The librarian glared at me as I loudly made my way to the door and pushed it open, but I ignored her, my focus on something she'd never understand.

I couldn't believe it.

When I met Jamie Accetta a few weeks into freshman year, I thought he was the most clueless person I'd ever had the pleasure of meeting. He was cute in an awkward way, doing his best to avoid standing too close to people. But now? He had gotten rid of the things that made him Jamie, that made up his personality, even going as far as hacking my laptop and using my blog.

I didn't even have the time to feel shocked, seeing red immediately his name was out of West's mouth.

I'd just stepped out the door when someone pulled me into them and directed me to the side. My back was pressed against their chest, and the familiar beating of the heart inside it relaxed me a little. West turned me to face him, flinching immediately, like I had flames for eyes. Maybe I did.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked with a low voice, his disbelief not hidden.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to talk to him." I made to walk away, but he stepped in front of me.

"No, you're not."

I twisted my expression until I was sure I was glaring at him. "Get out of my way."

"Not until I make you understand that what you're about to do isn't the smartest thing."

"Why not? That guy's a snake! He tricked me."

West took a step closer to me, caging me between him and the wall behind me. "That's why you should keep this information between us. Act like you're clueless, and maybe you could even get some stuff from him."

"I can't stand him, so erase my cluelessness from that list."

"Can you at least not talk to him right now? Trust me, you'll thank me later."

I didn't say anything, trying to regulate my breathing and recover from the heat attempting to consume me whole. I wasn't sure if the warmth was from West or if it generated from inside me, but it was overwhelming, and I suddenly found it hard to breathe.

That was when it really hit me. Jamie knew I was behind the new Smooches, and he'd put my name on the list of murder suspects. Whether that was on purpose or not, I wasn't sure.

I spent two hours after I got home from school trying to make sure my laptop was more than safe. West helped me with a program that was supposed to protect it better, but we weren't aware of the level of Jamie's technological knowledge, so we just ran it with the hope that it did the job. If Jamie found a way to go past it, then there was nothing we could do.

My head was pounding terribly by the time I was done with homework, and I decided that I needed something cold. Both to drink and to sit in for an hour.

When I reached Kairi's closed door, I heard music playing, and it took me a while to realize that she was watching a movie. I allowed myself to smile for the first time in hours, happy to know that she was getting back to her old routine. Before she was assaulted, she always watched movies. She even created a Netflix schedule and stuck it to her already occupied study table.

Choosing not to disturb her, I went downstairs and immediately made my way to the kitchen. The refrigerator provided the cool I needed when I opened it, so I stood in front of it for a while, before taking out a carton of juice. I kept my phone next to my glass so I could help myself to the juice, and as I took the glass closer to my lips after filling it up, it lit up with a text.

Feel better now?

I took a long sip of my drink before replying to West, the words on my screen tugging at the strings of my heart. I didn't know why, but a part of me—a very small part—felt disappointed that it was Jamie who hacked my laptop. That part also felt a little hurt that he took my rejection so seriously and so personally. But then again, I couldn't be entirely sure that it was the rejection that made him do this. What if he knew something about Piper's murder?

The last thought made me shiver, and I was suddenly too cold to have more of my juice.

Yeah. Thx. Having some juice.

I moved to the kitchen table, condensation from the glass in my hand making my fingers wet. Immediately I took my seat, West's reply came in.

Do you want me to come over?

I smiled to myself, wishing he was sitting here with me. But I realized he'd done a lot for me in the past few weeks, and I didn't want it to seem like I needed him all the time. So I decided to tease him a little.

Do YOU want to come over? I'm boring in case you haven't noticed.

I could almost see him smiling at his screen, almost see his eyes twinkling like the stars getting ready to dot the sky outside.

Boring is my type in case you haven't noticed ;)

I laughed. I really laughed. And it felt so good to feel happy, to feel normal, like all I had to worry about was a college accepting me or what my major was going to be.

Didn't know you knew how to flirt.

His reply came a few seconds later, and I noticed we'd never texted for this long.

Keeping it lowkey.

Maybe I wanted him to come over, to hold my hands so delicately and look at me like I meant everything to him.

You haven't answered my question though, he texted.

You haven't answered mine either.

Before he could reply, Kairi walked into the kitchen, an easy smile pulling the corners of her lips upward when she saw me. She was glowing, her eyes bright and beautiful, her lips a healthy pink. She deserved to be in a moisturizer ad with skin as flawless as that.

She hummed happily. "Someone's glowing," she said, giving me one of her attributes. Her expression grew suggestive as she turned to pull the fridge door open. "Who're you texting?"

I shook my head, a blush creeping up my cheeks like I was twelve again. "I think you know the answer to that."

She took out the carton of juice, then proceeded to pour herself some, that look not leaving her face. "So, how deep are you two now? Made it official yet?"

"Made what official?"

She rolled her eyes playfully, coming to sit in the chair across from mine. "Don't act clueless, Kim. I mean you two. Are you . . . official?" She made a ridiculous gesture with two of her fingers while still holding her glass of juice.

"No," I replied instantly, and she took a sip of her juice, watching me over the rim of her glass.

She hummed again, thoughtfully this time, then put her glass down and took a second to swallow the drink in her mouth. "Has he kissed you yet?"

"Kairi," I groaned, lifting my head to the ceiling. "Seriously?"

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed, ignoring me. "When did it happen?"

At this point, she looked like a kid who was hearing about magic for the first time, her eyes big and sparkly, filled with curiosity.

"Can we not talk about this right now? Please?"

She laughed, throwing her head back like a super villain who'd managed to blow up a city after twenty years of failing, and almost knocked her juice off the table. "I'm so excited for you! Was it scary or amazing?"

I grunted before choosing to respond. "Both."

Kairi squealed, then seemed to realize something. "Wait a second, did this happen on Saturday? Did Dray and I interrupt you two?"

"Kinda. But let's not talk about that. Let's talk about you."

She waved off my suggestion, and my phone buzzed in my hand. I looked into the screen to see two texts from West waiting for me.

My answer doesn't matter.

Dad's burning down the kitchen in the name of stir fry and the sight is hurting my eyes.

I didn't realize when I laughed, my shoulders shaking as I imagined the scene perfectly. Kairi gave me a fond smile before I looked away from her to type a reply.

I can imagine! But you have to stay. Why don't you come over tomorrow instead?

"I haven't seen you this happy in a year."

Kairi's words were so soft that I almost didn't hear them, and when I returned my attention to her, I saw that her smile was gone. I understood what she meant. I hadn't heard her laugh like she really meant it for a long time. Tonight was the closest she'd been to being her old, bubbly self.

She reached across the table and took one of my hands, causing me to drop my phone. It clattered to the table, and I used my free hand to check if it was okay, even though I knew that the fall was too small to cause a damage. I'd thrown that phone at a wall and it was still alive, but my mom once told me that your phone screen could crack when you least expect it.

"I'm happy you have someone that makes you feel this way," my sister said to me when my eyes left my phone.

Unexpectedly, my mind moved to a topic I hadn't thought about for days when she said that. It made my stomach churn, but I realized that I was breaking a promise by keeping quiet about it. So I studied my sister's eyes for a while, then said, "You have someone, too."

She smiled. "Dray is all business. Doesn't have time for the mushy stuff."

Yeah, because he doesn't care that much about you. "I'm not talking about Dray."

At that, she froze, and it almost felt like her hand went cold. Maybe it was just the nervousness at work. She remained still for a while, a haunted look filling her eyes, then she focused on me again.

"What are you talking about?" The tone of her voice told me that she knew exactly what I was talking about.

"I'm talking about you and Axel, Kai."

She let go of my hand then like it was burning hot, her expression contorting into one I couldn't read.

"I know," I quickly told her, filling the silence before it stretched out for too long. "I don't want to upset you by bringing him up, but Axel is sorry for what he did to you."

I expected her to ask me how I knew that, if Axel told me, but what I got instead was a monotone, "Don't believe a word he says. He's a liar."

"He wasn't lying, Kairi. I saw the look in his eyes."

"Well, you don't know him as much as I do." She gave me a humorless smile. "He just wants to finish what he started."

I watched my sister for a moment, surprised at how defensive she'd become. "What he wants to do is apologize to you."

"And after the apology?" she snapped, fire in her eyes. "After the apology, what next? He'll try to get into my pants again, then suddenly announce his new relationship with my best friend!"

Silence. A long, uncomfortable, choking silence. And we both sat in it, staring at each other across the table, our drinks forgotten. I didn't want to do this—reconcile Axel with Kairi—but that was what I found myself doing. It wasn't as easy for my sister as it was for him, especially after she was violated because of him. Whatever was going on between them was way deeper than I thought, judging by the amount of venom in my sister's eyes.

My phone rang, breaking the silence, but I didn't look into it immediately. Kairi and I continued to stare at each other, perhaps trying to get answers neither of us could provide.

"Pick up your call," she told me, looking away immediately.

When I finally looked into my phone, my first instinct was to pause. Because it was Axel calling.

I didn't want to pick up with my sister there, but at the same time, I didn't want to ignore him. The reason for that was a mystery. Making up my mind as quickly as I could, I stole a glance at Kairi, before picking up the call and placing the phone against my ear.

"Hey," I offered softly. "What's up?"

"Hi." I completely froze when I heard the voice that replied. It didn't belong to Axel, and it sounded extremely nervous. "Um, am I speaking to Kim?"

"Y—yeah. Sorry, who's this?"

"I'm Miles. Uh, I found your . . . friend outside his car in my neighborhood and just called 911." Miles paused, the line crackled, and my stomach dropped. The look on my face must've alerted my sister that something was wrong. "Oh God! I—I think he was shot."

I hated hospitals for several reasons. The smell of disinfectants, the white walls and floors and ceilings, the fear that seemed to linger in every corner, the empty looks in the eyes of patients as they're transported on stretchers or wheelchairs, and, most importantly, the dreadful feeling I got every time I realized that the person I was going to see might not make it out alive.

Ever since I lost my mom, the word 'hospital' had been my least favorite.

My sister and I hurried to the emergency room, our breathing loud from our rush here. I could hear my heart beating in my ears, I could feel Kairi trembling behind me, and I couldn't see clearly, the edges of my vision blurry like I was about to pass out. Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. I couldn't be sure.

I wasn't sure we were going to be allowed to see Axel, but I hoped for the best. When we got to the ER, we saw two adults standing by the door, one a slim, tall lady with the same shade of rich hair as Axel, and the other undeniably a cop, his face wrinkled by a frown.

Kairi slowed down, trailing behind me, but I kept moving until I reached Axel's mom.

"They almost killed him," she was saying, her voice frail. "He was shot three times, close to his vital organs—"

I shut her out then, closing my eyes as tightly as I could, not wanting to hear any more. Tears burned behind my eyelids, and a small voice in my head kept repeating the words he's gonna die like the others over and over again until I was sure I was going crazy.

He's not gonna make it. He's gonna die. Just like the others.

The hand suddenly placed on my shoulder startled me out of my thoughts, and I had to blink back tears to clear my vision. Mrs. Denvers blinked at me, her doe eyes exerting motherly worry, and her Cupid's bow lips in a subtle pout.

"Are you all right, honey?" she asked me, smoothing her hand down my shoulder and arm to offer some comfort, but I could only stare at her glassy eyes and pale cheeks.

She was a gorgeous woman, but her features were disturbed with worry.

"Mrs. Denvers," I finally choked out. "I—I got the call—"

I couldn't finish my sentence, but she got the message, her eyes filling with sympathy instantly. "Oh, my darling." She closed the distance between us, engulfing me in a lavender-scented hug for a few seconds. The soft fabric of her sleeve was soothing against my neck as she held me close to her chest. "I'm so sorry you had to hear that."

She pulled away from me, her eyes going to settle on my sister behind us immediately. A shocked look morphed her features.

"Kairi?"

My sister raised a hand in a small wave, her eyes fixed on the floor nervously. "Hi, Mrs. Denvers."

"Get over here! I haven't seen you in ages, where have you been?"

Kairi got to us then, getting a longer hug from her. "I've been around," she replied innocently, pushing a damp strand of hair behind her ear, and I studied the both of them. They seemed like they had been really close at one point. "H—how is he?"

Mrs. Denvers' eyes moved to me, a look of understanding filling them when they met with mine. "Oh. You came together."

"Yeah. This is my sister, Kimie."

She gave us a little smile. "Axel's being monitored at the moment. He lost quite a lot of blood before the paramedics could get to him. There was only so much Miles could do." She shrugged. "We don't know how it's going to be."

I think my heart stopped beating then, and a glance at the door of the emergency room had me moving away from Axel's mom. He was visible through the glass panel on the door, but from where I was standing, what I could see was bandage, a tube with something red flowing through it, and a heart monitor slowly displaying the state of his heart.

"He's going to be moved to intensive care soon," his mom said with tears in her voice, and I leaned against the wall behind me.

Kairi turned to me as Mrs. Denvers wiped tears from the corner of her eyes with a tissue, her eyes mirroring the way I was feeling. Then she looked back to the crying woman. "So we can't—we can't see him?"

The cop appeared behind her just as her lips parted to give us an answer. "I'm afraid not," he said, his voice deep and throaty. "The shooting was meant to take his life, and it's currently being investigated, so no one is going to be allowed to see him for the next few days."