Page 261

“The truth?” She lets out a bitter laugh. “The truth is that you should’ve stayed the fuck away from Fairhope. Nobody wanted you here back then, and nobody wants you here now.”

“That’s enough,” Sienna snaps, stepping between us.

But Peyton isn’t finished.

“God, look at you.” Her gaze travels over my face, lingering on the scars. “All these years, and you’re still playing the victim. You’d think surviving that fire would’ve taught you something, but apparently not.”

Something inside me snaps.

Before I can think better of it, I snatch the cigarette from between her fingers.

“I’m so fucking sick of you!”

I flick it at her, wanting nothing more than to wipe that smug look off her face.

The cigarette strikes the front of her cheerleading uniform.

For one brief second, nothing happens.

Then a small flame catches near the hem.

Peyton looks down.

“What the—”

The flame spreads across the fabric with terrifying speed.

“FUCK! GET IT OFF!”

She starts screaming, frantically slapping at her clothes as the fire climbs higher.

I stumble backward, my hands flying to my mouth as I watch the flames engulf the rest of her uniform.

“GET IT OFF ME!” she shrieks, spinning around as the people gathered outside scatter in panic.

Sienna reacts before anyone else, yanking her jacket off her shoulders and throwing it over Peyton, forcing her down onto the grass as she smothers the flames.

“Stop moving!” Sienna shouts. “Peyton, stop fucking moving!”

I’m frozen where I stand, watching in horror as Peyton writhes beneath the jacket, her screams tearing through the night.

“An ambulance is coming!” I hear Mikayla shout behind me.

The flames are finally out, but Peyton is still crying and screaming, her face contorted with pain. Laura drops to her knees beside her while Mikayla hovers nearby, phone pressed to her ear.

“I didn’t mean to,” I choke out, shaking my head. “I didn’t know she’d get hurt.”

Sienna looks up at me, her face unreadable.

“Sienna, I swear—”

“Come with me.”

She gets to her feet and grabs my arm, pulling me away from the growing crowd.

“I didn’t mean for that to happen,” I repeat desperately as she leads me farther down the quad. “I was angry, and she wouldn’t stop saying those things, and I just—”

“Max.”