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Ugh. I hate that he has a point. I bite down on my lip. Supreme has a whole society of people who do whatever he says, and if he orders a bunch of them to wrap their hands, they’ll probably thank him for the honor. And then he’ll just wait until his hand heals and we’ll have nothing, so what could we do?

I meet Jayden’s gaze. “What if we pretend to leave? We can pack our bags, take our stuff, and make sure people see us leaving campus, as if we’re done with Blackerville for good. And then we can sneak back in while everyone’s in class.”

Jayden’s mouth falls open.

“Once Supreme hears we’re gone, he won’t bother with fake bandages or hiding his hand. Maybe he’ll send some members after us to try to track us down, or maybe he won’t. I mean, I don’t know what his plan is since I rejected him. If he still wants me, he’ll send someone after me. And if not, he won’t care anymore... or he’ll just send someone to capture me or whatever, so I wouldn’t tell my family about the money. Unless he thinks I won’t risk anything because of the video. Ugh! My brain is tangling with all these thoughts!”

A wide smile spreads over Jayden’s face. “No, no, breathe. It doesn’t matter what he wants. Let’s do it. I love your plan.”

“You do?”

“Yep, let’s grab our things and pretend to leave, and then we’ll see what happens.”

I take a deep breath. Yep, I hope our plan works, because if not...

I don’t know what we’re going to do.

AS SOON AS THE DOOR closes behind Jayden, I grab my bag out of the closet and open it on the bed. I start throwing in as much as possible, because I bet Supreme will have someone checking our rooms to make sure we really left.

As I scoop my history notes off the desk, I remember I still have a retake coming up. Shit. Once everything’s in the bag, I zip it shut. The zipper strains a bit, and for a moment, I’m sure it’s going to split, but it holds.

When I look around my room, the closet is mostly empty and the desk is bare. Hopefully, whoever comes to check will believe I left.

After I haul my bag outside and lock the door, some girls come out of a room down the hallway. They go quiet the second they see me, and one of them nudges the other, their eyes darting to my bag.

Perfect. Look all you want, girls.

I lift my chin and stroll past them as if I don’t have a single care in the world. One of them whispers something, and the other gasps.

The front desk girl looks up from her phone, and her eyebrows shoot up. “Going somewhere?”

“Home.” I head toward the exit. “And I’m not coming back.”

“Wait, like, you’re transferring?”

“Yep. I’m done with this place.” I raise my voice, since more girls are coming. “If anyone asks about me, you can let them know.”

Her mouth falls open, and as I get to the door and glance back, she quickly types something on her phone. I duck my head so she won’t catch me smirking. She’s going to tell everyone, and that’s exactly what I need.

I spot Jayden by the corner of the building with a big black bag. When his gaze meets mine, he jerks his chin in greeting.

“Ready?” he asks as I get closer.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I tilt my head at his bag. “Did you pack everything?”

“Most of it.” He wiggles his eyebrows.

We start forward together and everyone looks our way. A group of guys ahead goes silent, and one of them smacks his friend’s arm and gestures at us. A girl on a bench lowers her coffee, her mouth hanging open.

Some of them probably can’t wait to see me gone. Well, they can enjoy it while it lasts. Everyone here spent weeks waiting for me to crack, and now they finally get the show they wanted, even if none of it is real.

“Try not to look at them,” Jayden says under his breath.

“I’m barely looking.”

“You’re staring.”

“Fine, maybe a little.” I huff. “But they’re supposed to see us.”