Despite getting a full night's sleep, I didn't feel anymore rested now than before I'd gone to bed. The strange, vivid dream of Inara's office and the other of the strange circle of grass had left me drained of energy.

In the bathroom, I changed into my school uniform, trying to avoid looking at myself in the mirror. Even a quick glance showed my pale skin and the dark circles under my eyes.

I quickly headed out of the bathroom, not wanting to see myself again. It was too depressing.

Loki hadn't moved from the bed. He was still curled up in a ball, fast asleep. I gave him a quick pat on the head before snagging my key, my backpack, and Jason's jacket. I felt a bit odd, carrying it around, but I really needed to return it to him.

Down on the first floor, Ms. Rose was sorting through some papers on her desk, her reading glasses perched on the end of her nose. Whatever she was looking through, it made the corners of her mouth turn down into a frown.

She looked up as I approached, smiling slightly. "I hope you slept okay after last night's incident."

I gave a shrug of my shoulders. "The new room didn't feel much different than my normal room."

"That's good. Inara has told me the maintenance crew is already hard at work on your room and you should be able to stay there tonight." She glanced down at her papers again. "Oh, and your things from home should be arriving sometime today too."

My stomach dropped. "My things from home?"

She gave a nod, unaware of the pit growing inside my stomach. "Yes, your mother mailed them. Though it's taken a bit longer than expected to arrive. So you should have all your things from home by the end of the day."

"That's great news," I lied, trying my best to give a smile that seemed genuine. But nothing about her words made me feel comforted. My mother had packed up all my things and sent them here.

Was sending the letter in my backpack a terrible idea?

But then there was the other note, threatening to expose my secrets if I didn't invite my mom. Nausea swirled in my gut and I swallowed down a wave of bile that threatened to rise.

"I should get going," I said, though my voice sounded strained. "I don't want to miss breakfast."

Ms. Rose's eyebrows pinched together, but she said nothing as she watched me walk out of the building and into the frosty morning air.

My thoughts swirled as I made my way across campus and into Whitethorn Hall. I chewed nervously on my bottom lip as I grabbed food and sat down at the table across from Naomi.

"Are you okay?"

I looked up at her, meeting her green eyes. "I'm just tired."

"You look like you haven't slept in a week," Naomi said as she grabbed her fork and speared a piece of fruit.

Ignoring the insult in that, I poked at my oatmeal, too queasy to think about eating it. "The window in my dorm room spontaneously shattered last night."

Naomi's mouth dropped open in shock. "What? Like it just randomly shattered?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I was sleeping and Inara and Ms. Rose were waking me up after the fact. They're having people fix it now."

"That's super crazy," Naomi said, her green eyes still wide.

We fell into a small silence, with Naomi eating her fruit slowly, as if deep in thought. I continued to poke at my breakfast, still not hungry enough to try eating it.

Then Naomi whipped out her phone, typing rapidly. Then she stood, shoving her phone back into her pocket. "I just realized I forgot my essay that's due in my dorm room. I'll see you at lunch?"

Before I had a chance to respond, she was gone, disappearing into the crowd of people.

Bewildered, I stared at the spot she'd disappeared. I'd never seen Naomi act so erratically before. She always seemed so level-headed.

Feeling ill at ease now that I was alone, I stood as well, putting my plate away. Even though it was too early to be heading to class, I headed that way anyway, unsure of where else to go.

The quad was devoid of people, save for a few still trickling into the breakfast rush. My walk to Omega Hall was silent, leaving me too much time to think.

I still needed to figure out if I was mailing this letter to my mother or not. Last night, despite the threatening note, I was so sure it was the right thing to do. I'd been convinced that there was a way to patch up our relationship.

But now, knowing that she'd packed up my bedroom and shipped it out, I wasn't so sure.

And then the note, threatening to expose whatever secrets they knew. I just wished I knew what those secrets were. Had I hurt Samantha and Oliver in the woods? Or did someone just know I'd been suspected of it?

Even so, was I willing to risk everyone finding out I'd been interrogated on suspicion of murder?

I was so lost in my thoughts, I barely registered that I'd entered Omega Hall and was on a collision course with someone else.

Skidding to a halt, my shoes squeaked as I came to a stop a few inches from crashing into another student. I looked up, apologies on my tongue, only to see Alek.

Great. As if my day wasn't already bad enough.

Alek opened his mouth, but I was quick to stop him. "Yeah, I know. I need to watch where I'm going. Got it. No need to be a dick about it."

I moved to swerve around him, but he stepped into my path, the ghost of a smile crossing his lips before disappearing again. As I fought the urge to scream, I looked up at him, meeting his brown eyes that held no emotions.

He said nothing as he stared as if he were waiting for me to say something first.

"What is your problem?" I finally asked, annoyed.

His glance moved to Jason's jacket, slung over my arm. It still smelled faintly of aftershave.

"Who's jacket is that?"

"Why does it matter?" I asked. Alek barely tolerated me. So why ask about Jason's jacket?

"Just curious about who's desperate enough to give you their jacket," he said, his lips curling into a cruel smile. But his eyes didn't lift to meet mine. They stayed focused on the jacket.

Anger bubbled inside me, but I fought it down, not willing to lose my temper on Alek. I didn't want him to know he was getting under my skin.

"Go be a dick somewhere else," I snapped at him. "I'm sure there are plenty of other people to make fun of around here."

Alek's eyes never wavered from the jacket. But I didn't owe him any sort of explanation.

"Seriously," Alek said again, his voice lower, a calm, cool sort of anger. "Who does that belong to?"

"It belongs to Jason. I'm returning it. Now leave me alone."

He grabbed my arm as I tried to move around him. He tugged me closer to him, his mouth hovering near my ear. Electricity zinged across my skin.

"I know why you're really here," he said, his voice barely a whisper. His breath fanned over the shell of my ear and goosebumps erupted across my skin.

A shiver slid up my spine as I yanked my arm out of his grip. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know enough," Alek said as he backed away from me. "And secrets don't stay secret very long, Selene. Remember that."

Anger flared inside me as I moved past him, slamming into him hard. He made no move to stop me this time. I forced myself not to turn around or look back at Alek. Was what he said true? Did he know the reason I was here?

He had lived in my hometown when he was young. Did he still have friends there? Friends who would have told him that I'd been taken into custody under suspicion of murder?

That thought didn't sit well with me.

What did Alek know? And what would it take to make him keep what he knew to himself?

Was he the person leaving threatening notes?  And if so, why? Why did he want me to invite my mother to Parent's Day?

He'd mentioned wanting to speak to her, but he'd had no reason to doubt me when I told him she'd be here.

I made my way upstairs, gripping the banister of the stairs harder than I needed to. But anxiety churned in my stomach and it was all I could do to hold myself steady.

The classroom was empty when I entered. I shuffled to my normal seat and slid into the desk. Pulling out my textbook and notebook, I arranged them neatly on my desk. I slid a pencil out of my case and aligned it next to the notebook.

But even as I fiddled with my school supplies, I couldn't help the nervous energy that bubbled inside of me.

Should I invite my mother for Parent's Day? Should I set myself up for that kind of disappointment and pain? The letter sitting in my bag was taunting me. Do I mail it? Or do I deal with the consequences?

I was still warring with myself when the rest of the students filed into the classroom.

Jason flashed me a smile as he sat down in a seat next to me. I tried to return the smile, but I could barely turn up the corners of my mouth.

I picked up his jacket from where I'd draped it over the back of my chair. "I brought your jacket back."

He smiled in reply as he took it from me, but I didn't return the gesture. His smile instantly fell from his face. "What's wrong, new girl?"

I fiddled with my pencil again, moving it around on my desk. "Just thinking about Parent's Day."

"Are your parents not coming?"

"I don't know whether to invite them."

Jason observed me, as if trying to read my mind. "Do you want them here?"

I turned away, unable to meet his eyes. Did I want them here? "I'd like to see my mom. My stepdad... not so much."

I definitely didn't want Vincent here. The last of my bruises were finally turning a dark yellow, nearing the final stage of healing. I didn't want to risk earning more bruises from him. If they'd accept the invitation and come.

"Do you think she'd come without him?"

I wanted to laugh. "It's like he's the sunshine and my mom is a little planet that orbits him. And if he's not there, she thinks her world will stop spinning."

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to take them back. Jason was a near stranger to me. Why was I telling him this stuff?

"Maybe you should just tell her you want to see her alone."

"Yeah, maybe," I replied. And then the conversation halted when the teacher began class. A few minutes into the lecture, Alek came in, a scowl on his face. He sent a glare Jason's way, which Jason replied to with a wave.

Jason grinned as Alek sat down, in his usual seat next to Mari. The blonde tried to lean in and say something to Alek, but he ignored her.

"You two really don't get along, do you?" I asked Jason.

He gave me a giant grin. "I like getting under his skin. Makes me feel happy inside."

Turning away, I pretended to focus as the teacher droned on and on about something, but I wasn't really listening. Would my mother ever consider coming alone to Parent's Day? Would Vincent allow her to leave without him? I doubted she was allowed to go anywhere without him, especially if she were to come and see me.

I could still feel Jason watching me, and I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable with the attention.

"You know," he leaned across the aisle, "my parents don't show up for Parent's Day. Never have. Probably never will. Invite yours and if they flake on you, we can spend the day together."

I turned to look at him. My heart was skipping beats in my chest as I looked into his brown eyes. "You'd do that? Hang out with me?"

"You act like hanging out with you would be the worst thing in the world, new girl." Jason said with a laugh.

I gave him a returning smile, one that I didn't mean. The last time I'd hung out with anyone, two people had died. And that thought would haunt me for the rest of my life. Especially considering that I didn't even know if I had anything to do with their deaths or not.

Jason leaned back in his seat, turning his eyes back on the teacher.

I opened my notebook, picked up my pen, and began to doodle in the margins of my English notes.

When the bell rang, I closed my notebook slowly and packed up my things, ambling out after most of the other students had already left.

Outside in the hallway, students swirled around each other, dodging through the crowd just to get to their next class. I chewed on my lower lip as I did my best to merge with the crowd and not slam into anyone.

I couldn't handle another run in with Alek or Mari today.