“Of course, you’d say that.” Gwen plants her hands on her hips. “If you’ve got nothing to hide, just open it.”
“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but?—”
“Ms. Montgomery.” The principal cuts across whatever Ana was going to say. “Open your locker now, please.”
“You can’t make me.” Ana folds her arms and pouts.
“This is school property, and I assure you I can. Now open your locker, or I’ll call Mr. Gardner to open it.”
Ana glowers at Gwen before opening her locker. Shocked gasps surround us, and blood rushes to my head as Callan pulls me in closer. A can of red paint and a used brush sit in the middle of her locker, but it’s the pictures plastered all over the walls that have drawn everyone’s attention.
They’re all of me. All taken without my knowledge. Some at school. Some clearly taken from outside my house. Others show me coming to and from work. A large red X is slashed across most every pic. Soccer slut and whore are written across others.
A chill creeps up my spine as I gulp over the lump in my throat. Mean girl stuff is something I can handle, but stalking is on a whole different level. A shudder works through my body, and I cling to Callan, chilled to the bone and more than a little frightened.
“I’ve never seen those before!” Ana’s eyes widen as she gestures wildly with her hands and pins pleading eyes on the principal. “I swear, Principal Cowles. Those are not mine. This is a setup. I didn’t do this.” Her gaze finds mine. “I swear to you, Astrid. This isn’t me.”
“You would say that.” Gwen sneers. “I suppose it was Callan or me stalking her and not you, right? You can go to prison for that. I hope they lock you up and throw away the key.”
“It wasyou!” Ana screams as school security approaches the principal.
“Astrid is my best friend, you nutjob.” Gwen scoffs and shakes her head.
“In case any of you are buying this psycho’s bullshit,” Scott says in a loud voice, putting his arm around his girlfriend’s shoulders and skimming his gaze across the crowd, “Gwen was with me during last class and after. It couldn’t have been her.”
“That is enough,” the principal says. “Escort Ms. Montgomery to my office, please, while I call the sheriff and her parents.” She whips out her cell phone. “The rest of you, get to class,” she barks, and the crowd immediately disperses.
Gwen grabs my hand as we walk off. “Can you believe that bitch?”
“She really hates me,” I say in a quiet voice, shaken to my core. “She was watching me, and that’s creeping me out.”
“She’s got serious mental problems.” Callan slides a protective arm around me. “But she’s been caught now, and it ends here.”
“You’re my hero, babe,” Scott says to Gwen before grabbing her face and kissing her. “If it wasn’t for you, she might’ve gotten away with it.” He looks at her like she’s his entire world. “Love you.”
“Love you too.” Gwen circles her arms around his waist and rests her cheek on his chest. She eyeballs me. “Last night, afterI left your house, I figured out how she knew the cameras would be down at that exact moment.” She pauses for a beat. “Her mom is on the school board, and they organize the maintenance.”
“I hope she gets kicked off it,” Callan says.
“I owe you one, Gwen. Thank you.”
“Told you I have your back, and I meant it.” She stretches out a clenched fist, and I press my knuckles to hers. “Besties forever.”
When I get home from school later, Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery are in the living room with my parents. “Sweetheart, Ana’s parents would like to talk to you,” Dad explains.
Callan and I trade looks as we dump our bags in the hall and walk into the living room. Mom nods at me as I claim the empty tub chair. Callan rests his butt on the arm of the chair, staying close to me, and I’m grateful for his support.
“We’re very sorry, Astrid,” Ana’s mom says, peering at me through red-rimmed eyes. “We’re in total shock that Ana would do something like this, and I can’t imagine how you must be feeling.”
“It’s shaken me a lot,” I truthfully admit. “I didn’t realize she hated me this much.”
“Ana is very troubled,” her dad says. “Not that it excuses it.”
Mrs. Montgomery dabs at her eyes. “This isn’t common knowledge, but Ana was sexually assaulted when she was ten by her aunt’s boyfriend. We only found out after my sister broke it off with Ken, and Ana blurted it out. She’s been in therapy on and off for years, but the trauma is deep-rooted, and she struggles with her mental health. She’s been spiraling recently,ever since things ended between her and Travis, but we didn’t realize it had gotten this bad.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but it doesn’t explain why she was fixating on me.”
“I know, and I wish I could answer that for you, but she had a complete breakdown this morning, and we’ve had no choice but to admit her to the psychiatric hospital in Brattleboro.”
