16!
GUESS I CAN’T CALL YOU “LITTLE” MISS HEAVENLY ANYMORE???
I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU. IT’S BEEN TOO LONG!
WE GOT ALOT TO TALK ABOUT.
GOT SOMETHING FOR YOU. HOPE YOU?—
It ends mid-sentence.
I turn over the page, but the back is blank.
I read it again.
Again.
When I fold up the letter and open the envelope to put it back inside, I feel something shift inside. I tip it over and stare at the delicate silver chain lying on my palm. There’s a tiny butterfly pendant, barely bigger than my thumbnail, its wings studded with two bright blue stones.
This was meant for me.
But he never sent it.
Why?
What made him stop writing mid-sentence? What made him fold up the letter and put it away? Why does he leave it lying out here in the open like it’s just another pamphlet for a party he forgot to throw away?
There’s a dull ache growing inside me.
The unfinished letter, the butterfly pendant—they feel too heavy in my shaking hand.
Kaihadbeen excited to see me that day.
He even bought me jewelry.
If I ever had any doubt, here’s the proof that my green-eyed boy cared about me. So what the fuck happened?
Me.Ihappened.
I made him feel like shit because he wouldn’t take my virginity.
And then his brother poisoned him against me.
I put the envelope back on his bookshelf, blinking furiously as pressure builds behind my eyes.
No way I’m crying about this.
As I turn back to the bed, where I plan todefinitelykick Kai on the way in, I spot the corner of a black spiral-bound notebook peeking out beneath a stack of legal pads.
My heart stutters in my chest.
Must be Kai’s Activity Log.
I guess it makes sense—he’d had to have taken Professor Rooke’s class to become his TA. But why the hell did he keep it?
As soon as I’m done with Bastian’s class, I’m burning mine. It became more than an assignment to me. I was using it like a fucking grudge book. Noting every wrong deed anyone ever committed against me.
Kai.
