She nodded again, barely, and flicked the sleek curtain of her brown hair away from her face—her expertly made-up face. Pale lipstick, hint of blush, lashes darkened with mascara …

Maggie blinked up at the girl. Tall, broad-shouldered, calm, cool-eyed. Commanding. Not at all how Maggie had imagined her. After reading those sad emails and learning what Kimberly had revealed about her former roommate, she’d pictured someone wiry, dark, disheveled, nervous … Someone like me.

“Your friends are waiting.” Jane glanced pointedly over Maggie’s shoulder. “I won’t keep you.”

Maggie stuck her hands into her coat pockets and retreated a step. “I wasn’t sure if your mom would tell you I stopped by.”

Jane raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t she?”

“She—she didn’t seem all that glad to meet me and said you were having a rough time since…” Maggie shrugged lamely. “I was worried you wouldn’t know I’d tried to get in touch with you, and I, well, hated for you to think I was blowing you off, especially since it took me such a long time to write back to you.”

“I assumed you’d moved on,” she said. “Nothing wrong with that. It’s what I’m doing.” With impatient finality, she added, “I appreciate your stopping by. Good luck with everything.” And she took hold of the door, as if preparing to close it.

“Are you going to press charges?” Maggie blurted.

Her face grew shuttered. “After all this time?” She breathed a caustic laugh. “What would be the point?”

“You could inform the univer—”

“I told you: I’m putting all that behind me.”

“But—but what if the guy who raped you rapes someone else?”

The amber eyes flashed, cracking the cool veneer. “Don’t say that,” she snapped. “I do not need to hear that. Isn’t there enough on my plate right now without your dishing out a big glob of guilt? If I never see that college again, it will be too soon. I have zero intention of stepping foot on that campus, and no one will make me change my plans, least of all you—a dropout! So save your hypocritical bullshit. You don’t want to go back to Carlton, either!” And then she slammed the door shut.

At least, as they headed back to Wren’s cabin, Maggie didn’t have to spell out what had happened. Caleb’s and Linnie’s oh-shit grimaces made it clear they’d gotten the gist of her conversation with Jane. She didn’t know if she could have talked about it even if they hadn’t. The interaction had drained her, left her feeling pummeled, sick. Depressed. Angry.

She leaned her head against the window. Over the woods skirting the highway, a colorless sky loosened a damp snow, the flakes the size of feathers. Big flakes. Big globs of guilt. Hypocritical bullshit. Maggie squeezed her eyes shut. Jesus Christ, I only wanted to help.