“Relax, Allie,” Zoe returns. “He’s always been a drama queen. This will probably help build up his immunity anyway.”

“It could kill him! Zoe—Zoe, wait!”

She strides away, ignoring my protests, and then she’s lost in the flow of people. But the video keeps rolling until she can be spotted all the way across the room, standing next to a table and smiling down at the boy sitting there. I try to zoom in, but the view is obscured by people walking in front of the camera.

Zoe places a hand on Jacob’s shoulder before walking away, the smile slipping effortlessly from her features as soon as he can’t see her anymore.

She spots the camera, expression contorting in a mixture of rage and betrayal, and then the video cuts off abruptly.

I continue staring at the screen, though I’m unfocused, mind spinning. “It was her all along,” I murmur, voice teetering on the edge of breaking. “Everything was her.”

I’ve made it to the top of every class I’m in by any means necessary.

Mason exhales slowly, speechless.

“She wanted to kill him,” I say, as my brain flips through all of the memories I have with Zoe. All the little digs, backhanded remarks, and hints that I didn’t pick up on. “She wanted to kill me too.”

“We still don’t know exactly what happened,” he points out. “Or why.” He pauses, and when he speaks again, he sounds a lot more hesitant. “Until we have more that we can bring to the police, you should probably stick close to her. Just to keep up appearances. I’m sorry.”

“You can’t be serious. I don’t want her anywhere near me!”

“I know,” he says. “That’s why you need to be extremely careful. Believe me, I’d feel much better if you never had to cross paths with her again. But if she senses that something is off or that you don’t trust her anymore, things could go south very quickly.”

“Fuck,” I whisper. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“You can.”

When I meet his eyes, they’re full of resolve and belief in me. I wish I felt the same. My reaction last night proves that I’m not as good an actress as everyone says I am. Zoe could definitely tell something was wrong. But finding the phone caught me completely off guard. Maybe if I have more time to prepare, I can do a better job.

Besides, I have anger on my side now.

Mason stands from the deck. “Wait here.”

“But—”