Chapter 2

Zara Kline and Sadie Whitaker had gone off together to the rec center sauna, leaving just Willow Hayes and me in the dorm room.

When our eyes met, Willow didn't look away. She fixed me with a hard stare and said, "Be honest—wasn't that body fat scale yours all along?"

My skin prickled with goosebumps. For a moment, I couldn't think of how to respond.

Seeing my reaction, Willow gave a smug, contemptuous smirk and slammed her backpack onto the desk with a thud. "I don't get you people who gain weight just by breathing. You've got it so easy—food, comfort, normalcy—and still whine about dieting all day. Either you're actually unhinged or just playing the victim. Makes me sick."

Her words were so brutal that anyone else might've lunged at her right then and there. But I'd died by her hand in my past life. I knew she wasn't rational. If I pushed back now, she might grab the fruit knife on the desk and stab me without hesitation.

My only chance was to soften her hostility toward my body. I took a shaky breath and let tears well up in my eyes. "Willow... it's not what you think. I've got reasons I've never told anyone." My voice cracked as I continued, "I went to the clinic last month, and the doctor said I have early-stage diabetes. If I don't control my weight, it could be life-threatening. I've been hiding my pills in a vitamin C bottle and crying myself to sleep every night, scared to death."

Willow's eyes widened. She stared at me, her expression shifting. "But... you're so young."

"Exactly," I said softly. "It happens a lot in young people now—especially if you're overweight like me."

I kept talking, listing all the troubles my size brought: clothes that never fit, stares in grocery aisles, doctors who assumed laziness instead of listening. I didn't want her pity—just a crack in her hatred. I wanted her to see that thinness carried its own pain, but at least she could walk into any store and find something to wear. By the time my throat went dry, her posture had loosened slightly.

She gave a tight-lipped, hollow laugh. "So you're not just whining for attention. You actually are sick."

There was no warmth in her voice—only a flicker of dark satisfaction, as if my suffering somehow balanced the scales.

Survival meant swallowing my pride. I nodded weakly and forced a grateful smile.

Just then, the door swung open. Zara and Sadie tumbled in, giggling and nudging each other like they'd just shared a secret.

"Girls!" Zara announced, shoving Sadie forward with theatrical flair. "Big news—our girl Sadie's got a boyfriend! And since tomorrow's Saturday, he's taking the whole dorm out for dinner. No excuses—you're all coming!"

"I was planning to go home tomorrow to grab clean clothes," I said quickly, cutting in before Willow could speak. "I can't make it."

In my past life, Zara had helped set the stage for my murder. This time, I wanted nothing to do with her—or this group. I was already drafting a letter in my head to my mom, begging to move off-campus.

"Oh, come on!" Zara snapped. "We made a pact—if anyone hooks up, the whole squad eats. That's the rule!"

Sadie's smile vanished. She crossed her arms. "Yeah, Zoe. You live right here in town. You can go home any other day."

Then she added, chin lifted with smug pride, "My boyfriend's Wyatt Caldwell—you know, the Wyatt? From the agribusiness family? He's booked us at the Iowa Club. Don't tell me you're passing that up."

She watched me, waiting for envy.

I hesitated, ready to say no again.

"And," Zara chimed in, winking, "there'll be plenty of cute guys there. Still single, huh?"

Before I could reply, Willow spoke up. "Is Logan going?"

Her voice rose with sudden eagerness. She grinned, but on her gaunt, hollow-cheeked face, it looked unsettling—almost feverish.