Chapter 1

On my roommate Daisy's birthday, she did something unbelievable.

She didn't just bring a creepy older man back to the tiny studio we shared.

She actually tried to force me to watch a sex tape of the two of them.

And to make matters worse, that disgusting old man didn't just want Daisy—he had his creepy eyes on me, too.

When I rejected his advances, Daisy went on TikTok and started spreading rumors that I was trying to steal her man.

Honestly, it's hilarious. What exactly am I supposed to be jealous of? His short height? His empty bank account? Or his musty old-man smell?

With graduation behind us, we both decided to take a gap semester to prep for our upcoming SAT retakes.

To save money, Daisy and I rented a tiny studio apartment near our prep center.

It didn't take long for me to notice Daisy acting strange. Almost every other day, she was downstairs by the apartment gate, cuddling and acting all touchy-feely with this creepy, older guy.

When I finally asked her about him, her face flushed bright red, and she sheepishly admitted they were dating.

Before I could even offer a polite, "Oh, nice," Daisy cut in eagerly.

"Chloe, today is my birthday. Can I bring Gary up to our room tonight? Just for a little bit?"

"He'll just sit with me for a few minutes. We'll just talk, I swear. I just want him to spend my birthday with me."

Our rented studio was microscopic.

There was literally only one bed and a single desk chair.

If Gary came in, I would literally die of awkwardness. I'd be forced to sit right there on the same bed while they flirted.

Without a second thought, I shook my head. "No. Absolutely not."

Daisy's face immediately fell, and she snapped.

"Chloe, don't be so selfish! I pay half the rent here. Why can't my boyfriend come in?"

"Are you just jealous because I actually have a boyfriend and you don't?"

Realizing there was no arguing with her logic, I just shrugged and went cold.

"I said no. I don't want a strange man in our room. What are you going to do about it? Kill me?"

Seeing that I wouldn't budge, Daisy stomped out, slamming the door behind her.

That evening, I was sitting in the evening prep class at our SAT center.

To my horror, Daisy actually dragged Gary into the classroom to sit with her.

They sat just diagonally in front of me. If I didn't know any better, I would have sworn Gary was her dad coming to check on her grades.

Every time I looked up at the whiteboard, my eyes would catch the two of them shamelessly making out. It got worse as the class went on.

They were making so much noise.

Everyone in the room was visibly uncomfortable, but because of basic social boundaries, no one said anything.

Seeing that no one was stopping them, Gary got even bolder, sliding his hands all over her.

The forty-five-minute lecture felt longer than my entire life.

When we got back to the apartment that night, Daisy proudly showed off a set of sexy lingerie Gary had bought her.

Honestly, it was so skimpy it barely qualified as clothing.

My gut told me this Gary guy was bad news.

Trying to be a good friend, I delicately tried to warn her.

"Daisy, think about it. Why do you think guys his age don't date women their own age? It's because women his age are too smart to fall for his BS. They only target younger, naive girls because they're easy to manipulate. Older guys who are still single and acting like this are usually walking red flags."

Daisy rolled her eyes so hard I thought they'd get stuck.

"You're just sour because you can't get a guy. I like older men. He's mature, stable, and has life experience. Boys our age can't even compare."

Well, I tried. If she wanted to ignore good advice, that was her problem.

That night, I had a horrible nightmare.

I dreamed Gary snuck into our room. He pinned Daisy against the wall, groaning.

In my dream, Daisy giggled. "Stop it, Chloe is right there."

Gary gave a wicked smirk. "Who cares? She's fast asleep."

...

The next morning, I gasped and sat bolt upright in bed, heart pounding.

My eyes widened in pure horror.

There, lying on the floor right next to my bed, were Daisy and Gary.

I stared, praying it was just a hallucination.

I pinched my thigh hard. It hurt. It wasn't a dream.

Daisy had actually let Gary sneak into our room while I was asleep!

They had actually... right next to me while I was sleeping.

At that moment, I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.