dutiful "brother," insisted on walking her to find a band-aid, leaving m

partment, my phone buzzed. A

n at the beer pong table, girlfriend of a g

cce

popped up

was NUTS tonight. Jes

string of angr

wasn't universally

d back and forth. Sh

arents all worked at the local paper mill or the town's single auto-parts factory. Jessie's parents had a messy div

uys" persona – tough-talking, beer-chugging, always up for a dare. She'd system

typed. "It's creepy. And every time one of them ge

ms back in freshman year, sometimes even in Kevin's bed, c

end ever b

d. "Jessie hated her. Made her life hell. Spread rumors. Always mana

further on Sarah, but th

ow how you're handling it.

. Jessie had just

er with a concerned expression, his head slightly bowed. The caption: "Some people just bring bad lu

early posted for her "Close Friends" list: a selfie of her winking, with text over it: "Newbie tryi

as

careful. Kevin's a good guy, but he's totally blind when it comes to

I typed back, thinking of my own meti

ey don't see the viper hiding

d think twice about getting in deeper. T

honesty. But walking

ol with a cruelty that still made my blood run cold. The isolation, the rumors, the

She thought Sophia was just another weak g

y Jenkins" really was.

stle where the dragon resided. And I was going to burn

eem vulnerable, the home-baked cookies, remembering his favorite coffee order. I'd even used a chunk of my savings – money from my actual trust fund, carefully la

t, a little naive, an

rf