“No, not at all. It’s just... I wanted to be on good terms with my neighbors, you know? I wanted to bake cookies, introduce myself, exchange numbers and keys for emergencies like they do in the movies.”
“You can still do that. Suck it up. Take the initiative. Sayhi, saysorry, sayI hope we can leave the past where it belongs and just be civil. I happen to know Cody likes cookies.”
“I’m fresh out of cyanide.”
Brandon bursts out laughing in my ear. “You’ll be fine. If Cody could give me another shot, you’ll get one too.”
That won’t happen, but I don’t bother voicing my thoughts. Brandon only got a second chance from the triplets because of Mia. She forgave him for putting up a price on her virginity. Forgave him for being a relentless,clueless-in-his-pursuit asshole with an ego the size of the Grand Canyon. She forgave him because her petite frame hides more strength than it should ever be expected to hold.
Brandon madeonebad call. One mistake fueled by how much he wanted her without realizing he was in love.
Still is in love.
Pure intentions, bad decisions.
With Mia’s forgiveness, the triplets followed, reluctantly giving Brandon a chance to prove his worth.
I don’t deserve the same treatment. Brandon’s one mistake pales compared to the years of bullying Mia endured at my hands. It doesn’t come close on the forgivability scale.
A second chance won’t happen, but I’ve made my peace with that. Not everyone deserves a second chance.
I most certainly don’t, even if my therapist has a different take on the matter.
“Either talk to Cody and clear the air, or if you’re afraid he’ll lash out, stay out of his way,” Brandon continues. “I guarantee he’ll return the favor.”
That he will.
Like Brandon said, Cody’s not the type to attack unprovoked. It’s been almost a year since that dreadful night when Jake cornered Mia. A year I spent on the sidelines, wondering how to rebuild my life and reputation while the majority—rightly so—blamed me for Jake’s actions that night.
I may not have played a direct part in that, but I hurt the girl time and time again over the years, using her as a means to gain something I never had.
As one of the primary sources of humiliation and pain for Mia—the girl who became the topic on everyone’s lips overnight and the girl the Hayes triplets regard as their little sister—I paid the price for years of bullying.
Again, rightly so.
The social pariah status was long overdue.
I wish it had happened years ago instead of people idolizing me and fueling the destructive cycle. Maybe I would’ve taken a long, hard look at myself sooner, but no one ever held me accountable.
They treated me like royalty. Like their queen, and the intoxicating rush of control, validation, and having my voice heard was too enticing, too important to consider the monster I’d become...
Until my senior year of high school, when a man more than three times my age opened my eyes on his luxury yacht.
For a while, through the murkiness of my past and the nightmare he put me through, I glimpsed clarity. I recognized my wrongs and chose a different way to make myself seen and heard.
I replaced bullying with promiscuity, diving headfirst into a maelstrom of meaningless sex.
Not the best way to recover.
My therapist labeled me self-destructive during our initial session last year. She wasn’t wrong.
I swapped one addiction for another, but my resolve wasn’t strong enough. I relapsed. I went back to bullying, humiliating Mia with fabricated nudes... and then I went off the deep end when I set her hair on fire.
I clench my teeth, shoving the memories aside, but as always, they claw their way back.
A lot has changed since Jake cornered Mia in the restroom last year. A lot ofpeoplehave changed, including me.
My worshippers turned away, leaving me with nothing but determination to escape the vicious cycle my life had become.
