Chapter 1

The cheap motel room ceiling fan wobbled.

That was the last thing I saw.

Before that, Jessica' s twisted smile, Mike' s guilty face turning away.

Then darkness.

Pain.

So much pain.

They' d laughed.

I remembered the rough hands, the tearing, the cold floor against my cheek.

Then, nothing.

Now, sunlight.

Too bright.

I blinked.

My own bedroom.

Posters of universities, ROTC pamphlets on my desk.

My alarm clock read 7:00 AM. September 5th.

Senior year.

Three months before the SATs.

Three months before the ROTC application deadline.

My heart hammered.

This wasn' t possible.

I sat up, hands flying to my body.

No scars. No pain.

My reflection in the mirror was younger, untouched by the horror.

Alive.

I was alive.

And it was three years ago.

Reborn. The word screamed in my head.

A shiver ran down my spine.

If I was back, were they?

The thought was a cold dread.

My first life: top of my class, ROTC scholarship in my sights.

Mike Evans, my childhood friend, my first boyfriend.

He' d turned sour when I wouldn' t drop everything for him and his new flame, Jessica Bell.

He drugged my drink before my ROTC physical.

I failed. Lost the scholarship.

My life spiraled. Dead-end jobs.

Then that party. Jessica, jealous Mike even looked at me, had her friends...

No. I wouldn' t relive the details.

They killed me.

Now, I had a second chance.

Not just to live, but for justice.

School assembly. The principal droned on.

I scanned the crowd, my stomach churning.

Then, a commotion.

Mike Evans, swaggering to the stage, microphone in hand.

His eyes, arrogant and knowing, met mine for a split second.

A chill went through me. He knew.

He turned to the bleachers, a sickeningly sweet smile on his face.

"Jessica Bell!" he boomed. "From the moment I first saw you, I knew you were the one!"

A giant, tacky teddy bear appeared from backstage, followed by a dozen red roses.

Jessica, preening, walked towards him, feigning surprise.

It was a carbon copy of an event from our first life.

A public, over-the-top declaration that had made everyone cringe then, and made my blood run cold now.

They were both back.

They remembered everything.

Jessica' s eyes flicked to me, a smirk playing on her lips.

The game was on.

But this time, I knew the players.

And I wouldn' t just play. I would win.

My fists clenched.

This life, I would get my scholarship.

I would get my future.

And they would pay for what they did to me.

Every last bit.