Not Your Good Girl Anymore

My childhood sweetheart hated that I was too much of a good girl.

Yet he fell for the scholarship girl who was even more docile than me.

Out of spite, I tried to go bad. I got mixed up with some thugs, backed into a corner, begging him to save me.

He ignored me. He covered the scholarship girl's eyes with his hand, his voice gentle.

"Don't look. It'll scare you."

I was left in that pitch-black alley, tortured to death.

When I opened my eyes, I was back.

Back to the day he rejected me.

Chapter 1

It was time to cut the cake.

Everyone was egging me on. "Do it, Genevieve! Tell him!"

I steeled myself.

"Cole," I said, my voice trembling slightly. "My birthday wish... is you."

Cole's hand, holding a cigarette, twitched.

His lips curled into a wicked smirk.

"Sorry, Gen," he drawled, his voice dripping with that bad-boy charm that usually made my knees weak. "You're too good for me."

He leaned back, exhaling smoke.

"Not really my type. I like them a little... wilder."

In my past life, that sentence broke me. It sent me spiraling into madness.

But now?

The memory of my deaththe cold, the pain, the darknesscrashed over me.

Ice flooded my veins.

I didn't want him. I wanted to kill him.

"Genevieve? You okay?" someone asked, concern cutting through the awkward silence.

"Seriously, Cole?" a friend scolded. "Couldn't you just lie? It's her birthday, for God's sake!"

Cole didn't even flinch. He just sat there, looking like he owned the world.

He blew a perfect smoke ring.

"Lying isn't really my thing," he said lazily.

That voice. That arrogant, raspy tone that used to give me butterflies.

Now, it just made me want to vomit.

I stared him dead in the eye. My expression turned to ice.

"Fine," I said. "New wish."

The room went silent.

"Cole," I said, my voice steady and cold. "I wish that from this moment on, you and I never cross paths again. In this life, or the next."

I blew out the candles.

The smoke swirled between us.

My friends tried to intervene, "Gen, wait" but I was already moving.

The smirk froze on Cole's face.

"Genevieve," he said, his voice dropping an octave. "Are you serious?"

He stood up, towering over the table.

"I'll give you one more chance. Make a new wish. And I'll pretend I didn't hear that bullshit."

No thanks.

I ignored him.

I picked up the silver knife and sliced into the cake.

Cole lunged.

He didn't grab my arm. He grabbed the blade.

His right hand wrapped around the sharp steel.

"Genevieve!" he barked. "I'm talking to you!"

The blade bit into his skin.

Blood welled up between his fingers.

Crimson drops hit the white frosting.

"Oh my god! Cole! You're bleeding!" someone screamed.

I knew what this was.

An episode.

Cole was sick. Mentally unstable.

In my last life, I was the only one who could calm him down. The only one who could pull him back from the edge.

Or so I thought.

Until *she* showed up. Ivy. The scholarship student.

I used to think I was special. That I was his anchor.

Until I heard him comforting her one day. His voice wasn't lazy or arrogant. It was desperate.

"She's nothing like you, Ivy," he had said.

"Genevieve is just a placebo. You... you're the cure. Without you, I'd die."

I let go of the knife handle.

"If you like it that much," I said, my voice flat. "Keep it."

I turned to leave.

Cole threw the knife aside. It clattered onto the floor.

He grabbed my arm.

His bloody fingers stained the sleeve of my pristine white dress shirt.

"Genevieve!" he shouted. "Who are you putting on this show for?"

The blood.

It was too red. Too bright.

Terror seized me.

Flashbacks of the alley. The pain. The hopelessness.

The room spun. My vision blurred.

I couldn't breathe.

Blackness swallowed me.

***

When I woke up, Cole was there.

He was sitting by my bed, watching me.

"You're awake," he said.

He leaned in, that familiar, dangerous glint in his eyes.

"You're the one who pissed me off, yet I'm the one who had to carry you back here. So, Gen... how are you going to make it up to me?"

Classic Cole.

Always blurring the lines. Always saying things that sounded like flirting but meant nothing.

He loved keeping me on the hook. Making me hope.

But I wasn't that girl anymore.

I knew the truth.

When Cole actually loved someone, he didn't make jokes. He didn't flirt.

He stuttered. He shook. He fell apart.

I sighed, closing my eyes.

"I'm tired, Cole."

"We're done. Don't come see me anymore."

***

The next day, I went to school alone.

Cole didn't wait for me.

I knew his game. It was a punishment.

He was waiting for me to crawl back. To apologize.

But I didn't.

I didn't look at him. I didn't speak to him.

I spent the whole day ignoring his existence.

That afternoon, I was napping at my desk when someone shook me awake.

"Genevieve! Wake up! You have to come!"

My friend Skylar was frantic.

"Cole is in a fight! At the basketball courts! It's bad!"

Chapter 2

I wasn't even fully awake.

Skylar practically dragged me out of the classroom and toward the gym.

"You have to see this! Cole is losing it! You're the only one who can stop him!"

No.

She was wrong.

He didn't need me.

His leading lady had already arrived.

And I was right.

By the time we burst onto the basketball courts, the fight was over. Cole was sidelined, drenched in sweat, his chest heaving.

And next to him?

A girl.

Ivy.

She wore a low ponytail and a look of terrified innocence. She was clutching his hand.

Her voice trembled, thick with unshed tears.

"Cole... you're hurt."

Cole hated being touched. Especially by strangers. Especially when he was amped up on adrenaline.

I saw the muscles in his arm tense, ready to rip away.

Then his eyes locked on mine.

He froze. His gaze darkened.

He relaxed his arm, letting Ivy interlace her fingers with his.

A performance. Just for me.

Liam, the senior Cole had just pummeled, was limping away, supported by two friends.

"Stop." Cole's voice cut through the noise.

He didn't look at Liam. He pointed a bloody finger at Ivy.

"Apologize."

Liam's face was a mess of purple and blue.

"Cole, come on," a guy pleaded. "He needs a doctor. Let him go."

"I said," Cole growled, his voice dropping to that dangerous, low register, "apologize to her."

Ivy clung to Cole's arm, shaking her head frantically. "It's okay, Cole! Really! I'm fine!"

But Cole didn't budge.

Liam, humiliated and bleeding, had to bow his head.

"I'm sorry."

The whispers started immediately.

"Why did Cole snap?"

"Heard the guy called Ivy a 'charity case'."

"He got what he deserved."

"Cole is such a hero. It's like a romance novel."

Only I knew the truth.

It wasn't a romance. It was a horror story.

In my past life, Cole bullied Liam until he transferred schools. Before he left, Liam found me.

*Watch out for Ivy.*

That was all he said. He was too terrified of Cole to say more.

The ambulance was taking too long.

I stepped forward, car keys in hand. "Take my car," I told Liam's friends. "Get him to the ER."

Liam looked up, one eye swollen shut. "Thanks, Gen. But we're good."

Before I could insist, a hand clamped around my bicep.

Hard.

Cole.

"Are you trying to piss me off, Genevieve?"

I glanced past him at Ivy, who was dabbing at her dry eyes.

"Focus on your own mess, Cole."

His grip tightened.

"You walk away now, don't you dare come back."

I didn't even blink.

I turned around and helped walk Liam to the parking lot.

*SLAM.*

Behind me, the metallic rattle of the basketball stanchion vibrating.

Cole had punched the steel.

Tsk.

Didn't that hurt?

Cole and I went radio silent after that.

Word was, he was a changed man. For her.

No more fights. He was actually opening textbooks.

His boys would try to drag him to the arcade.

"You haven't finished your SAT vocab list," Ivy would whisper.

Cole would sigh, dramatic and loud, and flop back into his chair.

"My parents are on my ass. Can't go."

Skylar fed me every detail.

But whenever I walked down the hall, the conversations died. I could feel their eyes.

Pitying me.

"She's pathetic."

"Chased him for years just to get replaced by the charity case."

Sad?

Me?

Chapter 3

I didn't feel sad.

My acceptance letter had arrived. Once I aced my finals, I'd be gone.

Journalism school. New York.

My new lifebright, beautiful, and Cole-freewas about to begin.

But the past wasn't done with me yet.

Caroline, Cole's mom, intercepted me on my way home.

"Genevieve," she pleaded, wringing her hands. "Cole forgot his meds again. Can you take them to him?"

I wanted to say no. I wanted to scream no.

Then I saw the fresh bruise blooming on her wrist.

I sighed. "Fine."

I texted Cole. *Where are you?*

He took forever to reply. Just a location pin.

The Pool Hall on 5th.

In my past life, I had spent half my youth in that dive.

I walked down the stairs, the smell of stale beer and cheap cigarettes hitting me like a physical blow.

Disgusting.

I spotted Cole immediately.

He commanded the center table, leaning over the green felt, lining up a shot.

A thick stack of cash sat on the rail.

I walked over and tossed the pill bottle onto the table. It clattered against the wood.

"Your mom sent these."

Cole straightened up, chalking his cue. He frowned.

"Who told you to come here?"

I didn't answer.

I turned on my heel and walked away.

A guy blocked my path. Greasy hair, yellow teeth. One of the regulars.

"Hey, Cole! This your girl?"

Cole scoffed. He took a cigarette from the guy, tucking it behind his ear.

"You think that's possible?"

Just then, the door opened.

Ivy walked in, clutching her backpack straps.

She started coughing immediately, waving a hand in front of her face.

Cole moved. fast.

He stepped in front of her, shielding her from the smoke.

"Put them out," he ordered the room. "Now."

Yellow Teeth grinned, revealing gums.

"Ah. So *this* is the real wifey."

Ivy's face turned crimson.

"Cole! Don't say that! The teachers said we can't..."

"I know."

Cole reached out, tapping the tip of her nose.

"Behave. Call me 'daddy', and I'll let you go."

Ivy squeaked. Then she pointed at the cigarette behind his ear.

"Cole! You promised you'd quit!"

I felt Cole's gaze shift to me. Heavy. Expectant.

I remembered.

I used to beg him to quit.

I had asthma. Smoke made my chest tight, my lungs burn.

Back then, he wouldn't even pretend to care. He'd blow smoke right in my face.

*Can't do it, Gen.*

A cold smile touched my lips.

I tried to step around the crowd.

Yellow Teeth grabbed my arm again.

"Don't run off, sweetheart."

He looked at Cole. "Better grab her, Cole. Two on two. My girl's here. Who's your partner?"

I yanked my arm free.

Ivy reached out, grabbing my sleeve.

"I... I don't know how to play pool."

I looked down at her hand on my clothes.

"And that's my problem because...?"

"I..."

My tone was sharp. Ivy's eyes welled up instantly.

Cole was there in a second, pulling her behind him.

"Watch your mouth, Genevieve."

"You're insane."

I tried to leave. He stepped in my way.

That was it. My patience snapped.

"What is this, Cole?" I sneered. "Playing hard to get? Trying to trick me into being your girlfriend?"

Chapter 4

"In. Your. Dreams."

I stepped closer, lowering my voice to a lethal whisper. "Now get out of my way."

I walked out.

This time, no one stopped me.

Behind me, I heard Ivy's frantic voice. "Cole, what do I do? I don't know how to play pool!"

Cole's voice was soft. Sickeningly sweet.

"Idiot. I'm here. You won't lose."

I didn't care who won. I didn't care if they bet their souls.

***

Dinner that night was tense.

My mom, Georgina, kept sighing, pushing her food around her plate.

"I saw Caroline today," she murmured. "Covered in bruises again. Harold is... he's going too far."

She looked up at me. "By the way, Gen, I haven't seen Cole around for dinner lately. Did you two fight?"

"No."

"Good. You should invite him over"

I looked up, cutting her off.

"We're done, Mom. I cut him off."

Her fork clattered against the china. "What? Why?"

I took a bite of the perfectly seared salmon.

"No reason. I just realized I hate people who are blind."

Mom lowered her voice, cautious. "Did Cole... get a girlfriend?"

I placed a piece of fish on her plate.

"Yep. It's like a bad romance novel come to life. So sweet it'll rot your teeth."

They were starring in their own little drama.

And they were determined to drag me in as the villain.

***

The next morning, I walked into the classroom to the sound of sobbing.

Ivy. Again.

"Cole, I don't know what to do! It was in my bag this morning, and now it's gone!"

Skylar leaned over, whispering. "The Prom fund. Ivy was holding it. It's missing."

"Check the security cameras," I said, not looking up from my phone. "Simple."

Ivy snapped.

She marched over to my desk, her face blotchy.

"Genevieve! I know my family is poor, but I would never steal! I'm not a thief!"

I blinked.

"I didn't say you were." I said, deadpan.

Guilty conscience much?

Cole strode over. His eyes were cold. Dead.

"Apologize to her."

I ignored him. I put my backpack on my desk and sat down.

*CRASH.*

Cole grabbed my bag and hurled it across the room.

Then he flipped my desk.

Books, pens, and my phone scattered across the floor.

He was having an episode.

"I said," he hissed, his voice trembling with rage, "apologize. Are you deaf?"

The room went deathly silent.

No one moved. No one breathed.

I bent down to pick up my desk.

A hand clamped around my throat.

Cole.

He slammed me against the whiteboard. His eyes were bloodshot.

"A-pol-o-gize."

Air. I needed air.

My vision swam. His fingers dug into my windpipe, burning like hot iron.

"Cole! Cole, stop!" Ivy screamed.

He didn't hear her. He didn't hear anything.

He was staring at me, but he wasn't seeing *me*.

Teachers rushed in. It took three of them to pry him off me.

Ivy threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.

"It's okay! It's okay, Cole! I don't care what anyone else thinks! As long as you believe me, that's all that matters!"

Cole buried his face in her neck, his breathing ragged.

But his eyes?

They were locked on me.

Dark. Obsessive. Terrifying.

The teachers ushered me to the nurse's office.

I could feel his gaze burning into my back until the door swung shut.

***

Harold, Cole's dad, showed up twenty minutes later.

*SMACK.*

The sound echoed down the hallway.

He slapped Cole so hard the boy stumbled.

"You useless piece of trash! You think you're tough? Hitting Genevieve? Do you have a death wish?!"

He raised his foot to kick him.

Ivy threw herself in front of Cole.

"Mr. Harold, please! Cole was just protecting me! Hit me instead!"

Cole looked up at his father. His expression was pure ice.

"Touch her," he snarled, "and I'll kill you."

I was done.

I looked at the nurse, my voice raspy and broken.

"Can I go now?"

Chapter 5

My voice was wrecked. Speaking felt like swallowing glass.

The teachers were too busy trying to separate the brawl to notice me leaving.

I glanced back one last time.

Cole and Harold were grappling on the floor. Ivy was screaming, pulling at their arms.

Chaos.

Pure, unadulterated chaos.

***

When I got home, Caroline was waiting in the living room.

She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.

"Genevieve... did Cole...?"

My mom, Georgina, rushed over. Her eyes went wide with horror.

"Did Cole do that to your neck?"

I nodded.

The bruises were already darkening, a perfect, violet handprint wrapped around my throat.

I didn't sugarcoat it.

"Caroline," I rasped. "You saw what happened. Cole hates me. If you need something from him, you have to ask him yourself. I can't help you anymore."

"Genevieve..." Caroline sighed, her shoulders slumping. But she didn't argue.

My dad, Frederick, walked in.

He took one look at my neck and saw red.

"I'm going over there," he growled, rolling up his sleeves. "I'm going to have a word with that boy."

I grabbed his arm.

"No, Dad. Don't."

"Gen, look at you!"

"I'm leaving soon anyway," I said, my voice steady. "I don't want any more drama with Cole. I just want to be done. I want out."

He looked at me, his eyes softening. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. You shouldn't have to go through this."

No.

I shook my head. "I'm not sorry."

I meant it.

I was alive. I had a future. I was chasing my dream.

Getting choked a little?

Small price to pay for freedom.

***

The next day, Ivy cornered me. Again.

"Genevieve, I'm so sorry! Cole was just... he was impulsive. I'm apologizing for him."

She clasped her hands together, looking like a saint.

"But I really didn't steal the money! Cole already paid it back for me, he"

"I don't need a highlight reel of your relationship," I cut in, my voice dripping with boredom.

She froze.

This was her favorite game in my past life.

Pretend to be the peacemaker while subtly flexing her place in Cole's life.

*Look how much he loves me. Look how much he hates you.*

I used to fall for it. I used to get angry, make a scene, and look like the crazy ex-best friend.

Not this time.

"If you're done," I said, stepping around her, "I have class."

Ivy grabbed my hand.

"Please, Genevieve! Just... don't be mad at Cole."

I laughed. I couldn't help it.

"Is Cole mute? Does he need a spokesperson?"

I leaned in, my voice dropping.

"And just a reminder, Ivy. I've known Cole for nineteen years. I know him better than you ever will."

She wanted to play subtle?

I could play subtle.

Ivy's eyes darkened. Tears welled up on cue.

"I just..."

Dramatic much?

I turned to leave and saw him.

Cole.

Standing in the shadows of the hallway.

He was staring at my neck. At the bruises he put there.

I didn't acknowledge him. I kept walking.

Ivy ran over to him.

"I was trying to apologize for you, Cole! But... I think she's still mad."

Cole tore his eyes away from me. He looked down at Ivy.

He reached out and pinched her cheek.

"You talk too much."

"What?" Ivy blinked, confused.

He pinched harder.

"Stop doing unnecessary things. Apologize to her? She doesn't deserve it."

Ivy let out a breath she'd been holding.

"Oh. Okay. As long as you're okay, Cole, I'll do whatever you want."

Cole smirked.

He pulled her into his arms.

***

Ivy wasn't done with me.

She was like a ghost I couldn't exorcise.

"Genevieve!" she chirped, catching me at my locker. "My birthday is this Saturday. We're having a dinner. You should come!"

Chapter 6

Cole leaned against the doorframe, his lazy gaze following Ivy as she skipped down the hall.

"I can't," I said, cutting to the chase. "No time."

It wasn't a lie.

I had tutoring all weekend. My finals were coming up. I needed a perfect GPA to get into the program in New York.

I tried to leave, but Cole stepped in front of me, blocking the exit.

"Genevieve," he said, his voice low. "We've been friends forever. Are you really going to be this cold?"

I didn't even look at him.

"If you don't come," he drawled, leaning closer, "I'm going to assume you still have feelings for me. That you're just jealous of Ivy."

Bait.

He was trying to bait me.

It didn't work.

"Think whatever you want, Cole."

I didn't give him the satisfaction of an argument.

His patience snapped.

"Fine," he gritted out through clenched teeth. "Don't regret it."

***

I changed my mind ten minutes later.

Because of what I saw in the parking lot.

Ivy. Smoking.

That part didn't shock me.

Smokers have a smell. No matter how much perfume they spray, the stale scent of tobacco clings to their hair, their clothes.

I have asthma. I'm a human smoke detector. I'd suspected Ivy was a smoker for weeks.

What froze the blood in my veins was the person she was sharing the cigarette with.

Cody.

The thug. The monster.

The man who, in my past life, had tortured me to death in that alley.

Why did Ivy know a lowlife like Cody?

She was supposed to be the innocent scholarship student. The "good girl."

Unless...

A terrifying thought took root in my brain.

My death in the previous timeline.

Was it random? Or was she involved?

I told myself to stop.

*It's the past. It doesn't matter. You're leaving.*

*You're going to New York. You'll be safe.*

But the anxiety clawed at my throat.

Just like in my last life, when Jude warned me to be careful of Ivy... and I was dead a week later.

In this life, I had stayed away from Cole. I had cut ties.

But would Ivy still come for me?

I couldn't gamble with my life.

I had to know.

***

I arrived at Ivy's birthday dinner late.

I scanned the room immediately.

No Cody.

Of course not. She wouldn't let Cole see her associating with trash like that.

Then I saw the cake.

It was massive. A multi-tiered tower of fondant and sugar, taller than me.

Ivy was a scholarship student. She couldn't afford this.

I knew who bought it.

Cole.

The irony tasted bitter in my mouth.

Years ago, I had begged Cole: *"For my 18th birthday, I want a cake taller than me! A princess cake!"*

He had rolled his eyes. *"No."*

*"Why?"*

*"It's childish. I hate it."*

He hadn't even let me finish. He'd thrown his varsity jacket at my face and walked off to play ball.

Back then, I hadn't felt humiliated.

I had hugged that jacket like it was a treasure, inhaling his scent, convincing myself that his roughness was just how he showed love.

Now, watching Ivy's eyes fill with "tears of gratitude," I realized he was right.

It was childish.

"Cole," Ivy whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. "My birthday wish... is you."

Dj vu.

The exact same wish I made. The wish that got me humiliated.

Cole reached out and pinched her cheek.

"Then you just wasted a wish, idiot."

He smirked, that arrogant tilt of his lips that used to make my heart race.

"I'm already yours. Am I not making it obvious enough?"

That was Cole.

Even when confessing, he had to be the one in control. The one holding the leash.

Ivy stood on her tiptoes.

She pressed a quick, shy peck to the corner of his mouth.

She tried to pull away, blushing.

Cole grabbed her wrist.

"You call that a kiss?" Cole scoffed.

Chapter 7

Cole yanked Ivy's arm behind her back.

He dipped her. Low.

Then he kissed her.

It wasn't a sweet birthday peck. It was a deep, bruising kiss. A public claim.

The room erupted. Cheers, whistles, catcalls.

Ivy's face was burning red when he finally pulled back.

Cole immediately stripped off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, hiding her from view.

"Seriously, Cole?" a guy shouted. "Stingy much? Let us see!"

Cole shot him a glare. "You got a problem?"

Then his eyes flicked to me.

Challenging. Taunting.

*See this? This could have been you.*

I raised my champagne flute.

"Happy birthday to your girlfriend," I said, my voice steady.

I downed the drink.

And walked out.

*CRASH.*

Behind me, glass shattered.

Then a heavy thud. The sound of a table flipping. The cake hitting the floor.

He was having another episode.

***

My finals were days away.

Georgina pulled me out of school for the week. "Focus on studying," she said.

She even hired a tutor. Jude.

Jude was... different.

Gentle. Patient. Always smiling.

The complete opposite of Cole.

On the last day of tutoring, I walked Jude to his car.

As he drove off, I turned around and saw him.

Cole.

He was standing on the sidewalk, his backpack slung over one shoulder.

His eyes were dark, tracking Jude's car until it disappeared around the corner.

He didn't say a word.

I tried to walk past him to get to my front door.

He grabbed my hood.

Hard.

He yanked me back, spinning me around and slamming me into his chest.

"Are you that desperate?" he hissed, his voice dripping with venom. "Can't go a single day without a man?"

I stomped on his foot. Hard.

He grunted, his grip loosening just enough.

I tried to run.

He caught me again.

"Genevieve! Is this what you call loving me?"

He slammed me against the brick wall of my house.

His hand clamped onto my jaw, forcing me to look at him.

"Who gave you permission to smile at him?"

His fingers dug into my cheeks.

"Who is he?"

"How far have you gone? Does he know you're obsessed with me"

*SLAP.*

The sound echoed in the quiet street.

Cole froze.

His head snapped to the side. He didn't move. He didn't speak.

He just looked at me. Quietly.

I stared back. My hand stung.

The silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.

Finally, he let go. He looked away, his jaw working.

"I didn't mean that," he muttered. "Don't overthink it."

I smoothed down my hoodie.

I turned to leave.

He reached out, grabbing my wrist, then immediately let go. Like he'd been burned.

"Gen... when did we stop talking?"

His voice was small. Desperate.

"We're still best friends, right?"

He needed me to say yes. He needed validation.

I exhaled, a long, shaky breath.

"No."

I looked him in the eye.

"Cole, you don't deserve to be my friend."

***

On the day of my exam, my phone blew up.

Dozens of missed calls from Cole.

Later, Georgina told me what happened.

Caroline finally snapped. She almost stabbed Harold.

If Cole hadn't rushed home in time...

He might have lost both parents in a single day.

After that, Cole spiraled.

He was worse than ever.

Skipping school. Fighting. Getting arrested. Cycling through girls like they were disposable tissues.

"You're too good for me."

That line he used on me? It finally came back to bite Ivy.

One afternoon, Cole got into a brawl with some guys from another school. Over a girl.

Ivy found me in the library. She was hysterical.

"Genevieve! Please! You have to help Cole! He only listens to you!"

I didn't look up from my book.

"I think you have that backwards," I said dryly. "Doesn't he only listen to *you*?"

Chapter 8

Ivy wouldn't take no for an answer. She dragged me to the alley behind the gym.

I had never seen Cole like this.

He was a monster.

He had a guy pinned to the ground, beating him into a bloody pulp.

He was holding a lit cigarette, inches from the guy's eye.

A girl was standing nearby, sobbing. "Cole! Stop! Please! I'm not mad anymore!"

Cole always said he hated "good girls."

Yet every girl he dated was terrified of her own shadow.

Ivy rushed forward.

"Cole! Genevieve is here! Are you really going to do this in front of her?"

Cole froze.

His head snapped up. He looked at me.

That split second of distraction cost him.

The guy on the ground grabbed a knife. He lunged.

"Cole!"

Ivy threw herself between them.

The blade slashed open her wrist.

Blood sprayed.

The girl screamed and ran. The other guys scattered like roaches.

Only Cole remained, panic etched on his face. He caught Ivy as she crumbled.

"Ivy! Ivy!"

Ivy clung to his shirt, her face pale.

"I'm fine... as long as you're okay, Cole... I'd do anything for you."

Oscar-worthy performance.

I rolled my eyes and called 911.

"Ambulance is on the way," I said, turning to leave.

"Genevieve!" Cole shouted. "Who told you to bring her here?"

Me?

Bring her?

Was he deaf? Or was I hallucinating?

"You know how easily scared she is!" he yelled.

Here we go again.

They were the star-crossed lovers. I was the villain.

Fine.

If I was going to be the villain, I might as well earn the title.

I walked straight up to Ivy.

"Genevieve, what are you doing?" Cole growled, shielding her.

I reached past him and grabbed Ivy by the collar. I yanked her out of his arms.

She cried out, clutching her bleeding wrist. Tears streamed down her face.

I leaned in close.

I reached into her pocket.

And pulled out a pack of Marlboros.

And a lighter