Mara goes to school the next day much subdued and distracted. When she gets there, Jamie makes a smartaleck comment about Noah, and Mara decides she’s had enough.

But I was sick of listening to Jamie whine about Noah, and today we were going to have it out. I narrowed my eyes at him and mouthed lunch. He nodded.

Okay, but, Jamie’s barely really said anything about it. So far as we’ve seen. It hasn’t change their interactions or stopped him from tutoring her. His comments aren’t pervasive, as they’ve had a few conversations without bringing up Noah (and given how infrequently we see them talk, that’s actually a high percentage) and he’s never been rude to Noah directly. So this reaction seems really manufactured. Maybe if we’d had a chance to see Mara interact with her friend instead of the constant Noah parade this could have been set up better, or had Jamie be more vitriolic if we really needed to keep the scenes with him few and far between. Hell, even just an offhand comment about his whining when she’d summarized all their study sessions together would have helped.

At lunch, Jamie claims that Noah is playing her, that he’s known Noah longer so he should be able to tell better than Mara would, and frankly their relationship is playing out roughly how Jamie implied that Noah/Anna happened. I don’t think any explanation really got explicit, but the framework was all there.

Mara, naturally, counters with the accusation that Jamie is just jealous. When that doesn’t work, she asks Jamie what Noah did to produce all this hatred.

Um…you mean beyond what he’s already done? Jamie’s only claim about Noah is that he’s a rude, privileged, womanizing ass, and Noah has more than proven that claim already.

But, no, since this book seems to have completely forgotten Noah’s bad boy introduction (not just forgiven it, forgotten it), it turns out that there is history there. Turns out Jamie once had a little flirtation with Noah’s sister, Katie. They actually hit it off pretty well and liked each other. Noah decided to be an ass about that and seduce Jamie’s older sister Stephanie, then publically humiliate her so badly that she transferred out of school.

Jamie doesn’t elaborate on what exactly went down, but to go from zero to leaving school in one date is pretty fucking bad.

So first of all, Noah doesn’t allow his own sister to…to what, even? To date? Certainly not to make any decision about her social life or sexuality. It was just a little second base with a boy she had a mutual affection for. That’s hardly anything that requires “punishment” to any party unless you value a woman’s supposed chastity over literally anything else about her. And in the name of “defending” one woman’s honor he goes out and ruins another one. On purpose.

That is not a man who respects any woman, in any way. He literally used them as things. He used Stephanie as a means of punishing a third party. He viewed his own sister as a thing to be protected instead of a thinking and feeling person in her own right. And he’s proven that he’s perfectly capable of seducing someone for the sole purpose of getting off/getting even down the line, because he has no regard for a woman’s individual needs or even any indication that he’s aware they exist.

Not that Mara really cares, of course.

Noah shows up, then so does Anna, and Jamie decides to insult both Anna’s intelligence and sexuality again. (Is there even any solid indication that she is promiscuous? Everything about her sex life rumors started with “doing” Noah, and that’s been claimed as false. The only guy we ever see her hang out with is her gay best friend. For all we know she’s as virginal as a saint, but good heavens, let’s not let that stand in the way of our “good guys” horribly insulting her every time she shows up, right?)

And this from Jamie. Jamie, who literally just got done with a “heartfelt” story about how Noah’s conniving ways and sexual exploits had such a profound effect on his sister, turns around two seconds later and mocks another woman who is possibly/likely in the exact same boat.

I hate everyone in this book and I want them to die.

Except for Anna and Aiden.

Later that day, Mara finds Jamie clearing out his locker. Jamie is expelled, because Aiden made the claim that Jamie threatened him with a knife. He even planted a knife in Jamie’s bag to make the claim stick better.

Finally, some actual action from our supposed bullies. (And yet I still like them better than our leads. Their actions are not defensible, but they’re more interesting to read about.)

Aiden and Anna show up to gloat. The very first word spoken in the entire exchange?

Jamie glared at Aiden. “Don’t make me cut you, Davis.”

Are we sure Aiden even lied?

There’s some macho posturing, then Aiden and Noah get in a fistfight while Jamie drags Mara away from the scene. They say goodbye, and Jamie’s parents come to pick him up.

Bye, Jamie! I hear this is the last we see of you, and I’m looking forward to it!

I felt a hand whisper on my back.

…?

Anyway, it’s Noah, all bruised up from the fight with Aiden, which will of course result in nothing even though we just saw a huge kerfluffle caused by the Aiden and Anna tattling? And now there’s even better proof than a knife.

Eh, maybe Noah figures nothing will happen because his family is so filthy rich. But hey, he’s just dripping with morality, right?

He drives her home, at which point she asks if the story about Stephanie is true and he confirms that it is.

I knew I should care about his answer. I knew that what Jamie had said meant something—that I was, and had been, a foolish girl whocoveted something many girls had coveted and paid for before, and that I would pay soon. I should haul back and smack him, strike a blow for feminism or something or at the very least, get out of the car.

But then his thumb traced my skin and without quite realizing it, I leaned toward him and rested my forehead against his.

I hate everything and everyone and everywhere and everywhen.

By the way, this is emotional manipulation. He’s using physical/sexual affection in order to deliberately distract her from something that is actually a big deal. No, that’s not cool. Taken in isolation, it wouldn’t be so bad, but in context? After he knows that she’s emotionally unstable, right after a very stressful day where she’s lost her only other friend, and probably fairly aware of his effect on her, possessing a history of sexually exploiting other women before Mara? No, there is no way I’m going to read this as innocent or accidental. This is purposeful emotional manipulation designed to get her to ignore his past bad deeds.

Daniel interrupts their almost-makeout to say that Mom is just five minutes out, but insists that Noah comes in for some ice. Once inside, they gloat about how Daniel has been accepted to every college ever, then mock Aiden for “insisting” that the school call an ambulance.

Um, excuse you, schools usually do the insisting on that one. There’s liability issues. Also Noah implied that he left Aiden pretty badly injured.

“I heard his mother’s calling for your expulsion, too, FYI.”

Noah’s eyes met my brother’s. “The rest of the board will never approve.”

Daniel nodded. “This is true.”

But he’s just soooooooooo moral for not spending his family’s money on a fancy car, amiright?

Noah gets his ice and then leaves.

“I can’t believe Anna and Aiden did that to him. And they’re going to get away with it.” I felt a stabbing pain in my hands all of a sudden, and looked down. I’d been clenching my fists so that my nails dug into my palms.

Yes, how terrible. But then also you just had a good laugh like TWO FUCKING SECONDS AGO about how your boyfriend is going to get away with BEATING AIDEN UNTIL HE HAD TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL all because he just so happens to be rich.

Hypocrisy, thy name is Mara Dyer.

Daniel takes Mara to the doctor for a checkup on her hands, then asks about her next therapy appointment. Mara makes sure Daniel hasn’t been talking about her appointments to Noah, since they’re all so buddy buddy now.

I leaned my head back against the seat and turned away. “I’d rather he not know the depths of my crazy.”

…having appointments two weeks apart hardly counts as intensive, I don’t think.

Also there’s the fact that it’s a medical matter and thus legally protected information and your brother shouldn’t be talking about that anyway, but sure, let’s just fall back on the old bullshit about how it’s so disgraceful to have to go to see a doctor a whole once in two weeks.

Shit like this is the reason people aren’t seeking help when they rightfully need it.

I think he’s good for you. He’s been through a lot too, you know.”

“I know.”

“And I don’t think he really has anyone who he can talk to about it.”

“Hm, this kid has issues and needs help. I know! I’ll hook him up with my emotionally compromised and extremely stressed sister! There is no way this could possibly go wrong!”

This sort of shit literally does not make sense unless Daniel assumes that 1) support isn’t both conscious and stressful, but rather something that just happens…idk, by magic or some such and 2) Noah’s health is more important than Mara’s.

Maybe Noah and Daniel should date; they clearly have a lot in common.

“Not really. Guys don’t really hash things out like girls do.

Oh, great, this little joy of a nugget of gendered bullshit gets shoved in there, too. Why am I surprised?

They blather about birthday parties for a little bit, then make it to the doctor’s office.

It was better than the hospital, but the same smell—that medical smell—made my breath quicken and my throat close. When the nurse took my blood pressure, my pulse thudded against the cuff as it constricted my arm.

Why can’t the book just be made of good stuff like this?

She gets into the office and the doctor is surprised to see that when the bandage is off, the skin is completely healed.

I’m more surprised that they left a bandage on that thing for two weeks. Most first aid advice, even for a second degree burn, is to only bandage it if blisters break or if there’s a high chance it’ll get dirty or irritated. In fact, most injuries that don’t involve skin breaks advise as little bandaging as possible, because the skin needs to breathe and bandages come with the risk of swelling and other complications. Also ten days to two weeks is the suggested recovery time for second degree burns, so why is “oh, you’ve healed in the expected amount of time” treated like some sort of shock?