All Chapters of The Swap That Sentenced Them: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

My brain short-circuited. I grabbed for my phone to call 911, but my boyfriend, Hampton Finch, caught my hand."Lily's track player died. I gave her your battery. Just use that power bank." He nodded at the useless brick in my bag.I jerked free, shaking. "That thing's basically dead. If the pacemaker stops, my heart stops."His face went cold. "Lily's the freshman rep. If her opening dance tanks, she's done on campus. You're an upperclassman. Cut her some slack.""My life or her dance?" My vision blurred as I stumbled toward backstage.He locked onto my wrist. "I checked. Pacemakers have backups. You're not gonna die. Stop being dramatic."A sharp pain stabbed through my chest.I slammed the emergency alarm Dad had hung around my neck.The alarm hadn't even screamed for half a second before Hampton ripped it off me."It's just me lending out your battery. You're seriously calling the cops over that?"He didn't look at me. He faced a trash can, fake jump-shot, and tossed my l

Right on cue, Lily burst into tears."Juliet, if you don't want it, fine. Why say something so scary? It's my fault. I shouldn't have tried to help. I'll never be nice again!"Instant waterworks. Instant audience.Hampton's d roommates immediately gathered around her."She's jealous. Trying to humiliate you.""Lily, you're too sweet. Don't let Juliet bully you."Hampton's face iced over. He shoved the pill into my mouth."Lily cares about you and you're still nitpicking? I didn't know you were this unreasonable. This ungrateful."The tablet melted fast. Sickly sweet. Bitter underneath.Pressure climbed up my chest. Every breath dragged against something sharp lodged in my heart.My vision blurred. I couldn't tell what hurt more—the poison or his voice.Two years.When he had competitions, I ran across the city to twenty-three supply stores for parts. Stayed up building models until my fingers blistered.When he studied for grad exams, I camped at the library at five a.m. t

Lily's eyes filled on cue. "Mr. Thompson, I'm sorry. It's my fault. I borrowed Juliet's battery to charge the music player. I didn't want to mess up the show. Maybe she's mad about that."Right. Of course she is.Mr. Thompson frowned at me. "Juliet, how can you be so petty? Lily was thinking about the group."Lily turned saintly. "Please don't be upset. It's all my fault. Juliet, let's shake hands and forget it, okay?"One hand on her ribs, the other grabbed my limp fingers before I could move.Head down.Smile sharp as a blade.A rasp scraped out of my throat. I needed him to see her.Then Lily shrieked and flung my hand away like I'd electrocuted her."Juliet! I already apologized and you're still pinching me!"She held up her wrist. A bright red mark glared under the stage lights.Before Mr. Thompson could blink, Hampton stormed over and slapped me.Smack.The whole room went quiet.Half my face went numb. My ears rang. Still nothing compared to my chest.Hampton poin

The second the cops stepped into the auditorium, the whole place went dead quiet.They lifted me onto a stretcher.Doctors scrambled, plugging everything back in, tweaking the pacemaker. When my heart kicked back on, it felt like I'd been yanked up from the ocean floor. Air hit my lungs. Every breath mattered.My dad stood next to me, holding my hand. I'd never seen fear like that on his face."Dad, I'm okay now.""Mm."That was it. But his hand was shaking.Officers split up. One team dug through the trash for my alarm device. Another grilled students. A few headed straight for Hampton and Lily."Hampton Finch. Lily Rowe. You're suspected of intentional assault. Cooperate."Hampton went pale. Lips shaking. "Officers, this is a misunderstanding. I didn't know her life was actually in danger—"Lily dropped to the floor, sobbing on cue. "I didn't know. I really didn't...""Captain!" An officer jogged over, holding up my alarm device. "Found it."Captain Larsen hit play."It'

I tapped it. Surveillance footage filled the screen—me collapsing in the auditorium.In the video, Hampton didn't just stand there. He blocked people from helping. When I begged, he slapped me.The comments were on fire:[Is that her boyfriend or her villain?][Did you see how that girl in a strapless mini grabbed her? That's sick.][Wait, wasn't she faking it? So he hit his own girlfriend first?][Did you even listen to the recording? She hurt her first!]I kept scrolling. Internet detectives had already dug up Hampton and Lily's info. Even their family backgrounds.Hampton? Regular family. Blue-collar parents.Lily? Real estate developer's daughter. Money. Connections. Of course.Sean leaned back, not even hiding the satisfaction. "This is about to get interesting. Your dad already hired the best legal team in the state. He's filing suit."I set the tablet down. Exhaustion hit all at once. "I don't want to make this bigger.""Not bigger?" Sean stared at me. "They almost k