chapter 3

ISABELLA~

I connected the spy camera to my laptop, and everyone crowded around me to watch the footage. I skipped ahead to what happened right after I went to practice. It wasn't long before we saw Clara Moretti sneaking in. She looked around, and once she was satisfied that the place was empty, she placed the drugs in my locker and hurried away.

"There," I said, leaning back with a satisfied smirk. "That's what I have to say."

Murmurs filled the room. Everybody knew the team captain's younger sister, of course. She was seventeen, a freshman, and though she wasn't on the team, she was one of the cheerleaders.

"That's a cruel thing to do," Jessica said. "Why would she do such a thing?"

Well, I could think of a few reasons.

In my previous life, I caught Phillip cheating on me with Ciara. But who's to say that he wasn't already cheating with her while we were still dating? If that's the case— and I suspect it is— then she put his drugs in my locker to get me out of the way. The poor girl probably thinks he loves her and that I'm the witch standing in the way of her happily ever after.

"Do you want to report this?" someone asked.

I thought about it. Would I get on the captain's bad side if I got his younger sister in trouble?

"I'll talk to the captain first," I decided.

The crowd dispersed at last, and I wasn't surprised when I got to the cafeteria for dinner only to find everybody gossiping about what happened. Stares and whispers followed Jessica and I from the door to the counter to our tables, but I ignored them, choosing instead to focus on my meal.

Suddenly, Clara came storming towards me, two of her friends following hurriedly behind her.

"How dare you?" she yelled, slamming both fists on the table. "You're telling everyone that I carry banned medication? You bitch! Now they've kicked me off the cheerleading squad!"

Amusement tugged at my lips. I tried my best to keep a straight face.

"If you didn't want them to, maybe you shouldn't have carried banned medication then," I said calmly. "Do you have any idea how this would look for our team if the hockey federation found out?"

"I didn't do anything!" she screamed. "You're a liar. You're lying!"

I just stared at her with my eyebrow raised. I didn't need to respond to such a ridiculous statement. She had been caught on camera. Several people had seen it.

"You're going to pay for this," she fumed, her face red with anger. "I will make sure you pay for this."

She turned and stormed off. Her two friends glared at me out of loyalty before running off after her. I finally let out a breath of laughter.

"Huh. That was funny." Then I turned back to Jessica to continue our conversation.

We had been talking about our shopping trip that weekend to get dresses for our annual Start of the Season party. Every unisex hockey team in the country attended this event, so it was an opportunity to network and scope out the competition.

"Do you have a date yet?" Jessica asked. "Nevermind, of course you're going with Phillip."

Unfortunately, I was. For the sake of my revenge, I needed to maintain my relationship with him. I couldn't let him suspect anything.

"What about you?" I asked. "Do you have one?"

Jessica's only response was to stare at the table and mumble nonsense. She always acted this weird whenever Phillip came up.

But before I could ask her about it, she swiftly changed the topic, going on and on about the stores we could check out. I couldn't get a word in edgewise, so eventually I had to drop it.

If she wanted to focus on the party, then sure, why not.

*********

In my former life, I didn't get to attend this party, because by then I was no longer part of the team. You'd think I would walk into the venue filled with elation, instead I had to go with my arm hanging from Phillip's.

He was sharing his unsolicited knowledge about how things work, as if I wasn't also here last year. Almost immediately we arrived, he walked off to join a bunch of loud guys from another team, leaving me alone.

It took all my composure not to gape. Who leaves his date all alone less than thirty seconds after arriving at a party?

As I watched, they got shots and downed them in a single gulp, slapping each other on the back.

Oh, so he was ignoring me?

Fine. Two could play this game. I turned and stalked off in the opposite direction.

Except there wasn't a convenient group of women I could just attach myself to. I looked around for Jessica, but there were too many people and I couldn't spot her. Even if I did, she'd be with her date.

I couldn't exactly go there and play third wheel.

With a sigh, I resigned myself to sitting alone. Perhaps it was just as well. Being forced to spend my time with Phillip would have ruined the whole evening. I was sitting at an empty table, scrolling through my phone, when someone appeared at my shoulder.

"Mind if I sit?" he asked.

I shrugged.

He took the seat across from me and flashed a megawatt smile. I was a little surprised to see how handsome he was, with a chiseled jawline and bright amber eyes.

"I couldn't help but notice you needed rescuing," he said.

"I do not need rescuing," I replied flatly.

"Company, then," he said. "I saw what the boyfriend did, by the way. Total asshole."

"How do you know he's my boyfriend?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. "He could be some random guy I picked up at the door."

"The way you were looking at him," he replied with another smile. "Besides, there's no way you don't have a boyfriend. I mean, look at you."

"Flattering me when you know I have a boyfriend? You're a bold one."

"Just stating facts."

I rolled my eyes, but he seemed harmless, so I let him hang around. When he wanted to get himself a drink and offered to get me one too, I didn't mind. He returned with two glasses of punch, and we sipped at them for a while.

"Do you want to get away from all this noise?" he asked.

I arched my eyebrow. "Is this the part where you try to seduce me?"

"Nope, I'm a gentleman," he replied, lifting his hand in a playful Scout's Honor. "I swear."

His dramatic behavior aside, going outside didn't seem like a bad idea. The more distance I could put between myself and Philip, the better. We took our drinks and went out to sit in the cool night air, finally striking up a conversation. He was surprisingly easy to talk to, which was why it took me so long to notice that I was starting to feel drowsy. I yawned, standing up, only for him to stand as well and grab my arm.

"Where do you think you're going?"

I looked at him in confusion.

"Back inside," I replied.

"Yeah, that's not happening, girl," he said.

He was still smiling, but it looked creepy now, full of too many teeth. It suddenly hit me that I was outside, alone, with a strange man who was grinning as he watched me struggling to stay awake.

"You…" I said, horror spreading through me. "You drugged me."