“Quaint.” Caleb turned onto Main Street and, driving slowly, stooped a little to eye the row of matching Victorian shops, three-story and brick, with melting snow dripping from the corners of their red awnings. “Even the bars are cute.” Caleb gave Penny’s Pub a disbelieving glance. “Look at that. Without the sign, I would have thought it was a boutique.”

“This whole place reminds me of a movie set,” Linnie said.

Maggie didn’t answer. She trained her gaze on the passing storefronts. The shops blurred.

She’d expected this—this return—to be hard, a time-warp endeavor, plowing into old shame and hurt, heading into the heart of a wreckage. She knew she risked getting recognized, running into Matt Dawson’s former teammates and encountering his fans, the ones who revered everything about the young quarterback and considered his expulsion the worst injustice. To them, he’d always be Saint Matthew, taking the big hit for the beleaguered Tigers.

What Maggie hadn’t expected was the longing. The visceral way she’d experience the mountains and familiar farms and white churches and rushing streams and twisting roads.

This was her home. Or it used to be. But she’d left it, agreed to an exile she didn’t deserve. Conceded her territory to bullies and haters and people who felt uncomfortable around her—not because of what she’d done but because of what had been done to her.

Maggie was keenly aware of just how much she’d lost over the course of eight months. How much had been stolen from her.

She ran a hand over Fluffster’s head, suddenly grateful for the dog’s friendly nature. He whined, snuffled closer, and let her hug him.

Well, she was back. For now. But she couldn’t shake the certainty that she didn’t belong. And never would again.

Maggie hurried down the campus walkway and kept her head half-turned toward Bosworth Hall when a group approached. A girl was saying something about a ski getting stuck in a lift. The students leaned into one another and laughed.

Maggie felt like an outsider. No, worse than that. An invader. She missed Linnie and Caleb, even though she was the one who’d waved them off, deciding it would be better if she talked to Jane alone. But they were somewhere on campus, walking Fluffster. They’d all agreed to meet in front of the Swan Library in an hour.

Maggie had a good idea of where to start looking. Jane had mentioned her environmental studies coursework in an email. Most of that major’s first-years lived in Nash Hall.