"WHAT IS THAT supposed to mean?"

Eli glanced back over his shoulder. His hand lifted, fingers combing through his hair. "I'm sorry," he murmured. His gaze flickered back toward her. "I really can't explain it."

Her jaw clenched. "Don't you dare lie to me."

"I'm not!" Eli held his hands out in front of him, in an 'I-mean-no-harm' gesture. "I swear, I'm not lying to you, Sophie. I would never lie to you."

"Then what did you mean when you said that?" she insisted.

Eli let out a breathy sigh. He stared at her, his expression somber. "Sophie, I just wanted you to win. I know that you're a smart girl, and when I saw those test answers... I just knew that something was odd. So I changed them."

"That doesn't answer my question, Eli," she snapped. She stepped closer to him and jabbed a finger toward his chest. "That doesn't tell me anything about you being ordered to do it."

He grimaced and stepped backward. "I wasn't the only one who saw the answers," he said. His hand ran through his hair again, nervously. "And I'm not the only one who wants you to win."

"Who else?"

Eli made a strangled noise.

Sophie glared at him. Her arms folded across her chest and her foot started to tap against the ground with impatience.

"Please don't get mad," Eli started. He grimaced at her expression and held his hands out again. "But I can't tell you. I'm sorry, but it's against the rules."

"How can I not be mad at that?" Sophie shouted and threw her hands into the air.

He grimaced again. His hands reached out and grabbed her shoulders. "I would tell you if I could, I swear. I'll just get into a lot of trouble. Please understand."

Sophie jerked backward, and wrenched herself free of his grip. Her fingers rubbed against her temples. A headache throbbed at the base of her skull. Eli stepped backward to give her space. His lips pressed together into a tight line.

"I understand it," she said finally, "But I'm not happy about it."

Eli nodded. He reached out again, his hands moving toward her face. She flinched and swatted his hand away. Her eyes blazed. "What part of 'I'm not happy about it' did you not understand? I'm still mad at you. You still changed my test answers, and made me cheat!"

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

She shook her head and started to walk away. "I need to get back to my room," she grumbled under her breath.

"You're going the wrong way," he said. His hand shot out and grabbed her elbow. He gently pulled her back toward him.

She stumbled. Her hands shot out and slammed against his chest as she started to fall. His hands immediately grasped her arms. He held her up and helped her back onto her feet again.

When she was steady, Sophie tried to push away from him again. Her hands pressed against his chest and she struggled to wiggle free.. Eli frowned and tried to hold her closer. His grip was vice-like around her arms. "Sophie, I'm not going to bite you," he said.

"Just let go of me," she ground out. He had messed with her scores, and was keeping secrets from her. While she didn't want to get him in trouble, she was still frustrated beyond belief.

She certainly didn't want to be touched, or held, or hugged right now either. She just wanted to storm back to her dorm and sulk in peace.

"Sophie," Eli pleaded like a wounded puppy.

Then someone cleared their throat. Eli stiffened and released her, careful to make sure that she didn't stumble again. Sophie stepped back, her expression marred with a dark scowl. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and glanced around Eli at the intruder. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Is everything alright here?" Mr. Wolfe asked. His gaze remained focused on Sophie, his lips tugged into a small frown. "What's going on?"

Sophie folded her arms across her chest and huffed. "It's nothing. I was just leaving."

Something strange glimmered within Mr. Wolfe's eyes. It was almost a mixture of irritation and worry. Then his gaze flickered toward Eli, tainted with suspicion. Eli glared right back.

She took that small, heated moment to make her grand escape.

Maneuvering around the two men, Sophie started back down the hallway. She kept her arms folded across her chest and her gaze focused on the stone ground beneath her. Angry grumbles worked past her lips.

She was just so mad at Eli right now. She almost couldn't handle it.

She could understand that he didn't feel comfortable telling her the truth. There was someone behind the scenes that seemed to desperately want to keep her in the games, and that was sketchy. Eli was obviously intimidated. And if she were in the same position, she knew that she would have done the same thing. But that didn't excuse what he had said, nor the way he had said it. Just the memory sent shivers racing down along her spine.

And she still had to compete in the last challenge.

A strangled groan of frustration shot past her lips. She ran a hand through her hair and tried not to scream. The idea of competing again, and having Aubrey want to kill her, was not very pleasant. Neither was the idea of having Margret want to kill her either, though the idea of watching her lose did help.

It took a while, but Sophie finally found the massive door to her temporary dorm room. She shoved it open and stormed inside. Margret was seated at the kitchen table. The girl jumped to her feet when Sophie entered, her gaze lethal.

Sophie ignored her and rushed to the bedroom area. She stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her. There she paused, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

"I have to get out of here," she heard herself murmur. And she could only think of one way how.

She'd have to run.

fun fact: this chapter marks when I got a solid 6-8 inches of my hair cut off. It was also dyed a pretty red color! Now it's blonde, which I think suits me so much more aha. ♡