When she was in the pool, that same thing happened to her skin again. That odd sensation that felt like butterflies running from her thighs down to her toes. But it was actually a pleasurable feeling, so she didn’t mind it.

So if it was all good, what was she worried about?

Except … it wasn’t all good. As much as she wanted to brush off biting Alex’s lip, she couldn’t. She hadn’t spoken to him since then, but he’d probably passed it off as a heat-of-the-moment, kinky kind of thing. But it wasn’t.

When she’d been kissing him, she’d been so hungry. It was unlike any hunger she’d ever felt. It was part lust, like she’d wanted to kiss him and be physical with him. But the other part was actual starvation, and that’s why she’d bitten him.

That’s what terrified her. The hunger inside of her.

Gemma got out of the tub and flushed the scale down the toilet. Something was seriously wrong with her, and she had to stop it.

“Harper?” Gemma said and poked her head in her sister’s room.

“Yeah?” Harper was lounging on her bed with her e-reader.

“Can I talk to you?”

“Yeah, of course you can.” Harper set aside her e-reader and sat up straighter. “Wow. Did you do something in the bathroom?”

“Uh … why?” Gemma froze in the doorway. “What do you mean?”

“You look … good,” Harper said, for lack of a better word.

Gemma glanced down, looking herself over, but she knew what Harper meant. She’d already noticed it today. While she’d never been prone to acne, her skin was smoother, and it almost appeared to be glowing. She’d gone beyond her usual scope of pretty into something almost supernatural.

“I’ve just been using a different moisturizer.” Gemma shrugged, trying to play it off.

“Really?” Harper asked.

“No, actually”—Gemma sighed and rubbed her forehead—“that’s what I came in here to talk to you about.”

“You came to talk to me about moisturizer?” Harper raised an eyebrow.

“No, it’s not moisturizer.”

Gemma went over and sat down on the bed next to her sister. She didn’t know why she found it so hard to tell Harper about what was happening to her, except she knew she’d sound like a crazy person.

“What’s wrong?” Harper asked.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Gemma said finally. “But … there’s something wrong with me.”

“This is about the other night, right?” Harper asked. “When you went out with Penn and the girls?”

“Yeah, kinda.” Gemma furrowed her brow.

“It’s perfectly normal to act out,” Harper said, trying to keep her tone soothing. “I mean, it’s not okay. You shouldn’t be out drinking, but it’s not uncommon. And I know I can be hard on you sometimes, but—”