Chapter 2

Summer's POV

I cried the entire night.

When morning came, I told myself: I am done with Evan.

So I stopped chasing him.

What I didn't expect was that the boy who had once coldly warned me to leave him alone was now the one blocking my path.

My fingers curled inward. I looked down and spoke quietly. "No. I was just studying for finals."

Evan watched my eyes slide away from his. A short, cold laugh. "Studying? With your grades, what difference does it make?"

I went still. I looked up.

He was already gone.

I slowly unclenched my hand.

There it was. My score report. SAT, perfect 1600. All A's across every subject.

By any standard, an exceptional result.

The entire school thought I was an airhead. A pretty face with nothing going on upstairs. Nobody knew I'd been faking it.

Every test, I'd calculated exactly how many points to miss. I kept my scores hovering just above passing. Until today, when I finally stopped pretending.

Sure enough, a month later, when results dropped, I got a call from Yale's admissions office first thing in the morning. They wanted me.

I turned them down gently. "I'm sorry. I've already committed to Harvard. As long as my scores place in the top ten statewide, they've offered me a full scholarship."

The Yale officer was disappointed, but gracious.

Shortly after, Harvard's email arrived as well. True to their word, they'd already purchased my flight, leaving in three days, so I could settle in early.

I'd just replied to confirm when a teacher pulled me out of class and sent me to the guidance counselor's office.

Apparently word had gotten out about my scores. The faculty was stunned. Some of them suspected I'd cheated.

So I sat down and completed a harder exam right in front of them.

Then I looked up.

"Have any of you ever tasted a rusty needle?" My voice was steady. "I have."

"My mother died when I was in second grade. My father came home with Lily. That's when I found out I had a half-sister the exact same age as me."

"Lily's mother moved in with us. The next month, I scored fifty points higher than Lily on my end-of-term exam. So she put fifty needles in my food."

I raised my head. My voice wavered slightly.

"The needles tore through my esophagus. It took a full night of surgery to remove them all. After that, I made myself a promise. I would only let my real scores show once. On the SAT."

From that day forward, I sandbagged every test. I started wearing makeup. I dressed loud, acted boy-crazy, played the role of the girl who never thought about anything except her latest crush.

Because that was the only way to eat a warm meal. The only way to hear my stepmother coo, "She didn't mean it," when my father turned his rage on me.

The teachers sat in stunned silence. The guidance counselor put a hand on my shoulder. "You're going to be okay once you're out of here."

My lashes trembled.

Yeah. I was leaving. College was right around the corner. Everything was about to change.

I walked back to my classroom.

The moment I stepped through the door, every face turned toward me with the same strange expression.

Evan was there too, standing in my classroom for no apparent reason. He walked straight up to me.

"Summer." His voice was ice. "Did you get a call from Yale's admissions office?"