Chapter 1

Olivia and I walked back to our dorm room. We just finished a long study session for our pre-med classes. I was a sophomore at this California state university, focused on getting good grades. Personal integrity mattered to me.

We opened the door.

Jessica was there.

She' d been gone for three days, just vanished. Now, she was standing in the middle of our room, holding my reusable water bottle. My personal one.

The university had just sent out an email, mandatory STI and health screenings for students in certain extracurriculars. Jessica was in a popular sorority, one of those groups. She' d been bragging about dodging the screening.

I looked closer.

There were strange red welts on her neck, more on her arms. They weren't hickeys, I knew what those looked like. These were different, persistent.

A feeling of disgust washed over me. I walked straight to the trash can and threw my water bottle in. It made a dull thud.

Jessica just stared at me, a smirk on her face. She didn't say anything.

Olivia looked from Jessica to the trash can, then back to me. Her eyes were wide.

Later, when Jessica was in the shower, Olivia whispered, "Emily, those marks... I think she might have contracted something serious."

I nodded. Jessica was my roommate, but our relationship was strained. She was a party girl, always had guys over, never respected our shared space. She thought I was judgmental. I just thought she was reckless.

Olivia was my best friend, my confidante. She shared my concerns.

This wasn't the first time Jessica had done something to make my skin crawl. Her lifestyle was one thing, but her manipulative tendencies and complete disregard for rules were another.

I remembered her from freshman year. She wasn't always like this, or maybe I just didn't see it. She used to be just another outgoing girl.

Now, she was something else, colder, more calculating. This latest incident with my water bottle, after her mysterious disappearance and the welts, it felt like a new low.

"We have to do something," Olivia said, her voice barely audible.

I agreed. This wasn't just about disgust anymore. It was about safety, about principles.