Chapter 4
"What about the concussion risk she mentioned?"
Dr. Patterson frowned. "Concussion? She has a minor ankle sprain. No head trauma whatsoever."
Bingo.
I returned to the group just as Sienna was explaining to Axel why his dorm room would be "so much safer" than hers.
"Actually," I interrupted, "I think I should stay with her. We are roomies."
Sienna's eyes flashed with annoyance. "That's really not necessary—"
"I insist," I said. "Besides, Axel, don't you have that early morning film session with Coach Wilson?"
"Yeah, actually, I do," he said, looking relieved.
"Perfect. I'll take good care of her."
Time to find out exactly how "injured" you really are, Sienna.
Back in our room, Sienna maintained her act. She hobbled to her bed, wincing dramatically.
"Thank you for staying, Evie," she said. "Even though we haven't always... gotten along."
"Of course. We're teammates."
"Could you help me change into my pajamas? The doctor said I shouldn't put weight on my ankle."
I helped her into what I quickly realized wasn't normal pajamas, but a silk nightgown that looked like it cost more than my fake monthly budget.
"Comfortable?" I asked.
"Yes,thanks," she sighed. "Do you think Axel will check on me tomorrow?"
There it is. The real reason for this whole performance.
"I'm sure he'll ask how you're doing."
"Maybe I should text him."
She reached for her phone and started typing. From my angle, I could see the message: "Thank you for being so sweet tonight. I feel safer knowing you care about me💕 Hopefully I'll heal fast so you don't have to worry🥺"
Vomit.
"I think I'll get some water," I said. "Do you need anything?"
"No, I think I'll just rest."
I left the room but didn't go far. Instead, I hid around the corner and waited.
Three minutes later, Sienna got up and walked perfectly normally to her closet, pulled out a makeup compact, and began touching up her appearance.
Gotcha.
The next morning, I met Madison and Tyler for emergency breakfast at the campus coffee shop.
"She's completely fine," I told them. "I watched her walk around the room for twenty minutes after she thought I left."
"So what do we do?" Madison asked.
"We need evidence," Tyler said. "Something that proves she's lying."
"Already on it," I said, pulling out my phone. "I recorded her walking around last night."
"Evie!" Madison looked shocked. "That's... brilliant. And slightly terrifying."
"The question is when to use it," Tyler said.
"I know exactly when," I said. "She's planning another performance today. She texted Axel asking him to visit her 'since she's bed-ridden.'"
I found Axel studying in our usual corner of the library—a spot we'd established through careful "coincidental" meetings.
"Hey," I said casually, sitting across from him.
"Hey. How's Sienna doing?"
"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." I leaned forward, lowering my voice. "I think we need to be more... strategic about this situation."
His eyebrows raised slightly. "Strategic?"
"She's been texting you, right?"
"Yeah, pretty constantly."
"What if... what if you started screenshotting those texts? And maybe... responding in a way that gets her to reveal more about her intentions?"
Understanding dawned in his eyes. "You want me to encourage her?"
"I want you to give her enough rope to hang herself with."
He was quiet for a moment. "And what about you? Are you getting texts too?"
"Not from her directly. But I think we should start coordinating our responses. Make sure we're on the same page."
This is dangerous territory. We're moving from pretending not to know each other to actively collaborating. But Sienna is escalating, and we need to escalate too.
"Okay," he said finally. "But we need to be careful."
"Agreed. Tonight, when she inevitably asks you to come check on her, say yes. But text me first. I'll make sure there are witnesses to whatever she tries to pull."
Sure enough, Sienna texted Axel around dinner time: "I'm feeling so much worse today😩 Could you maybe come by? I think I need someone strong to help me to the shower🥺"
The shower? Really? She's not even trying to be subtle anymore.
I immediately texted our group chat with Madison and Tyler: "Operation Fake Ankle is a go. Get to Morrison Hall 3rd floor ASAP."
Then I waited.
When Axel arrived, Sienna was ready. She'd changed into another silk nightgown, this one even more revealing, and had arranged herself artfully on her bed.
"Axel," she breathed, "you came."
"You said you were feeling worse?"
"So much worse. And I really need to shower, but I don't think I can stand that long."
"Maybe you should ask one of the girls to help—"
"There's no one else," she said quickly. "Evie went to study group, and Madison is busy. I just need someone to... maybe sit outside the bathroom? In case I fall?"
Time for the cavalry to arrive.
Just as Axel looked like he might actually agree, Madison, Tyler, and two other football players burst through the door.
"Surprise!" Madison shouted. "We brought care packages!"
Sienna's face went from seductive to murderous in record time.
"Oh," Tyler said, looking around, "are we interrupting something?"
"Not at all," I said, entering behind them. "Sienna was just telling Axel how much worse she's feeling today."
"Oh no!" Madison rushed over. "Should we call the doctor again?"
"That's not necessary—" Sienna started.
"Actually," I said, "I think we should. Because I'm concerned about some inconsistencies in her symptoms."
Everyone turned to look at me.
"What do you mean?" Axel asked.
I pulled out my phone. "Well, for example, last night she was in too much pain to walk to the bathroom. But somehow she managed to walk to her closet, to the window, and back to bed multiple times."
"Evie, what are you saying?" Tyler asked, though his tone suggested he knew exactly what I was saying.
"I'm saying," I hit play on the video, "that maybe Sienna's injury isn't as severe as she claims."
The video played, showing Sienna walking perfectly normally around our room.
The silence was deafening.
"That's... that's from before I got hurt," Sienna said quickly.
"No," I said calmly, "that's from last night. See the timestamp? And notice what you're wearing? The same nightgown you wore to bed after we got back from the hospital."
More silence.
"And," I continued, "I spoke to Dr. Patterson. There was never any mention of concussion risk. Your injury was classified as minor."
Game, set, match.
After the confrontation, Sienna had locked herself in our room. I was staying in Madison's room for the night.
"I can't believe she tried to fake a serious injury," Madison said. "That's so messed up."
"It gets worse," Tyler said, showing us his phone. "Look what she posted an hour ago."
Sienna's Instagram showed her lying in bed looking tragic, with the caption: "When people don't believe you're really hurt💔 Sometimes the people closest to you are the ones who hurt you most. #betrayed #alone #healing"
"She's trying to make you look like the villain," Madison said.
"Let her," I said. "I have something better."