Harper’s eyes grow pained.
“I’m telling him if you don’t,” Nick says.
“Telling me what?” I nearly shout.
“Fine.” Harper shoots me a pleading expression before standing up from the chair and walking over to me. "Let's go to your room."
My heart thumps in my chest as I lead the way out into the hallway. As we walk into my room, I catch sight of Harper's quivering lips, and the back of my neck prickles.
What did she do that made her feel “fucking awful” enough that she had to vent to Nick? Is this about Amy?
Harper sits down slowly at my desk chair, twisting her fingers together in her lap. I take a deep breath and search her expression for answers.
"What is going on?" I burst out.
She looks up at me, her eyes glistening. "Tristan, I…" She shuts her eyes for a moment. "I did something really bad."
My heart twists in my chest, and my hands grow cold. Somehow, I know where this is going.
It has something to do with Amy.
The silence stretches between us, an agonizing crawl.
"Goddamn it," I say, unable to bear it. "Just tell me."
Tears fill her eyes. "The night I came to your room a few nights ago… You know, to study…”
"Yes," I say sharply, and she flinches.
I knew something was up with her that night, and like an idiot, I ignored it.
"I took a picture of you." Harper's voice is barely above a whisper. "While you were asleep."
Dizziness descends over me, so intense I sway forward. "Why would you take a picture of me like that?”
But I already know.
She showed it to Amy.
She swallows hard and clenches her hands into fists on her thighs. "I went to Amy's dorm the next day." Her words tumbleout now. "And I told her we slept together. I used the picture as proof.”
The room tilts, and my legs tremble beneath me.
This is why Amy transformed from one day to the next. The night before, she was warm and tender, telling me I'm one of the most interesting people she knows. The very next day, she told me I was boring.
Though my whole body is shaking, a warm light flickers in my heart.
This, I can fix.
I still have work to do for all the lies I've told Amy, and for that day I lashed out at her by letting Harper read her fanfic aloud. I still have to pay for hiding my love away like it would burn me if I ever let it surface. For concocting this wild plan of enrolling her in the game instead of confessing my true feelings.
But Amy’s rage and pain over my supposed betrayal…
I can fix this.
"Jesus, Harper."
"I know." Her voice tells me she really does know how bad this is. She's petty sometimes, but her cruelty seems to be reserved for Amy.
