Page 36 of If You Dare

“I just needed to get away for a while. I wanted to go for a walk, get out in nature.”

The lie is flimsy, and Aneesa’s eyes narrow. “Stop with the lies, Violet. Tell me the truth. What’s really going on with you?”

My back protests when I sit up to face her. I take a slow, deep breath. Aneesa’s not going to let me get away with lying any longer. The words spill out of me in a rush. “It was Wes. Wes and his teammates have been basically terrorizing me since I got back to campus. Wes is captain, so they’ll do whatever he says. And he wants to make my life a living hell. His words.”

Her eyes widen. “So Wes is the guy who has your phone?”

I nod. “He told me to get in his car and drove us off campus. Then he made me hand over my phone and get out.”

Aneesa gapes. “Thatasshole.” She holds out her hand to me. “Come on. We need to go report this.”

“I can’t report it.”

Her brows furrow. “Why the hell not? He left you stranded without any way to call for help. He can’t just get away with it.”

I already know exactly what he would say to that.No, Violetcan’t get away with it.“No one will do anything. There’s no evidence, and even if there was, he’s Wes Novak. He’s the star hockey captain, and I’m the killer responsible for his sister’s death. No one would believe me.”

Besides, what he’s dealing with is way worse than what he’s putting me through.

Nothing he does to me will ever hurt as much as losing Chloe. Nothing.

“He doesn’t get to keep punishing you forever for an accident.” Aneesa turns and grabs her bag from her bed. “If you don’t report it, I will.”

My heart leaps to my throat, panic making the words burst out. “Aneesa, if you report this, it’ll only get a thousand times worse for me. Please. Just keep this between us. He’ll get bored of it eventually.”

She debates for a few seconds, chewing on her lip. Then she shakes her head and drops her purse. “I still don’t get why you think you deserve all of this. But if that’s what you really think is best, I’ll keep my mouth shut. For now. If this keeps getting worse, though, I’m reporting it.”

I want to tell her there is noif. Thiswillkeep getting worse. Wes will make sure of it. And there’s nothing she or I can do to stop him.

“It won’t,” I lie.

* * *

The next morning,an RA calls me to the front desk to let me know that a “good citizen” found my phone. I’m pretty sure Wes only returned it so he could harass me via text too.

After Aneesa and I spend two hours in the first-floor study room of Nohren Hall, she drags me to the gym when it’s clear I’m not going to get more than five words written.

The latest assignment from Professor Tate is to write a love story. If Chloe was still here, the assignment would be an easy one. I could write about friendship, family, romance. Drawing inspiration from Chloe, Mom, the Novaks, Wes.

But now, each concept makes me draw a blank.

Aneesa insists that getting up and moving will help my brain start working. I have zero confidence in her theory, but I also have zero motivation to argue with her. After we lift weights and she guides me through pilates poses, she suggests we do some laps in the pool to cool off. While she dives in, I hover at the pool’s edge.

The last time I was in a pool, my best friend died.

Aneesa swims the entire length of the pool and back before she realizes I still haven’t joined her. She grabs onto the edge, not even a little bit breathless. “Aren’t you getting in?”

I swallow and nod. It’s easier to suck it up and get in than try to explain my hesitation to Aneesa. I’m not the one who drowned, after all.

She takes off again, and I ease into the shallow end. The cool water laps at my hot, sweaty skin, soothing every inch of me. At the first stroke through the water, I’m reminded how much I love swimming. There’s something calming about floating on the surface. A sort of peace I haven’t felt in months, not even between the pages of books.

Aneesa backstrokes across the length of the pool three more times before she yells to me that she’s going to shower.

“I’m doing a few more laps!” I call.

When she disappears into the locker room, the only sound is the rush of water past my ears and the slosh of each of my strokes as I glide through the water.

I’m nearly to the shallow end when I hear a splash behind me. I tread and glance back for Aneesa. Maybe she decided to do more laps. Or maybe someone else decided to workout in the pool.

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