Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 114337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
“It’s gone?” she asked. “Which one?”
“Instagram.”
She scrolled through her search results. “I think his Facebook account vanished too. It’s not coming up when I search.”
We both switched apps and confirmed we couldn’t find his accounts. Had he gotten suspended, or was this a permanent ban? I was relieved the posts were gone, but it didn’t solve all our problems. This couldn’t be undone, and I worried he’d see his accounts going down as our fault and retaliate some other way.
I still had my phone in ‘do not disturb’ mode, which meant I hadn’t gotten the text message notification from a few minutes ago.
Riley: I’m sorry. I fucked up. I was hammered and meant it as a joke. Wasn’t thinking.
Fire poured through my muscles, tensing them to the point of pain, and I angrily thumbed out a response.
Colin: Are you fucking kidding me? You tried to ruin our lives.
Riley: I was so smashed I don’t even remember posting. Been passed out & just woke up to a shitstorm.
Riley: Saw your texts & deactivated my accounts.
If his story were true, that meant he’d gotten wasted before noon—but that was believable. He was totally that kind of guy, known for having a morning beer in the shower as he got ready for the day.
Usually, it was to delay his hangover.
If he’d deactivated his accounts, I was sure he hadn’t done it as a gesture for us. He’d done it to get the posts down before he lost his accounts for doxing.
Colin: Do you know what you’ve done, asshole? My parents said I’m dead to them.
Riley: I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen.
Colin: You can fuck all the way off. Stay the hell away from the house, and me and Mads, or I swear to god, I’ll make you regret it.
Riley: Gimme some credit. I’m trying to own my mistake here.
Mads had been reading over my shoulder, and she made a sound of disgust as she saw his response. The guy was un-fucking-real. He’d forever changed my life, and he barely acknowledged it. He didn’t care. Instead, he was whining that I was pissed at him for fucking everything up.
He’d made a mistake—but I had, too.
I should have gone no-contact with him the second he’d figured out Mads and I were working for Petal Productions. At least this was a mistake I could correct right away.
I brought up his contact information, scrolled down, and tapped the option to block him. The action gave me some feeling of control.
When I set my phone face down on the nightstand, Mads did the same with hers, and then put her arms around my shoulders. She rested her head against mine as I blew out a breath.
“At least the posts are down,” she said.
“Yeah. Except the damage is done.”
“We’ll figure it out.” She squeezed my shoulder. “You believe me, right?”
I turned to peer into her eyes, which were deep and beautiful. My voice was soft but sure. “Of course I do.”
TWENTY-FIVE
Madison
My heart was racing as I sat in the back seat of Nina’s Porsche and stared at the entrance to the clubhouse. It wasn’t an intimidating building to look at. Just big enough to house a meeting space, some storage, and a set of locker rooms for the community pool that was behind the clubhouse.
I was nervous because Judy and the rest of the HOA board were inside, and I assumed they were gearing up to come after Petal Productions.
We didn’t know for certain what this emergency hearing was about because the letter that arrived from the HOA yesterday was light on details. It only said that attendance was mandatory for everyone living at the Woodsons’ house and that they needed to discuss an urgent matter.
But it had been a week since Riley’s posts, and two days ago Colin and I had returned to the house. The timing of the meeting was suspect.
It hadn’t taken much to convince us to move back in.
“No one’s come by the house,” Nina had said.
“Our security system is top of the line,” Scott added. “One of us can drive you to and from classes when school starts next week.”
He wasn’t just talking about me, either. After we’d spent the night at Preston’s place, Colin had gone straight to the bursar’s office to figure out a plan. Since his parents had prepaid for the fall semester and he wanted to stay enrolled, the school denied his parents’ request for a refund.
They were incensed, but it forced them to talk to their son, even if it was only long enough for him to say he’d pay them back after he graduated. I felt awful for him, especially since I knew exactly what it was like to have your plan for the future evaporate in an instant.
Since I wasn’t friends with Riley, I hadn’t been tagged in either of his posts. Anyone in Greek life on campus knew I was acting in adult films now, but that was it. My circle of friends wasn’t big, and my family wasn’t in my life.