Chapter 3

Lucy returned, her eyes all puffy and red—she'd been sobbing the whole way back, and everyone on the floor watched her break down.

Lucy glared at us, fury blazing in her eyes. "Seriously, what's your deal? You just can't stand to see me doing well, can you?

"You're grown adults, and you're still snitching? I'd never have guessed city people could be this gross."

I'd gotten used to Lucy's drama, so I didn't even bat an eye.

But Sherry and Whitney's expressions darkened all at once.

They'd already been punished because of Lucy, and now she had the nerve to rip into them again.

But the two of them still kept it classy.

People with no shame always seem to get all the perks. I went off on her. "If we're talking about disgust, honestly, we can't even compete with you.

"You take cash from a man and complain about it every day, trying to act innocent while raking it in. You're always putting on the poor-me act. Why not just be a beggar and show people how pathetic you are? Bet you'd be at the top of the leaderboard for begging in no time."

Lucy flushed and stormed off in a huff.

Whitney and Sherry both held up their thumbs.

I glanced their way and couldn't help but smile myself.

From now on, we wouldn't waste another thought on Lucy. Looked like things were finally turning around for us.

But a few days later, I spotted Henry.

He held Lucy's arm, and it was obvious he was about to go off on her again.

I caught Sherry ready to rush in.

My hands trembled as I held Sherry back, trying my best to keep my voice steady.

Sherry was flustered, blurting out, "But she's still our classmate."

I kept my cool. "Go get campus security, quick. There's no way we could handle someone like him ourselves."

Then it hit me—last time, Sherry tried to protect Lucy herself. Just because she'd picked up a bit of taekwondo, she actually confronted Henry.

That day, she was the first one Henry killed.

He tied all of us up with ropes and stuffed rags in our mouths.

I watched as he finished Sherry off with a single stab, then kept slashing. Blood splattered everywhere until her body was so mangled that we couldn't even piece it back together.

Whitney was never a fan of Henry, and at this point, she wanted nothing to do with Lucy's drama.

We only walked over once campus security arrived.

Even from a distance, I could hear every word of their argument.

Lucy had been staying at the dorm every night lately, and Henry figured she was due for another beating, just to show her who the boss was.

As soon as Lucy spotted me, she hurried over and grabbed my hand, pulling me in front of Henry to use me as a shield.

She wanted me to stand between her and his rage, just like she'd done countless times back in my previous life.

Looking at Henry, all I could think about was the brutal way the three of us died before, and my hands started to shake.

But I pulled myself together pretty fast.

This time, I yanked Lucy out from behind me.

I shot Lucy a disapproving look, swallowed my fear, and shoved her hand right into Henry's.

Then I said to Lucy, "Henry treats you so well. Why do you keep arguing with him? You really don't know what's good for you.

"I told you you could move out with Henry. All you need is a note from your parents. Why do you always have to be so stubborn?

"What's the point of living on campus anyway? We're locked down all the time, and even if we want to head out, it's totally a no-go."

Just then, campus security showed up.

The guard walked up, eyeing us. "Hey, what's going on here? Looked like you guys were about to throw down."

Lucy rushed to explain, "No, it's not a fight. I was just having a little drama with my boyfriend."

Henry's glare at Sherry was pure ice.

I jumped in front of Sherry. "Henry, I thought some other guy was causing trouble for Lucy, so I called security to check it out—good thing it was just a misunderstanding."

Lucy tried to pull her hand away, but I firmly placed it back in Henry's.

"Henry, you treat Lucy so well. Who could possibly be worried with you around?" I said.

Then I turned to Lucy. "Lucy, don't take all of Henry's kindness for granted. You should really appreciate him."