s, then at Kyla's triumphant, hypocriti

like a death sentence. The si

. Not grief. Not more shock. A tiny, sharp spar

ed, but at the man standing before her, the man who had just pronounced her

he he

d said-but how

virgin anymo

else?" Not "What happened to y

if he already knew the outc

blood tur

barely more than a whis

wned. "K

you that. I never said a word about what happened last night. You

too quick to read, but it was there. H

some of its edge. "You're wearing a strange ma

sing now, a tremor running through it, but not from weakness. "Like someone who doesn't remember

not step back, but his eyes dart

didn't give me a chance to explain. Yo

s formed in her mind

dy knew what was

Clay Thorne's furious voice de

n the early morning, acting as if he

ew about the drink. You knew about the plan. You knew they were

behind Aris's shoulder

, her eyes never leaving

e-but she saw it. The way his lips pressed together. The way his

but it came out too fast. "Y

you just answered me. You didn't say 'I didn't know.' You said 'Yo

mouth, but no

ce, everything cl

n who had kissed her goodnight a hundred times, who had promised to love her

been betr

waiting to

h. It came out shaky,

hrown at her. She had picked it up without thinking, an insti

ed at the number, and then l

wn and landed

oice as cold as a tombston

," she spat. "Buy your

their faces, then turned and ran out

ld wind whipped at her face, but it couldn't cool the f

ade her way back to her dorm at New Yor

she even reached the building entrance. The adv

he university that morning. Acting as Hollis's "guardian,

blow. NYU was her escape. The one

was the same. The withdrawal was processed. It cou

other's voice was smug and victor

Hollis. Now, you onl

eat was

aiting for you. If you're not there, photos of you with your 'wild man

ley h

d tone, feeling as if the