“Did you know?”
Ella’s face crumples and gives an almost imperceptible nod.
Hadley’s mascara runs in black rivers down her cheeks as she turns back to us.
“Who took that picture?”
No more lying. I meet her eyes, every inch of me aching with remorse.
“Mom.”
She sobs, her whole body wracked. She’s teetering on the edge of passing out. One more second and she’ll drop.
I try to reach for her, desperate now. She’s about to collapse. I know the feeling. I’ve been there. But as I step closer, she hauls off and slaps me. My head jerks sideways, the taste of blood on my tongue.
Cullen’s eyes go wide, his hand shooting out to steady me.
“I hate you!” she screams.
Then she’s gone, running from the cafeteria.
Thirty-Four
Cullen
The rest of the day was a blur of whispers and darted looks. Word spread fast, but thankfully, our friends took it in stride. Archer was over the moon and even floated the idea of a double date with him and Theo. Matt was a little more reserved, but bro-hugged us both.
Amid the chaos came this quiet realization that we don’t have to hide anymore. I can publicly date Hudson now. Take him to dinner and hold his hand at the mall. I can kiss him without having to look over my shoulder first.
The way it was revealed was shitty, and as brutal as it was for Hadley to find out like that, I’m relieved.
No more hiding.
But right now, only one thing matters. Who the hell sent that photo to the entire senior class?
“The only people who’ve seen that picture are our parents and us. Someone had to have hacked one of our phones,” I say. “Is there anyone at school who could even do that?”
It’s the same question we’ve been passing back and forth for the past half hour, but we still have no answer. I let out a sigh, head pounding from going in circles.
We’ve been hanging at Hudson’s house, hoping Hadley would come home. We need to talk to her, apologize for the way things exploded.
We gave up hope of talking to her today when Hud’s mom called. She was upset, explaining that Hadley went to her office and made a scene, screaming at her for lying to her for so long. Said she was going to stay with Maggie since she was “invisible” in her home anyway.
I can’t imagine what it’s like, being stuck in the middle like that, and having to keep your son’s secret while lying to your daughter. Hudson blames himself, but I’ve already given him the speech. This isn’t just on him.
It’s on both of us.
We made the decision together to keep our relationship quiet, so we both take the blame. What surprised me was that he agreed. Said he was trying not to take on all the guilt.
I’m proud of him for that.
But even with everything else swirling around us, one thing still hangs heavy in the air: Hadley. We haven’t really processed what happened in the cafeteria. We just dove straight into trying to figure out who sent the photo.
And we haven’t talked about Hadley’s reaction, either. We knew she’d be upset, but that? That was devastation.
Hud is slouched on the couch, head tipped against the cushions. I study him for a second. “Wanna talk about it?”
“My heart aches,” he murmurs, rubbing at his sternum. “It’s like I can feel what she’s feeling. I never wanted to hurt her, Cull.”
