Nausea clawed its way up my throat as I stared at the note in my trembling hands. A quick glance around the room showed none of the girls watching me.

If Mari had done this, I had no doubt she'd be standing by, waiting to see the look on my face. But she chatted idly with her friend, oblivious to my fear.

Naomi came up behind me and I scrunched the note into a tight ball, nausea still coursing through my veins. I suddenly wished I hadn't eaten anything at all for lunch. Even the few bites of food I'd taken were now churning in my stomach like a hurricane.

"Are you okay?" She asked. "You look a little pale."

"I'm not feeling so well," I admitted, clutching the piece of paper tighter in my fist. Naomi's eyes glanced down and she quirked an eyebrow.

"What's that in your hand?"

Even the brief mention of the note made the nausea flare again. The urge to vomit swelled and I swallowed a wave of bile that threatened to rise.

"I don't think those workouts are agreeing with me."

Before Naomi could say another word, I ran for the small bathroom situated in the corner of the locker room. I barely made it. My knees crashed into the floor as I vomited the little food I'd eaten during my lunch period.

Bile stung my throat and tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. I could hear the murmurs of the other girls as I violently threw up everything. Some hurried out of the locker room, the sounds of me being sick turning their stomachs as well.

The little ball of paper was still clutched tightly in my hand. I was too terrified of its contents to let it go. What if someone else were to find it and read it?

But most importantly, what did it mean?

Did someone truly know what happened at the bonfire? And if they knew the truth, then was I guilty? If the truth was enough for someone to leave a note in my locker, then I had a terrible feeling in my stomach that I'd done something horrible.

Another wave of nausea coursed through me and I clutched the toilet, vomiting more bile as tears streaked down my cheeks. When I was finished, I stuffed the wad of paper into my pocket before rising and flushing the toilet.

Naomi was one of the only girls left in the locker room and her green eyes were full of concern. "Do you need to go to the nurse?"

I shook my head. "I think I just want to go lie down."

I washed my hands, feeling Naomi's eyes on me. Refusing to look into the mirror for fear of meeting her gaze, I watched the soap as it foamed over my hands as I tried to wash away everything I was feeling.

"Do you want me to walk you back to your dorm?"

Shaking my head, I snagged a paper towel. "No. I don't want you to be late to your next class. I'll be fine. A little walk in the cold air might do me some good."

She didn't look like she believed me, but she said nothing as she grabbed her bag and headed out the door.

Once she was gone, I sat on the bench that ran through the center of the room and took a few deep, calming breaths. Almost anyone could have left that note in my locker. But why? And more importantly, what did they truly know?

As I chewed on that thought, the locker room door opened and Coach Knight entered. She seemed surprised when she saw me.

"Are you okay, Selene?" Her concern seemed genuine.

"The workouts made me a little sick," I told her. "I was just about to head back to my dorm to get some rest."

Coach Knight's slate gray eyes softened. "I know the workouts are a little intense," she admitted. "But everything I do is for the benefit of my students. I'll write an email to the rest of your teachers so they know why you missed the rest of today."

"Thank you."

She nodded. "Go and get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

I grabbed my bag and headed out, thankful that Coach Knight was only a monster when it came to class time.

Outside of the gym, I breathed in the cold air, feeling relieved when it took away some of the nausea that still clung to me. At the sound of footsteps, I turned, my stomach dropping when I saw Alek standing behind me.

Irritation flooded through me as I turned back around, intent on ignoring him.

"Little late to your next class, aren't you?"

I gritted my teeth together, refusing to acknowledge his existence.

"I heard you spent a good five minutes losing your lunch after class. Can't handle the heat?"

Whipping around, I narrowed my eyes at him. "Does Mari have nothing better to do than gossip?"

A smile graced Alek's lips. He loved the fact that he had gotten under my skin. "Bold of you to assume Mari told me."

I didn't want to play these games with him. "What's your problem with me?"

He gave a shrug of his shoulders. "I thought I'd gotten rid of you a long time ago. And yet, here you are, like a stray dog that just won't stop following. Why are you here?"

My face flushed. "Gotten rid of me? I'd thought we were friends."

Alek laughed, though there was no humor in it. "My mother thought it was rude to ignore the little girl with no friends. She made me play with you. I wanted to ignore you."

Hurt stung at me, but I pushed it away. Alek wasn't worth it.

"But back to my original question," Alek said, pressing on, "why are you here?"

"My mother sent me here."

Alek's face showed no expression. "Did she now? Why?"

"I don't know," I lied. "Why don't you ask her?" As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. The last thing I wanted Alek to do was contact my mother about me.

"Maybe I'll ask her on Parent's Day. She will be there, won't she?"

My gut clenched. I knew she wouldn't be, but I didn't want to give him anything else to use against me. "Of course she'll be there. Why wouldn't she be?"

Before Alek had a chance to say anything else, I turned on my heel and stomped away. He never tried to follow.

Inside Gamma Hall, Ms. Rose sat at her desk, reading her romance novel. She looked up at me, surprised.

"Is everything okay?"

"I threw up after gym class," I admitted to her. "The workouts were a little more than I was used to. Coach Knight said she'd email the rest of my teachers to explain why I missed their classes."

"Do you need to go to the infirmary?" Ms. Rose asked.

I shook my head. "I just need to lie down for a bit."

"Okay," Ms. Rose said, though she sounded unsure. "Let me know if you need anything."

Inside my room, Loki was sitting in the middle of the bed, wide awake. Like he'd been waiting for me. He meowed, loudly, before jumping off the bed and twining himself between my legs.

"Hi buddy," I said as I leaned down to stroke his multi-colored fur. "It's been a rough day."

He meowed again, before hopping back up on the bed. I threw my bag onto the foot of the bed before following Loki. I lay down and he curled up next to me, purring so much I could feel him vibrating beside me.

I kept moving my hand through his fur, each brush of my hand making me feel more and more relaxed. Soon enough, I was falling asleep.

I was back at the bonfire again.

"There's Mason," Hanna said, pointing him out in the crowd.

"He looks busy," I told her. He had an arm around a petite blonde girl who wore a yellow bikini top with a pair of jean shorts. She smiled up at Mason, who pulled her in closer for a kiss. My heart sank in my chest. Even though I knew he wasn't into me, the heartbreak still stung.

"Oh." Hanna said, her face apologetic. "Well, forget about him. Let's have fun!"

Jordan waved to a few of his friends and we headed in that direction to join in on the fun. The group was laughing when we arrived, clearly already tipsy. I listened to the conversation around me, content to be a bystander.

Smoke clogged the air, and the bonfire warmed the skin of my back, even though I was a decent distance away.

Bugs floated around, biting people, but no one seemed to care too much. Most were too drunk to notice.

"We need drinks!" Hanna said suddenly.

"I'll take care of it," Jordan said, and then disappeared into the crowd. I searched for Oliver for a second, wondering if he was watching me. If he was, it was so he could report back to Vincent as soon as we got home. But there was no sign of him anywhere. Maybe he'd just stayed in the car.

Or maybe he was hanging around somewhere out of my line of sight. That would definitely be his style, staying where I couldn't see him. And then when I did something 'bad' he could narc on me later.

I turned back to Hanna as she squealed in delight. Jordan was back, juggling three beers and three shots. He also had a bottle of tequila tucked under his arm, presumably for more shots. Hanna grabbed two of the shots, happily handing one to me. I took a beer from Jordan as well.

"Thanks," I told him. He gave me a slight nod in response. Jordan and I had never been close, but he was always around because Hanna had always wanted him to be around.

Hanna held her shot in the air in front of her. Some of the liquid sloshed over the edge of the glass. "To the summer before senior year!"

Jordan and I clinked our shots against hers, repeating her chant. Before I downed my shot, I thought I saw someone familiar in the crowd, but he was gone before I could see properly.

The tequila burned as it went down. I puckered up my face and Hanna laughed. "Let's do another one!"

I gave a laugh. "Sure!"

Jordan poured us another and Hanna clinked her shot against mine. "To freedom!"

"Yes!" I said, before downing the shot.

Once it was down, I felt a little off-balance. Everything blurred around the edges. In the crowd, a pair of familiar brown eyes watched me. And then everything went dark.

Then the scene shifted again.

It was dark now, the sun long faded beyond the horizon. The fire, once large and glorious, was smaller now, though the heat still radiated.

Oliver stood in front of me, fear on his face.

"Kill her," I said. "Kill her or I'll kill you."

Oliver shook, his face contorted into fear. Tears pooled in his eyes, unshed.

"Don't be a disappointment, Oliver. Kill her. Now."

The tears fell from his eyes and Oliver shook with the fear that coursed through him.

"Fine."

I moved toward Oliver, my footsteps heavy with intent. He still shook with fear. "Please, don't do this."

"I have to."

With forceful movements, I moved toward Oliver. He didn't even try to run as I grabbed him and shoved him into the fire. His screams permeated the air as the fire claimed him.

The scent of burning flesh stung my nostrils and I watched Oliver as he struggled for a few minutes, before going completely still.

"Such a disappointment," I muttered to myself, before turning and walking away from his corpse.