chapter 7
Sadie made a small, frantic sound of triumph. “See? He came for me. The rescue—”
Roman didn’t look at her face.
He looked at her hand.
The hand that had grabbed my arm.
His expression twisted.
“Filth,” he said.
He took one step forward, and Sadie’s confidence finally cracked—not because of the words, but because of the emptiness behind them. She realized, too late, that whatever she’d been calling “passion” was something else entirely.
“Roman,” I said.
Just his name. Just once.
His body locked in place like my voice had grabbed the back of his collar.
I stepped to him, rested a hand on his wrist, and guided him back—slowly, carefully—like you’d guide a storm away from breaking glass.
“Not here,” I murmured. “We’re on a school trip. Don’t make a scene.”
His jaw clenched. Then, with obvious effort, he exhaled through his nose—once, twice—until the edge dulled.
I turned to Sadie, who had slid down against a shelf, breathing too fast.
“Stay away from us,” I said, calm enough to be frightening. “Or one day, I won’t be close enough to stop him.”
After winter break, Sadie changed.
She wasn’t chirpy anymore. She looked haunted. Dark circles bruised the skin under her eyes, and she mumbled to herself in the cafeteria like she was arguing with someone no one else could see.
I knew why.
The voice was louder now. Angrier. More demanding.
“Mission failure. Conquest points deducting. Current status critical. User punishment imminent.”
She was running out of time.
And desperation makes people reckless.
It all exploded at the end-of-year pool party.
The school rented out a massive indoor aquatic center, humid with chlorine and expensive perfume. I wore a modest blue dress. Roman, naturally, showed up in a suit, refusing to expose skin, looking like a crime boss who’d accidentally wandered into a teen event.
He stayed glued to my side, glowering at anyone who waved a pool noodle too close.
“I want to leave,” he muttered. “It smells like chemicals and teenage hormones.”
“One hour,” I promised. “Then we go home and watch movies.”
He studied me. “Promise.”
“Promise.”
I went to the restroom to fix my hair.
When I came out, the music had stopped.
A crowd had gathered near the deep end.
I pushed through—
And found Sadie.