“Maybe he planned to do it before you guys made up,” Adam suggested. “And he forgot to stop it from happening.”
I shook my head. “We made up on the same day I told him about the video. So that’s not possible.”
“Oh. Right.”
“Maybe he didn’t believe you,” Trina said, looking back up at me.
“About what?”
“The whole Lindsay thing. Maybe he was only pretending to believe you when you told him it wasn’t you. Maybe he still thinks you did it.”
Adam’s brows shot up. “Oh, shit. That’s gotta be it,” he said.
“But why the hell would he say he believed me if he didn’t?”
“To lull you into a false sense of security,” Trina said. “So he could hit you when you least suspected it. When you were as vulnerable as he could possibly get you.”
That was the same thing the Medusa girls said earlier. I nodded slowly, wishing it would sink into my brain properly. “I guess so,” I mumbled.
“I bet he was probably even going to try to sleep with you and make you think he was falling in love with you,” she said. “Just to make sure you’d really feel it when he turned around and betrayed you.”
I swallowed hard and looked down at my plate, blazing-hot shame creeping over my cheeks.
Trina’s face fell. “Oh, no. Laney. Tell me you didn’t.”
I couldn’t speak. I simply nodded as a fresh round of tears spilled out, dripping onto my napkin.
“You slept with Hunter?” Adam asked, eyes wide.
Another silent nod.
“When?”
“Yesterday,” I choked out.
Trina let out a short sigh. “And then the video got released just a few hours later,” she said, cutting her eyes to Adam. “Still think he might be innocent?”
Adam put his head in his hands. “Fuck,” he muttered. “I’m going to kill him. Seriously. I can’t believe he’d do this to you, Laney.”
“It wasn’t really him,” I said. “I mean, he kissed me first, but I did the rest.”
Trina shook her head. “No. He manipulated you into thinking it was all your choice.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I mumbled, picking at my nails.
“Did he make you feel like he had real feelings for you?” she asked, leaning forward. “And did he make you think you’d be together afterwards?”
“Yes, but—”
“He manipulated you, Laney. It’s literally the oldest trick in the book—act like you’re in love to get laid,” she said. “But in Hunter’s case, he didn’t just want to get laid. He wanted to break your heart. And the worst thing about it is that he has you blaming yourself and feeling like you deserve it for being so trusting and naïve.”
“Well, it’s only a matter of time before everyone else knows how naïve I am too,” I said with a sigh. “I’m sure he’s already told all of his friends.”
“Yeah, probably,” Adam said, eyes tightening at the corners. “I honestly wish I wasn’t related to him. He’s such a fucking prick.”
“At least I’m joining the Medusa girls now,” I said. “So everyone at school can think horrible stuff about me if they want, but none of them can actually say or do anything to me.”
Trina bit her bottom lip and frowned. “Are you sure you want to join them?” she asked.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Adam said before I could respond. “They’ll be able to protect her from anyone who tries to bully her from now on. Even Hunter.”
“I know, but I remember you saying you got a weird vibe from them when you had lunch with them a few weeks ago,” Trina said, still focusing on me. “Do you still feel that?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it’ll be fine. I don’t actually have to participate in any of the stuff that I don’t want to do,” I said. “And when I finish this year, they’re going to pay for me to go to college wherever I want.”
Adam let out a low whistle. “That’s a pretty sweet deal.”
“I know. So I think it’ll be worth it in the end. I just have to try and get through the rest of this year at RFA.”
“Well, with the Medusas on your side, I think it’ll be doable,” Adam said.
Trina looked unconvinced. “I don’t know. What happened today was really, really bad. Even the Medusa girls might not be able to stop it all from continuing.”
“Well, I guess I just have to hope that they can,” I said, stomach churning.
Her shoulders drooped as she let out a deep breath. “I hate to say it… but maybe you should just leave,” she said in a low voice.
I raised my eyes to match her gaze. “What?”
“Leave RFA, I mean.”
“You think I should quit?”
She nodded. “I know I begged you for ages to hang in there, but things are seriously awful now. I honestly think it might be best if you left.”
Before I could reply, Adam spoke up. “It kinda sounds like you’re trying to get rid of her,” he said, one brow arching.
Trina’s eyes widened. “No, of course not!” she said, vehemently shaking her head. “I’m sorry, Laney. I know how that must’ve sounded. But I’m honestly worried about your safety. Not just your physical safety, either. I’m worried about your mind.”
“My mind?” I said, brows furrowing.
“These bullies have been fucking horrible to you. And this thing today….” She trailed off, shaking her head. “I don’t even know how you’ve dealt with it so far. If it was happening to me, I think I’d totally lose my shit. And I’m worried it’ll get to a point where they finally push you too far, and you’ll just snap and—”
She stopped abruptly, face flushing bright pink.
“Just say it,” Adam said softly. “It’s okay.”
Trina looked at her coffee cup. “I’m worried they’ll push you so far that you’ll end up doing something to hurt yourself,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked up at me again, eyes glistening with emotion. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make it sound as if I want you to leave. Of course I don’t. I’m just worried about you.”
A lump appeared in my throat. “I get it. But where would I even go?” I asked. “I don’t want to go back to Silvercreek High. Things are bad at RFA, but I still have so many opportunities there. And the free ride through college via the Medusa Society, too. I can’t afford to give that up.”
“You wouldn’t have to go back to Silvercreek,” she said. “I bet we could find you a scholarship to another good prep school. I think Sanders would help out, too, considering how guilty he feels about what happened today.”
“Even if I got another scholarship to a different school, I wouldn’t have the free college offer,” I said, shaking my head.
“That’s true,” Adam said, scratching at his chin. “But what if we paid for it?”
“What?”
“What if we paid for it?” he repeated. “You know we’re both rich as fuck. We could convince our parents to set up a brand new college scholarship fund, just for you. Even if it has to come out of our trust funds, that’s okay. They’re definitely big enough, so it would barely even scratch the surface.”