16
The rain beat down hard, soaking me to the bone and stinging my burning cheeks. I didn’t care. I could only think about getting away.
I could barely form coherent thoughts. Every time I tried, my mind conjured an image of some evil monster, some terrible devil rubbing their hands together with slews of photos showing everything I had ever done with Luka, Jaeson, and Riot.
My tears mixed in with the rain, my crying drowned out by the thunder clapping hard in the black sky above. I’d left all my things behind. I hadn’t been thinking when I left. I’d just stood up and ran to the door. I had been running ever since.
I needed to get away from this school, from my friends, from the guys, away from anything associated with this whole place. I wouldn’t be able to bear it if anything happened to the boys because of this. I knew I wouldn’t be able to bear the shame and humiliation that would come of being exposed. The entire school would be in on the joke. Instead of only being hated by half of them, I would be hated by every last one of them.
I tripped and fell on the wet grass, landing hard. I didn’t care. I couldn’t. I had no energy left to care about anything anymore. I picked myself up, looking for somewhere I could go to be alone. I thought of running back to the dorms but couldn’t stomach the idea of doing a soaked, embarrassing walk of shame through those corridors. It had to be somewhere secluded, where no one would be able to find me.
I picked a direction away from the campus buildings, trying to put as much space between them and me as I possibly could. I ran until my chest burned from the double duty of breathing and sobbing.
When I finally stopped, it was in front of a lake bordering the far side of the campus. The dock was empty. Exhausted, I trudged my way down the gentle slope until I found a bench looking out over the muddy border of the lake. I sat, shoulders slumped, head down, exhausted.
I felt defeated. I felt stupid for getting my hopes up. I should have known better. Every time I started to think things would be all right, the blackmailer was waiting around a corner, ready to knock me down.
I looked out at the lake, roiling, unable to keep the surface calm and placid, being beaten down from every direction by something that couldn’t be stopped. How fitting.
I didn’t know how long I sat there. It felt like an eternity. I was freezing, but I didn’t care. It was exactly what I deserved.
Time passed. I was out of tears by the time I heard the noises in the distance.
“… Aubrey …”
It was faint, but sounded like people shouting my name.
“AUBREY!”
I recognized the voices. I looked behind me. Jaeson and Luka emerged from the rise. They spotted me. Both of them bolted in my direction. Luka’s umbrella flew out of his hands from the wind. Oddly, my first instinct was sympathy.
“You’ll spoil your suit,” I told Luka as he approached.
Jaeson ran up beside him. They both scooped me up from the bench, flanking me. Jaeson held his umbrella over my head as Luka shucked off his suit coat, putting it around my shoulders.
“You too, Jaeson,” I said. “You’re ruining your clothes.”
“You’re worth more than every suit in the world.” He leaned in and placed a kiss on my temple, leaning his cheek against my head.
Luka followed suit, leaning in from the other side. I felt the warmth and tenderness of their kisses and cheeks against my skin, a stark and welcome contrast to the cold rain. I tried to find something to say, anything that would reassure them, but there was nothing.
I cried. I couldn’t help it. I was emotionally raw and drained, and though I’d thought I was out of tears, more of them flowed anyway.
They held me, urging me off the bench and guiding me down the lake toward a nearby gazebo. Once inside, they set me down, placing themselves on either side of me.
They looked at me, not saying anything. Waiting, patient.
“I got pictures from the blackmailer,” I said. My breathing picked up again. I fought it down as best I could, trying to get myself back under control. Their presence helped.
“What kind of pictures?” Jaeson asked.
“Pictures of us. Me, with each of you. Standing close or holding each other.”
“That means nothing,” Luka said.
“It means everything,” I shot back. “If they took those photos of us, they might have taken others. Besides, there are already rumors about me. If anyone sees these, the context won’t matter. It’ll just confirm what everyone already thought.”
“We’re still digging,” Jaeson said. “I have some people going through phone records, trying to pinpoint locations. We know they’re for sure on campus.”
