Jessie Kensington thought she had escaped her troubled past when she faked her death and started a new life as Violet Arrowood. But three years later, she finds herself at Vanguard University on a scholarship, trying to build the future she always d...
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I push my way through the obnoxiously drunk people on the way to the bathroom to find Clara. She is taking way too long. I grab a drink as I pass the kitchen and lock my eyes with Ty, who shoots me a death glare as a blonde girl whispers something in his ear. I roll my eyes and walk away. I'm getting tired, and my patiences is wearing thin. I see Ted and Reggie talking to some girls and ask them if they've seen Clara.
"She went to the bathroom upstairs," Ted says. "You having fun?"
"I will be once I know Clara isn't choking on her own vomit," I say dryly.
Ted chuckles, shaking his head, while Reggie is too busy flirting with a redhead to notice.
I grab hold of the railing and carefully make my way up the stairs, watching each step because these heels are unforgiving. There's been an unsettling feeling hanging over me all night, following me from room to room. Everything's gone too smoothly. It's all been too normal. I'm too happy. I keep glancing over my shoulder, expecting something—or someone—to appear, waiting for the other shoe to drop. But the worst part is Ty.
I ask a random girl where the bathroom is, and she points me down the hall. I thank her and walk over, sipping the sugary drink that's coating my insides with feel-good stuff
I stand by the closed bathroom door, waiting for Clara to come out. I knock and call her name. "Clarrraaaaa!" I whine. It's in this moment—leaning against the door, calling for Clara without a care for what anyone else thinks—that I realise just how drunk I am. I giggle to myself. Go me. Living the college life.
I knock again. "Come on, Clara! Open up." Worry starts to creep in, that unsettling feeling in my gut growing stronger. I picture her passed out in a pool of vomit, and I start banging on the door harder. "Clara—" The door swings open, and I almost stumble in. Two brunette girls, definitely not Clara, walk out, shooting me dirty looks as they pass. Well, that's awkward. I peek inside to make sure Clara isn't in there. The only thing I find is vomit splattered across the basin. Gross. Where the hell is she?
I walk down the hall and hear muffled noises from behind the closed door. A boy and girl making strange noises come through the door. I cringe a little. Not wanting to hear the rest of what's going on in the room, I go to walk away. But then the sound of the girl's voice stops me.
Clara? I spin back around and press my ear to the door. I can hear Clara's voice from inside the room
I bang on the door, not liking her being in there with a guy, no matter how upset she is over Cass. She has been drinking, and she's in no shape to be making decisions like this. I bang harder, and when I hear Clara's voice, my world freezes.
"Violet?" Her voice is weak, desperate. "Help!" A muffled male voice follows, and then her voice breaks into a cry.
My cup falls from my hand, and the liquid splashes onto my feet.
