonight.But Jody had the fashion sense of someone who dressed for picnics and thought that was universal."You know what, the red works better," I said, reaching for it."The problem is not the style, Eva. You have purple hair. Red and purple together are a lot." She frowned.I looked at her. "I sprayed my
EVA.I was still looking at Logan, when the door handle rattled again.My heart jumped straight into my throat."I think my aunt is home," I whispered, staring at the door like it was personally betraying me.Logan frowned. "I thought they went to the hospital. Why would they be back alreadyI had no answer for that, and the footsteps in the hallway meant I had no time to figure one out either, so I turned to him with wide eyes and barely any voice left."Why are you still sitting there? Get under the bed right now." I whispered.He blinked. "Under the....""Go, Logan." I queried.He moved fast, dropping to the floor, and I grabbed his shoes, his belt, and everything that looked like it belonged to someone other than me and shoved it all under with him.I straightened the bedsheet, ran my fingers through my hair, and opened the door just as my aunt raised her hand to knock again.She walked in without looking at me too closely, which was the first lucky thing that had happened to me a
EVA."Yes, yes, I will be your girlfriend."The words tumbled out so easily and surprising, as I stood there facing Logan in the quiet of my apartment.My cheeks felt hot and my pulse raced like I had just run across the whole grounds.I didn't fully know why I agreed right then.My head was still a mess from everything that happened before, but one thing stood out clear.I was not about to sit there imagining that Graham, that selfish dickhead, could somehow be any better for me.Not like I needed him to step up anyway.Fuck him and all his games.At this point I was choosing his rival, the hottest guy on campus, and the thought of seeing Graham's face when he spotted us together made excitement bubble up inside me like nothing else.I pictured it so vividly, us walking close on the paths between classes, my hand in Logan's, maybe stealing a kiss where Graham could see.It filled me with this bright joy and wild enthusiasm that made my whole body feel lighter, like I could float righ
EVA."Logan, what are you doing here?" I hissed down through the window, looking left and right like my aunt and uncle were going to find me mid-conversation with a boy climbing through my window.He just grinned at me like he had done absolutely nothing wrong.I helped him up anyway, grabbing his arm as he pulled himself through the window and landed on the floor of my room with a soft thud.I immediately crossed to the door and locked it before turning back to look at him properly.He was standing in the middle of my room looking around like he was taking in a museum exhibit, completely unbothered, and smiling at everything."Logan," I said quietly but firmly. "This is not grade eight. You cannot just climb through my window like nothing has changed. Do you understand how risky this is right now?"He looked at me and shrugged easily. "Hey, chill. Your family knows me, so relax, you're safe."I rubbed my forehead with both hands and took a slow breath, because he genuinely had no ide
EVA.I looked up at the top of the staircase and felt everything I had been quietly hoping for, dissolve in one second flat.Kenzie, my cousin, was standing right there looking down at me with a wide smile on her face, her hair freshly done, her skin glowing, looking absolutely nothing like someone who had just walked out of a rehabilitation centre.I stood there staring up at her and told myself firmly to push down whatever complicated feeling was rising in my chest and just be happy.Kenzie being back and healthy was genuinely good news, even if the timing was personally destroying me on the inside."Oh my god, Kenzie, you're back!" I said, climbing the stairs and pulling her into a hug, because even with my heart sinking I was not going to be the selfish one at this moment.She hugged me back laughing, then held me at arm's length and looked at me slowly. "Wow! Look who's got the big boobs now."I slapped her arm. "Stop it."My uncle stood from his chair downstairs. "Alright, you t
EVA.I arranged my hair in the mirror and kept my eyes to myself, which was not difficult given that Graham was doing the same thing from his side of the room.Except his version of keeping his eyes to himself meant keeping them everywhere except on me, like I had already ceased to exist the moment
GRAHAM.I clicked the hotel room door shut with a firm snap, the sound sealing my domain for the night.I dropped onto the massive king-sized bed, the mattress sinking perfectly under my weight.I grabbed the bottle of wine from the nightstand, poured a generous glass, and took a slow sip.The rich
EVA.I walked up to Graham slowly, and sat down in the empty space beside him.He did not look up.He did not even flinch.He just sat there, completely absorbed in whatever was in that glass, swirling it gently, tipping it back, like the rest of the world did not exist.My heart was beating so fas
EVA."Truth or dare?"Those three words landed on me like a bucket of cold water, and I felt every single one of them.Every eye in the room swung toward me at once, and the disco lights that were purple and gold, flooded directly onto my face like a spotlight I never auditioned for.I looked down.







