Chapter 1

My head pounded.

The room spun, then slowly settled.

Dorm room. My dorm room.

Sunlight streamed through the window, too bright.

I sat up, a wave of nausea hitting me.

The last thing I remembered was the party, the farewell gathering before London.

My drink. Brianna handed me my drink.

Then... nothing.

Now, I was back here.

Beginning of the semester.

No, this couldn' t be.

I scrambled for my phone. The date confirmed it. September 5th.

Move-in day.

The day Brianna Evans, my new roommate, first walked in.

A cold dread washed over me.

I remembered everything. The subtle digs, the stolen moments, the way she' d mimic me, then twist things until I looked like the villain.

The internship I' d lost because of her.

My stomach churned.

The door creaked open.

Brianna stood there, a cheap, shiny black jacket slung over her arm.

A knock-off.

A blatant, terrible knock-off of my AllSaints leather jacket, the one I' d saved up for, the one I' d worn just yesterday in this timeline.

My blood ran cold, then hot.

Not again.

This time, things would be different.

The old Ash, the one who tried to be nice, to understand, to give people the benefit of the doubt, she was gone.

She' d been poisoned out of existence.

I looked at Brianna, her eyes flicking over my room, a little too bright, a little too hungry.

The game was on, but this time, I knew the rules. And I had a lifetime of future knowledge she couldn' t even imagine.