Break Rosalie Beckett.
We don’t know when the infatuation started. It was like something clicked in our heads one day, and we couldn’t bear the thought of her existing without pain. It’s what brought us closer together, and she’s been at the center of it all.
It’s as infuriating as it is intriguing.
Roman’s door opens, smacking into the opposite wall as we all shoot up from our chairs. In the doorway, Roman’s dad, Sergeant Major Briggs, scans over us with a cold stare. His usual frown is twisted into displeasure as he takes up the entire threshold. He’s big and imposing, and if his look is anything to go by, he’s pissed, too.
“Why the fuck did I just get a call from your principal, son?” Sergeant Major sneers.
Roman rolls his shoulders. “About what, sir?”
The sergeant’s jaw ticks. “Don’t play the idiot, boy. You aren’t good at it.”
My friend’s eye twitches, a clear indicator that he’s trying not to laugh. “Can’t play when I don’t know what you’re—”
The sergeant is across the room before I can blink. He gets right up in his son’s face, pointing a thick finger as spit flies with each word. “If I getone moregod-damned call about you tormenting the Beckett girl, I’m shipping you off.” His burning eyes find Maddox and me. “All of you.”
His threat hangs heavily in the air, blanketing over us and cementing a fate we already know our parents would be more than overjoyed to bestow upon us. The sergeant has kept my parents and Maddox’s parents updated on enlistment, leaving the avenue open once they finally decide to cut thedead weight from their lives. Maddox’s mom and dad are harder to crack, but my old man keeps leaving the pamphlets all over the kitchen like he’s trying to embed the idea in my head before it happens.
“Yes, sir,” Roman says monotonously before giving a half-assed salute.
His father scoffs. “Sorry, excuse of a soldier. At ease.”
He flies out of the room, leaving us alone before we all fall back into our chairs.
“That bitch got us in trouble,” Roman spits before tossing his controller down.
Maddox rubs a hand over his mouth before I see an idea spark behind his eyes. “Do you have those photos saved?”
I snort. “No. Why the fuck would I do that?”
“Save them to the desktop,” he commands as he rises from his chair.
I shrug before downloading the two I usually shuffle through. Maddox pushes me out of the way before pulling up the Tor Browser he’s obsessed with. Roman joins us, lifting a brow as our friend hunts for a deep fake website.
“Oh, that’s fucking horrible,” I smirk.
“If we’re going down, we’re taking her with us,” Maddox says ominously.
For being so quiet, he really is the most fucked in the head. Roman is our default leader due to his quick thinking and problem-solving. Where they both lack natural social skills, I fill in the gaps for us.
But Maddox can be a mastermind when he really puts his mind to it.
And this is just what we need.
“Did you send it?” I nudge Roman as we walk into school the next day.
“Just did,” he sniffs. “First priority, be there when Dirt sees it.”
Maddox scans the hallway, his eyes halting near the East wing of the Mystic High. “There.”
Across from us, Dirt stands beside her friend, Charlotte? Maybe it’s Sherrie? Whatever her name is. Dirt looks out of place as she shifts from foot to foot. Her eyes track the movement around her as if someone is going to jump out of the swarm of students and attack her as she waits for her friend to finish grabbing her things from her locker.
Our target is dressed in her usual rags, the bulky jeans riddled with holes and two sizes too big, hanging loosely off her hips. The baggy, well-worn sweatshirt she usually sports swallows her petite frame, hiding the bruises and scars I know lie beneath the thick fabric.
As Sherrie (don’t care what her real name is) puts her last book into her backpack, she reaches for her phone that’s vibrating with an incoming text. As are half the students in this building.
When she holds up the video and presses play, multiple phones can be heard with the slightly distorted audio of our deep fake.
