Chapter 4: Oh my goodness.

Skye

“It’s not what you think,” I say, hoping she will somehow understand, she doesn't.

Instead, she let out a mocking laugh, “Ethan rejected you, so you have to go after my boyfriend? What exactly is your problem you slut?”

I shake my head, “To be honest.….”

“ I'm not listening to any of your stupid lies, I'm going to let the whole school know what a cheap rag you are.”

Before I realize what is happening, she pulls out a phone from her pocket and takes a picture of me. Standing with a wrinkled cloth and messy hair.

My heart drops, “You can't do that.”

She does, she takes another picture, the one that has Jace showing in the background.

Tiffany’s smile widens as she stares at the picture on her phone. “Oh, this one is perfect.”

My blood runs cold. “No….” I take several unsteady steps back into the room, overwhelmed by the urge to hide. “Please don't.”

She lifts her phone out of my reach. “Don’t what?”

“Delete it.”

She laughs loudly enough for every student walking down the hallway to hear. “Delete the evidence?” Her eyes sparkle maliciously. “Why would I do that?”

Tracy leans over her shoulder. “Oh my God.” She covers her mouth dramatically. “You can actually tell she spent the night in there.”

Betty giggles. “Her clothes are all wrinkled.”

“And look at her hair.”

Their laughter echoes down the hallway. More dorm rooms open. Students peek inside.

“What happened?”

“Isn’t that Tiffany?”

“No way….”

“That’s Skye Bennett.”

Within seconds, people start walking toward us, and my breathing becomes shallow. Not again. Please. Not again.

Tiffany notices the growing crowd and smiles wildly. Perfect. Exactly what she wants. She clears her throat dramatically. “Everyone,” she calls.

“I’d like your attention for a second.”

The hallway grows quiet. Every pair of eyes turns toward her, then toward me, and I immediately wish I could disappear.

Tiffany slowly points at me. “Meet Skye Bennett.” She pauses long enough for curiosity to spread. “The same girl Ethan rejected in front of everyone last night.”

A few people nod.

“I saw that.”

“She cried.”

“I recorded it.”

My cheeks burn. I shake my head frantically. This isn’t happening—just a stupid nightmare. I’ll wake up soon.

I blink several times; I’m still inside Jace’s room. Tiffany is still here. The other students are too. My palms begin to sweat.

Tiffany continues, “Apparently, one rejection wasn’t enough.” She laughs. “So, she climbs into my boyfriend’s bed instead.”

Gasps erupt around us. “No way!”

“Jace?”

“She slept with Jace?”

Someone immediately raises their phone. Another begins recording.

I shake my head. “It’s not like that.”

“Oh?” Tiffany folds her arms. “Then explain why you walked out of his room looking like you haven’t slept all night.”

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. What explanation could I possibly give? That I was drunk? That I mistook his room for mine? That I thought he was his twin?

Every answer sounds pathetic.

Tiffany smiles knowingly. “Exactly.”

She turns her phone around so everyone can see the picture she just took.

Several girls immediately cover their mouths.

“Oh my God.”

“I can’t believe she actually did that.”

“I always thought she was innocent.”

“Innocent?” Another girl scoffs. “Looks can be deceiving.”

My eyes blur with tears. “I swear….”

Nobody listens; the whispers grow louder. “She got rejected by one twin, then slept with the other.”

“That’s insane.”

“I didn’t know she was this desperate.”

Every sentence hits me so hard I nearly lose my balance. I back away until my shoulder hits the wall. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. The room begins to spin.

I clutch the wall to stop myself from hitting the floor.

Tiffany looks at me with fake sympathy. “Aww, are you crying?” She steps forward until only inches separate us. “You should have thought about that before you climbed into the bed with my boyfriend.”

The slap lands before I even realize I’ve moved.

The entire hallway falls silent. Tiffany slowly turns her face toward me, one hand against her reddened cheek, disbelief flickering in her eyes.

I stare down at my trembling hands. I’d slapped her. I didn’t mean to… I didn’t mean to do that.

A slow smile spreads across her face. “There it is...” She looks around at everyone watching. “Did you all see that?”

Before I can react, she slaps me back, hard. My neck snaps to the side. Pain explodes across my cheek.

I stumble, losing my balance. Before I can hit the floor, a strong arm catches my wrist.

Everything freezes.

Jace.

He stands between Tiffany and me, his expression darker than I’ve ever seen. His gray eyes settle on her. “You have had enough.”

Tiffany blinks. “Jace?”

He slowly releases my wrist but doesn’t step away from me; instead, he places himself between us, creating a clear line.

Her eyes dart between us before she lets out a disbelieving laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

She points at the hand that was holding my wrist a few seconds ago. “You were protecting her?”

Jace doesn’t answer. His jaw remains clenched.

“I’m talking to you, Jace.”

Slowly, he looks at her. “I said she’s had enough.”

Tiffany stares at me as if she’s never seen him before. “Enough?” she repeats. “I just caught another girl walking out of your bedroom after spending the night with you, and I’m the problem?”

Silence.

Even the students stop whispering.

Jace drags a hand through his messy hair. “It’s not what you think.”

A sharp laugh escapes her. “Oh? Then tell everyone what happened.”

My heart stops. No. Please don’t.

Jace glances at me. For the briefest second, guilt flashes across his face, then it’s gone. “I was drunk.”

“So was she,” Tiffany snaps. “Is that your excuse?”

He doesn’t answer.

She lifts her phone again. “Since neither of you wants to tell the truth,” her thumb hovers above the screen, “I’ll let the entire campus decide.”

I stare at the glowing post button. “Tiffany…”

“Too late.” She taps it.

A second later, her phone chimes. Post updated successfully.

She slowly turns the screen toward me. My photographs fill the display.

Campus queen bee Tiffany Bentley:

*Caught my boyfriend cheating with the same girl who got rejected by his twin brother last night*

Within seconds, likes, comments, shares.

The hallway erupts as dozens of phones begin vibrating simultaneously. Students pull from their pockets.

“Oh my God….”

“It's already online.”

“This is blowing up.”

Someone looks at me with disgust. Another starts recording again.

I feel every pair of eyes on me, and my knees finally give out. The hallway blurs. And I clutch the wall to stop myself from falling to the floor.

Jace strides towards her in anger and snatches the phone from her hand, then he hits the delete button once.

The entire post disappears.

For a moment, no one breathes, the entire students let out different shocked sounds. And me? My jaw remains on the floor for exactly three seconds before i manage to pick it up.

“Everyone should delete the picture right now.”

Jace hands Tiffany back her phone, “Grow up Tiffany.”

She collects her phone and stares at the screen like the deleted photos will suddenly appear again, when she realizes it’s deleted for real, she thunders, “What the hell did you just do!”

Jace remains calm, unbothered, “You are no longer my girlfriend, we already broke up.”

Tiffany laughs, “So what’s she then? Your one-night stand?”

Silence falls. Everyone waits. Jace looks at me, something crosses his face, something unreadable, he finally releases a sigh, “She’s not my one-night stand.”

“Then what is she?”

My heart thumps loudly, please……don't tell them anything.

“Skye is my girlfriend now.”

Someone kill me.