Chapter 2

Blythe's POV

"You signed the waiver on my behalf?"

I almost laugh and yank my wrist free.

"Who do you think you are, Fletcher? You had no right to sign anything for me."

"I'm your boyfriend. That gives me every right." He straightens his collar, like this is the most reasonable thing in the world. "I did it for you. You blow this up, it's not just Kiley who takes the hit — it comes back on your family too. I already talked to the school. They're offering a settlement. You take the money, keep your mouth shut, and this goes away for everyone."

I stare at his face and feel my stomach turn.

He actually thinks that's all it takes. Flash the boyfriend card, throw some money at it, and Kiley walks away like nothing happened.

Selfish. Calculating. And completely convinced he's doing me a favor.

Then, from somewhere inside the wreckage, the sound of heavy footsteps cuts through the noise.

"Coming through! Stretchers coming out!"

The crowd goes quiet all at once. Every head turns.

Two bodies are carried out. Burned beyond recognition, curled in on themselves. The responders move fast, heading toward the campus medical center.

The smell is worse now. Smoke and something underneath it that turns your stomach.

A few people nearby press their hands over their mouths and stumble to the side.

I can't look away. I stand there staring at what's left of two people who were alive this morning, and the tears come before I can stop them.

Something about watching a person get reduced to that. It doesn't just break your heart. It makes you cold in a way that doesn't go away.

I drop my head and say, quietly, "I'll make sure whoever did this pays for it."

I pull out my phone and text Della.

Something happened at the South Campus Arctic Biome. Two people are dead. Find a way to pull today's security footage — as fast as you can.

Her reply comes fast.

WHAT. The biome is gone?? I leave for one sick day and it's just GONE?? I'm on it. I'll get you everything, I promise.

I pocket my phone and take a breath.

Behind me, Kiley makes a show of pressing her hand over her nose, gagging loudly. The sound cuts right through the silence.

"Oh my God, they're completely charred. That is so disgusting." She shrinks further into Fletcher's side, her nose scrunched up. "I never should've brought them here. Now my shoes are ruined."

Something in me just snaps.

I close the distance in three steps, grab a fistful of her hair, and drag her away from him.

She screams. "Fletcher, help me!"

I don't stop. I hit her once, then again, putting everything I have behind it, right across that perfectly made-up face.

"Disgusting? Ruined your shoes?" My voice comes out raw. "Two people are dead. You locked that door yourself. You burned them alive in there. You don't get to stand here and act disgusted."

Kiley crumples to the ground, blood at the corner of her mouth, sobbing.

"Blythe, enough!"

Fletcher shoves through and slaps me across the face before I can react.

My head snaps to the side. The taste of blood hits the back of my throat.

He just hit me. For her.

He pulls Kiley behind him and jabs a finger at me. "You are out of your mind. I already told you, it was an accident. You want to stand out here and lose it in front of everyone, fine. But all you're doing is making yourself look crazy."

I turn my head slowly and wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth.

My face is burning. The rest of me is somewhere far past that.

I look at him and it hits me all at once. Three years, and I've been playing myself the whole time.

I pushed myself to give him everything without asking for anything back. I pushed myself to believe he and Kiley were nothing. I pushed myself to sit through the way his family looked at me, that cold, quiet contempt they never bothered to hide, the kind that gets under your skin every single time and stays there.

All of it. For him.

And I'm done.

There's no such thing as loyalty with someone like this. There never was.

I almost laugh. "Alright then."

I look him straight in the eye. "We're done, Fletcher. Whatever this was, it's over. As of right now, you and I are nothing."

He blinks, then a slow smirk spreads across his face. "Done? You think threatening to break up with me is going to make me back off?"

"Let me be clear. I don't care what you do. Before this day is over, you will apologize to Kiley. That's not up for debate."

I don't bother responding. I turn around and walk away.