The Swap That Sentenced Them

The freshman welcome party was loud—music blasting, people screaming over it.

Then the external pacemaker on my chest started shrieking.

10 percent battery.

Cold sweat hit fast. I always carried a backup. Always.

I yanked open my backpack.

No heavy medical battery pack.

Just a flimsy power bank.

One blinking bar.

My brain short-circuited. I grabbed for my phone to call 911, but my boyfriend, Hampton Finch, caught my hand.

"Lily's track player died. I gave her your battery. Just use that power bank." He nodded at the useless brick in my bag.

I jerked free, shaking. "That thing's basically dead. If the pacemaker stops, my heart stops."

His face went cold. "Lily's the freshman rep. If her opening dance tanks, she's done on campus. You're an upperclassman. Cut her some slack."

"My life or her dance?" My vision blurred as I stumbled toward backstage.

He locked onto my wrist. "I checked. Pacemakers have backups. You're not gonna die. Stop being dramatic."

A sharp pain stabbed through my chest.

I slammed the emergency alarm Dad had hung around my neck.

The alarm hadn't even screamed for half a second before Hampton ripped it off me.

"It's just me lending out your battery. You're seriously calling the cops over that?"

He didn't look at me. He faced a trash can, fake jump-shot, and tossed my lifeline in.

"Woo. Three points." His dorm bros cracked up.

The pacemaker kept beeping. Loud. Steady. Like a countdown in my skull. The room tilted.

I grabbed a chair to steady myself and reach for the alarm. He shoved me back down.

"Stop being dramatic." His voice edged with annoyance. "You're always fine. Why do you even need that thing? Can't you hold out a few minutes?"

I looked at him. "If I hadn't taken that falling surveying instrument for you this summer, would my heart have been pierced?

"Three days in the ICU. Thirteen hours in surgery. A month stuck wearing this. Did you forget?"

His eyes flickered.

The alarm shrieked again.

He frowned. "Can you turn it off? You're ruining Lily's performance with that noise."

My hands and feet went ice-cold. It felt like a boulder was parked on my chest.

My heartbeat ticked down. Apparently worth less than a freshman showcase.

He lifted his phone, busy snapping pics of Lily Rowe bowing onstage. Two years together, and I was just now seeing his true colors.

Lily hopped down in a strapless mini, all flutter and spotlight, and launched into his arms.

"Hampton, thanks to your battery, I crushed it tonight!"

I didn't look at him. I held out my hand to her.

"Give it back. Now."

She blinked up at me, all wide-eyed. "But... I lent it to my dorm mate, Mia. She's up next."

"Who told you to do that?" My pulse spiked. My chest squeezed tight.

Her eyes went glossy as she ducked behind Hampton. "Hampton, did I make things hard for you? I just saw Mia panicking without her music. I didn't want her to forget the choreography.

"I'll go get it right now. Even if she embarrasses herself in front of everyone, even if the tutors get mad, I'll bring the battery back to Juliet."

She spun like she was about to run.