Jules POV
One hundred and forty-seven steps from Maya's dorm to the library.
I count them every morning. Focus on the numbers instead of the voices.
One. Two. Three.
A group of girls stands outside the student center. Their conversation stops when they see me.
Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen.
"There goes the coach's slut daughter," one of them says. Not quiet. Loud enough to make sure I hear.
Twenty-one. Twenty-two. Twenty-three.
Keep walking. Don't react. Just count.
Another cluster of students near the fountain. I recognize some from my old study group.
They turn away when I approach. Literally turn their backs.
Forty-five. Forty-six. Forty-seven.
My fingers find my cuticles. Pick at the dry skin around my thumbnail. It stings but I keep picking.
Sixty-three. Sixty-four.
"Can yo
