by Nora Cobb
“I’m guessing you haven’t been online today,” he asks.
I shake my head once. “What is it? Another photo of me throwing a glass at Mel’s head? Oh wait. A GIF of me tossing a glass at his head? Is the GIF in the Karen thread in slo-mo?”
Silas’ expression is unreadable, but his face flushes slightly. He reaches into his pocket for his phone. He taps and glances at the screen, then places it on the table so I can see it clearly. He watches my face closely as I read the clickbait.
“Teacher-student triangle leads to…” Fuck. I tap the stock image of the Redwood. “…emergency room.”
Shit. I grab his phone off the table and read the sordid details I swore I’d never tell. My mouth hangs open as I read it to myself.
“An ambulance took a teacher from Redwood, an exclusive art boarding school, to St Joseph’s General late Friday night. The details of a student, teacher, plus student sex triangle are emerging. The tryst is reported to have been going on for years and denied by the administration. The school could not be reached for comment or reply for a request for an interview.”
I push the phone across the table. Silas taps the screen again, and I recognize Talia’s secret thread on the screen. The screen is crowded with messages on the board. Silas passes the phone back.
“Hollywood and technology bump uglies, pushing education out of the sexy mix.”
That bitch. I shove my hands in my pockets and refuse to touch his phone again. I stare at my coffee cup and wait. Maybe Silas will just leave if I don’t talk to him. He’s the messenger and must know I want him to fuck off.
“What happened, Vicki?” he asks sternly.
I won’t talk to him. I shift my gaze away from Silas and stare at a couple eating sandwiches at another table. The woman moves nervously as she chews, and then she looks at me with a challenging glare. I look away first. But why should I be interrogated by Silas? We’re not together anymore. Silas made it clear that our relationship on any level wasn’t going to work out, and I didn’t argue. I kept messing up. I didn’t beg him to come back with tears streaming down my face. I let him go without a fight. Did he expect a fight?
I don’t dare look at Silas, though I’m desperate to talk to someone.
“It was on Talia’s site first,” he says, “and it’s rapidly being picked up by outside news agencies.” He pauses, and I lift my eyes to his face. “No names have been published yet.”
I can’t speak to him. I’m not giving Silas anything for his binders.
“Technology could only be you.” He scoffs. “And the teacher would be Marcy, so that means Chase is involved. It’s not hard to read between the lines if you know Redwood. So, am I right or wrong?”
My hand grips the end of the table until my knuckles ache, but my face remains serene. I don’t know where I’m finding the courage. But what right does Silas think he has? Does he expect me to tell him? I don’t owe him anything since he dumped, not even an explanation.
“I’ll only talk to Talia,” I reply.
He smirks. “To give her more details?”
“No,” my voice snaps at him, “to confront her.”
“Let me guess,” he replies, “Jagan knows.”
I stare at Silas.
“He told you not to tell, and that’s good advice,” he replies, “You can have a perfect explanation for everything, but if it isn’t what they want to hear, they’ll make it up.”
“I have to talk to her.” I’m not speaking to Silas. I’m talking to myself. “How does she even know?”
“Vicki,” he says, “just take Jagan’s advice. Say nothing. It won’t help.”
Too late. Jagan is going to blame someone, and it’ll probably be me. I yank my hand off the table. I was gripping it so tightly that I have a splinter under my nail.
“I’ve got to go,” I tell Silas.
“You haven’t been listening to me.”
I can’t pretend this is normal. I don’t have his crazy acting skills, so I stand up.
“I’ve got to go,” I tell him again as I grab my bag.
I step away from the table and freeze. My eyes blink, stunned by who I see. Talia is standing by the back door of the shop. Her eyes widen, and she’s too shocked to conceal her surprise. Staring at us, Talia doesn’t look conceited now, with her knees knocking together. I want to wrap my hands around her throat and rip her gossiping tongue out of her mouth.
“Vicki,” Silas’ voice is low, “Don’t react. Just sit back down.”
I don’t move, and neither does Talia. I continue to stare, but not in shock. My lips curl in disgust like she stinks all the way from over there. I’m waiting for Talia to look away and show some shame. How dare she drive a knife into my back? The coward. I’ll pull it out and twist it hard into her gut.
“Sit down,” Silas sounds annoyed, “Look away and come back to the table.”
My mind and my body reconnect, and I’m able to move again. Talia glances past me. Dumb move. My gaze doesn’t leave Talia. I want to charge at her, seize her, and break her with my fists. But, breathing heavily, I sit back down instead.
I watch Silas beckon her forward with a slight wave of his fingertips, and Talia slowly walks to the table. Her hands are shaking, and her soda spills onto the table as she sits down. Talia picks the seat across from Silas and farthest from me. She refuses to look at me. My hate is leaving a nasty taste in my mouth, but I keep it down.
“Talia, thanks for turning up,” says Silas calmly.
“You asked her to come?” Wide-eyed, I shout at him.
Silas barely looks at me. “We all need to talk.”
“Talk?” I hiss.
Silas places a hand on my arm, and I slap it off me. No warning. He invited this asshole without telling me first. I want to slap them both until my hand is tired. Silas glances at me but says nothing. He tilts his lips into a crooked grin as if he can read my wicked thoughts. Then Silas places his hand back on my arm gently, as if he’s my handler.
“What do you—”
Silas’s hand tightens around my wrist, cautioning me to hold my tongue. I get the hint fast; he’ll do the talking. And I hold my lips together with my teeth. The petty bitch cuts her eyes at me. Talia may think she’s on Silas’ level, but no one at Redwood ranks as high as him. He could fuck up, and he’d still be a god at that school.
“You have a source, Talia?” he asks calmly. “Or is it all in your imagination?”
“Hoping it’s wishful thinking?” she replies haughtily. Talia tilts her head, so her hair swings down into her face like she’s a cute girl. Silas tightens his grip on my arm.
His mouth curves into an engaging smirk, and I know that look from experience. That’s not a good sign. Thankfully, it’s directed at Talia, not me. A chill shoots through me as I dig my nails again into the softwood of the table, scratching up the soft pieces of wood. Watching him play with her excites me. His jaw ticks as he amps up the seductive charm. His eyes become hazy as he shows her his brightest smile. He’s the snake curling around the branches, and she’s ready to take a big bite—foolish girl.
I have to pull it together before the bullying gets me off. I can hear my own breath as I watch Silas trick Talia into fucking up. He looks at her with those eyes, lowering them for a moment and then raising them to her lips until she fidgets with curiosity. I squeeze my legs together, remembering his patient touch. Silas lets go of my wrist, and I distance myself, watching him mentally pace around his clueless prey.
Talia tilts her head with assurance as if they’re equally matched. What else does she know? “I wasn’t dreaming when I saw the ambulance pulling away,” she tells him.
“But that’s all you saw.” Silas’ words are a statement of fact. She eagerly fills in the rest.
“I have friends all over campus,” she tells him, “and they report back to me. I know someone in each dorm.” She scoffs. “They come to me with new stuff every day. Most of it is stupid shit, but sometimes it’s not.” Her gaze
flicks over me. Talia’s fear is completely gone as she stares into Silas’ eyes.
“Is that what you call them?” he asks quietly.
Talia frowns a little, and then she understands. “People share with me. That’s all. You would’ve been cool to hang with.” Talia looks at me like I’m less than shit.
The longer they talk, the more I sense that Talia thinks she has something to bargain with. Her frightened eyes become cunning as she assesses the damage she’s already done. If she’s able to take down the four most popular kids on campus, then what else can she do?
Eventually, the conversation runs out of interest, and the lags stretch out longer and longer. Silas looks bored now that Talia has told him what she knows about Marcy and Chase. Somehow, he convinces her that I’m just a bystander. It’s not what he says, but the way he looks at her as he says it. Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Talia leaves.
My arm is numb, and I have to shake it out before I can pick up my coffee.
“I’ll buy you another one,” he says, grabbing it and tossing it in the can a few feet away.
“It’s okay. I’ll get one on campus.” Before I couldn’t look at Silas because I was furious with his games. Now I can barely meet his gaze because I want him again. “What are you going to do about her?”
He lifts a brow as he shakes his head. “I’ll let Jagan take her out. I have to study for finals.”
“Hey.” I grab his hand before he walks toward the parking lot.
“You don’t mind me holding it now?” he asks, slipping his arm around my waist.
“I never did.” We stop by his car, and I must have been in a daze not to have seen it. I parked next to it. Silas backs me into his car.
“Hey, you’re not playing with me before you swoop in and devour me?” I ask.
Silas tugs me closer until our bodies touch. “I’m waiting to find out.”
“Find out what?” I ask, staring at his lips.
“Who you’ll choose,” he replies. His lips brush mine, but he pulls back, leaving an impression of his touch on my lips.
“You boys talk all the time,” I say, a bit too sharply.
“I have friends,” Silas mimics Talia, “They tell me things. Except for one thing I want to know. You have to tell me that, Vicki.”
I squirm out from between him and the car. He frowns as I move away from him and toward my car. “I need a little more time.”
Chapter Six
Vicki
By morning, it is evil. Talia spent the evening whirling her web of gossip and rumors. The thread has blown up, but the worst part is a comment made about Chase’s parents. It would’ve been buried, but it received 20K likes, placing it at the top of the list. It’s a damning accusation that the poster swears is true.
The poster claims that they went to an agency run by Tracy Evans and was told to take off their clothing for a test shoot. They did as they were told because it still seemed legit. The interviewer took pictures of their naked body while they stood there frozen in place, and that’s when they noticed the photos on the wall. The wall was covered in amateur porn shots. Some people were standing straight, staring at the camera, but others weren’t. Explicit acts were shot up close and personal, showing every inch of naked skin. The poster demanded that their images be deleted, and it led to a fistfight. The pictures were deleted when their partner got involved.
Comment after comment follows, detailing how the Evanses’ talent agency exploited naïve wannabes. How they tricked innocent hopefuls into filming cheesy porn in rented town houses in the Valley. Actors that hoped they’d land a legit job once they paid their dirty dues.
My brain aches, but I can’t stop reading. I have been in one of those offices, and these stories aren’t lies. Talia has taken down Chase. And who is next? My finger hovers over Talia’s number on my phone. I want to text her. Not to threaten her but to warn her off. She’s had a taste of popularity, and I can tell her how bitter it will taste going down—it’s like sucking dick. You look sexy with the tip in your mouth, and then you’re choking with tears on your face when it hits the back of your throat. Stupid girl.
Popularity isn’t anything to the four of us. Chase, Dom, Silas, and I grew up in families that had notable success depicted in online magazines—the legit press. But press can be a problem when everyone knows you; eventually they’ll find your dirt too. Online, the irate public has demanded an investigation, and Chase’s parents’ legal troubles start immediately. Chase keeps going to class as the gossip picks up and swirls around him like a tempest.
Davey Barton goes down first, as he should’ve. He’s a sicker fuck in his private life. The charges are damning, and he’s wanted for multiple acts of indecency as a sex arranger. Barton offers to talk in exchange for a deal. He’s not planning to take only the Evanses down with him. Barton has a list of names and lots of proof on digital. Dirty Hollywood is running scared, all because a schoolgirl wants to be top dog at Redwood.
To be clear, I’m not okay with what the Evanses are accused of doing to countless women and men, but Chase is being torn apart while his parents hire the most expensive trial lawyer on the coast. Of course, rumors of a student and a teacher tryst are the flaming beacon that attracts the press in swarms to Redwood. News vans ring the perimeter of the school, parked along the woods, harassing students dumb enough to wander to close.
It’s precisely what Jagan didn’t want. The classes in the amphitheater are canceled, and more security is hired to keep the press out. Jagan completely drops the new-age jargon when he lectures the student body on personal safety and handling the press. Once he stops hiding behind his façade, he gains a new respect from many shell-shocked students.
Redwood gets through the first week, and slowly, the press dwindles down, but not enough. I’m on alert and wondering how no one else knows that Marcy is in the hospital. She hasn’t woken up yet.
My doorbell rings before I can leave for class. If it’s a reporter, I am calling security myself. But when I open the door, Chase rushes in, shuts the door, and leans against it. His chest works hard as he catches his breath. His hair is wet with sweat, and his clothes cling to him. He stumbles over to the kitchen chair as I watch in shock. I have to keep reminding myself that whatever I did, I did it for Luna. “It was the right thing to do,” becomes my mantra.
But what have I done to Chase? I get him bottled water from the fridge. “Drink this.” I rub his back while he gulps it down.
Chase hangs his head down as he speaks. “I punched a reporter. The asshole snuck onto campus. He followed me into the bathroom and demanded that I answer questions.”
Slowly, I sink down into a chair. My knees can’t hold me up. I want to ask Chase if he hates me. I would, but he ran to me, or maybe he didn’t have a choice.
“Have you gone back to your room?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No point. I’m sure they’re waiting outside.” He presses his fingertips to his temple as he sighs deeply. “They haven’t asked where Marcy is yet, but they will. Be careful, Vicki.”
The look of tenderness Chase gives me takes me out of my chair. I rush over to him and wrap my arms around his shoulders. He places his hands on my arms, holding me close to him.
“Vicki, lie low, or they’ll hound you too.” He pauses. “Are you sure this is what you want? The flipside of fame?”
I kiss his cheek, his sweat on my lips, but I don’t care. “What I want right now is you.”
His phone vibrates, and he pulls it out of his pocket. “It’s my brother. He’s looking for me.”
I pull away and sit back down, holding my body very still. I don’t know how Adrian will react when he sees me. I’m to blame for foolishly trusting Talia and thinking I could protect Luna by defending her online. I thought I had it all figured out this time, and I was so sure it would work.
If I love Chase, then I have to deal with whatever I’ve stirred up, including his brother.
“Tell him you’re here.
” I walk to the door and wait to see Adrian’s face appear on the screen. I open the door before he rings the bell, and Adrian darts into the room, breathless. His chin is covered with dark whiskers that in a few weeks will be a thick beard.
“That bad?” Chase asks him, stroking his own chin. “How did they recognize you?”
“Some asshole posted a family photo from Christmas on the internet.” Adrian tosses himself down in a chair, and he drinks the rest of Chase’s water. “There’s a lot of security out there. I had to call Jagan before they’d agreed to let me on campus. Fuck, this is worse than a nightmare. And it’s our lives.”
Chase stares at the table, and I know what he’s thinking. If I had said yes, he would be far away from here right now.
