Chapter 1

1.

I was scrolling through Instagram when a photo on the Explore page stopped me cold.

It was a selfie of me.

The account was named “Juliette_S,” and the caption read, confused and almost sweet:

“Been in an online relationship for a year. Is it time to meet? But every time I ask, he makes excuses. What should I do, girls?”

Before I could process it, my roommate Maddox popped his head over the top bunk.

“Hey, Kaelan,” he said, leaning in with a weird look. “Any idea how to lose thirty pounds in a month?”

I was still staring at my phone.

Then he added, “Seriously, if I lost the weight... do you think I’d look a lot like you?”

The comments on that post were already on fire.

Typical internet savagery.

“Girl, wake up. That’s 100% a catfish.”

“Reverse image search that. You’re being played.”

“He won’t meet you for one reason only: the photo is a male model, and in real life he’s a pimply fat guy.”

But Juliette was fighting back in the replies.

“No way, we’ve video chatted all night. His voice is deep and hot. And he sends me selfies from every angle, every day. How could it be fake?”

My mind went blank.

That tight undershirt in the photo? I bought it last month. I’ve only worn it in our dorm.

I never posted it anywhere.

Then Maddox’s voice floated down again, a little desperate this time.

“Hey, I asked you guys ― how do I drop thirty pounds in a month? Liposuction? That new diet pill?”

Sawyer rolled over on his bed, laughing so hard the frame shook.

“What? You went crazy over some girl? Thirty pounds in a month? Unless you cut off a leg or just stop eating.”

Maddox ignored the joke.

He climbed down the ladder and walked over to my desk in his bare feet.

His eyes were glued to my face, scanning my features like an X-ray machine.

I got uncomfortable and scooted my chair back.

Then he said, dead serious, “Kaelan. Look at me. Tell me the truth. If I lose the weight... I could really look like you, right?”

The air went stiff.

I looked up at his puffy face ― all those years of junk food and cheap beer ― and felt something stuck in my throat.