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“They want you to suffer, but like the thirsty bitch you are, you’re too wrapped around their cocks to realize it,” Candace scoffs before she continues. “The Jacobis are not your friends. They want you dead.”

She’s lying, Evie. She’s trying to shift the blame. They wouldn’t—couldn’t.

But doubt creeps in like a thief in the night.

Pushing that possibility away, I retort, “You think I’ll fall for your game.” My fist curl at my side as I speak again. “You expect me to believe that they wanted you to run around campus dressed like their dead sister just to torment me?”

Candace rolls her eyes. “You think they care about you, Eva?” Her gaze is filled with unmasked contempt. “They want to destroy you.”

I’m about to tell her to get bent when a branch snaps to my right, pulling my attention towards the sound. Candace uses my distraction, rising to her feet and sprinting away. I’m too tired to bother chasing her down. Instead, I drop to my knees, hoping that her words were lies.

46

eva

Could Candace be tellingthe truth?

I mull over her threats.“The Jacobis are not your friends. They want you dead.”

“But that can’t be true,” I mumble, stumbling out of the bathroom into my bedroom. Mindlessly, I unwrap the towel from my freshly washed hair and begin styling it for the party at the Sigma Alpha Psi frat house.

“You think they care about you, Eva? They want to destroy you,” Candace hisses.

Shaking my head clear, I focus on applying my makeup to cover the dark circles under my eyes from my lack of sleep since this revelation. “There’s no way they could be behind all of this. Right?” I ask myself, pausing long enough to put on my eyeliner.

I’m unsure why I’m bothering, considering it’s a masquerade-themed party.

Capping the liner, I pick up my ruby red lipstick, hoping it will bolster my confidence for the conversation I need to have, so I’m not left spiraling with my thoughts.

I think back to every incident since I arrived on campus. The blood, the recordings, the images, and every “Farrah” sighting.There’s no fucking way Colt and Coop would let Farrah’s most vulnerable moments be shared just to get back at me. They love her too much for that.

“Are you ready, Evie?” Jade calls out from outside my door.

Sighing, I stand, adjusting my crimson-red strapless top and mini skirt. “Yeah, I’m grabbing my mask now.”

I take a final look at myself in the mirror, then grab my mask. The red and gold filigree etched across a matte black base complements my dress perfectly. The ornate design captivated me the moment I opened the gift box it came in.

“Holy shit. Look at you, boo,” Ayana croons, shaking out her finger like I burned her.

Laughing, I reply, “Stop it.”

“Nope. You’ll own the gorgeousness that is you,” Cammy challenges.

“Then, thank you,” I begin, pausing to take them in. My friends are fucking beauty personified. Not a miss amongst us. “Speaking of gorgeous. Y’all did not come to play.”

We giggle, high-fiving each other as we head out the door.

“I’ve heard these parties get wild,” Paisley exclaims. “Like debauchery-level wild.”

My brow quirks at that revelation, my inner sex goddess preening at the thought that I could get all kinds of laid tonight.

“This is a no-judgment zone. Just play safe,” Jade announces, reminding me how grateful I am for these girls who allow me to be me with no pretense of propriety lording over me.

The ride to Greek Row is boisterous and quick. Finding parking, however, is a bitch-in-a-half, and I’m grateful that I wore my comfortable heels.

Music blasts from each house we pass, each one decorated to match the theme of their party for the night. Excitement prickles my skin once we reach the steps of the Sigma Alpha Psi frathouse. The last time I went to one of these parties, I got sucked and fucked in some of the best ways.

As we step through the door, evidence of how wild this night will be is front and center as some guy is bent over as another guy pistons inside of him.