His brows shot up. “You think he was responsible?”
“Yes. Hunter Connery and his band of merry manbabies set up that video,” Trina said, arms folding.
“Why would he track me down and tell me about the video if he was responsible for displaying it?”
“Because he’s trying to get on top of the whole thing by making himself look innocent right away. It’s like how criminals sometimes insert themselves into investigations and act like they’re helping. They want to be close to it so they know what’s going on, and they also want to make themselves seem like they’re above suspicion,” she said. “Oh, also, Hunter was one of the only people on this campus who knew about the existence of that video.”
Sanders rubbed his chin. “I see,” he said frostily. “In that case, I’ll have to have another chat with him.”
“Good.” Trina took a step back. “You’ve let him and his cronies get away with this bullshit for far too long.”
Sanders cleared his throat again, looking deeply uncomfortable. “I think it’s time for you two to get to class now,” he said, motioning to Adam and Trina. He turned his gaze to me. “Laney, you can go back to your dorm and spend the rest of the day there, if that’s what you’d like. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for you to stand in these halls right now.”
I bit my bottom lip. “Actually, sir, I was wondering… could I have the rest of the week off?” I asked. “I’ll still do all of my work, of course. I just don’t want to go into any of my classes for a few days. Not while that video is still fresh in everyone’s heads.”
I knew I was asking for a lot, but to my surprise, he nodded right away. “That’s understandable, and it’s probably a good idea considering the circumstances,” he said. “I’ll make the arrangements with your teachers and have Ms. Flores drop your classwork off each morning, and you can skip all of your extracurriculars. But only until Friday. We can’t let today’s incident affect your schooling forever.”
“I know. Thank you, sir,” I said.
He gave me a thin smile. “You’re welcome.”
Trina’s brows lifted. “While you’re handing out favors, would it be okay for Adam and me to skip the next few periods?”
“Why?” Sanders asked, turning his attention to her.
“I just don’t think Laney should be alone after what happened. It might even be a good idea for us to take her off campus altogether for a while,” she said. “We could take her into town and get her some pancakes at our favorite place. I know it won’t fix what happened, but it could help to cheer her up a bit.”
Sanders let out a sigh. “You’re really pushing it, Ms. Seaborne, but… all right. You can skip your morning classes and return after lunch.”
“Thanks, sir.”
He shot her and Adam a warning look. “I mean what I said. I expect both of you back in your usual classes by fifth period.”
“We’ll be there.”
Sanders straightened his shoulders. “All right, then. I’ll talk to all of you soon.”
He strode away, and my eyes widened as I watched him go. “Wow. He was a lot nicer than usual.”
Trina snorted. “Of course he was. He’s probably worried you’re going to try to sue the school.”
I pressed my lips into a thin line. “If I had a lawyer, I’d probably think about it.”
“Save yourself the trouble,” Adam said. “We know Hunter did it, which means my dad would end up paying for it, so we may as well skip all the legal drama, and I’ll just write you a check on behalf of my family now.”
I let out a short, humorless laugh. “Thanks for the offer, but it’s not your fault your brother is an asshole. You shouldn’t have to pay.”
He shrugged. “Eh, it’s my dad’s money, so it’s fine.”
“Well, if I’m ever that strapped for cash, I’ll consider hitting you up.”
“You can let me pay for the pancakes, at least,” he said, returning my smile. “Let’s go.”
Half an hour later, the three of us were in our usual booth at Café Seven with the biggest spread of comfort food I’d ever seen. Adam and Trina had ordered almost everything on the menu.
It looked and smelled heavenly, but I wasn’t hungry. All I could do was listlessly prod at my syrup-coated pancakes, wishing I didn’t feel so sick.
Trina looked at me from across the table with a wrinkled brow. “How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Like I’ll throw up if I actually eat anything.”
“I meant emotionally, not physically,” she said, tilting her chin very slightly to one side.
I put my fork down and sighed. “I guess I feel kind of numb,” I said. “It almost feels like this morning happened to another person.”
She offered me a sympathetic smile. “I get it.”
“I just can’t believe Hunter would do this to me,” I said, shaking my head.
“Me neither,” Adam said. “He’s done shitty things in the past, but this is a whole new level. I’m actually shocked that he did it.”
Trina nodded. “Same. I mean, I always thought he was a dick, even before you started at RFA,” she said, still looking at me. “But this surpasses every expectation I’ve ever had of him and his capacity for being a dick. It’s unbelievable.”
Adam’s brows furrowed at that. “Hold on… why are we so sure it was actually him?” he said slowly.
“What do you mean?” Trina said. “It was obviously him.”
“I know that was the conclusion we jumped to, but now I don’t know if it actually makes sense,” he replied. “Like we were just saying, this is a real low, even for someone like Hunter. I just can’t see him doing it.”
“Doesn’t mean he didn’t.”
“But he wasn’t the only one who knew about that video. We did,” he said, gesturing to himself and then Trina. “I mean, obviously it wasn’t us who did this shit, but who knows? Someone could’ve overheard us talking about it that night, when Laney first told us. Right?”
“No.” Trina shook her head. “The place was totally empty, unless you count the waitress and the owner. But they wouldn’t do this shit.”
Adam’s shoulders slumped. “Oh. Right.” He sighed and rubbed his jaw. “It’s just so hard to believe Hunter could stoop this low. I know he’s an asshole most of the time, but he’s still my brother, you know?”
Trina averted her eyes and stirred her coffee. “I get what you mean, but I really don’t think he’s innocent in any of this,” she said. “He’s tortured Laney for ages. So why would we believe that he’d suddenly change and turn into a nice guy? It has to be him.”
“Yeah. I guess so,” he replied.
I rubbed my eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “I keep thinking about it, and I can’t understand why he’d do it. Or why he’d hate me so much. I thought we were….” Falling for each other, I wanted to say. “I thought we were fine with each other,” I ended up saying instead. “So why would he want to hurt me like this?”