Chapter 5

Oliver's heart sank. "I…"

He tried to explain, but before he could get a word out, his phone buzzed with a voice message from Phoebe.

Sabrina immediately hit play, and Phoebe's voice came through, "Got it. Just keep an eye on Mason for me."

Oliver's stomach twisted into knots. "Sabrina, I…"

Before he could explain, Sabrina slapped him hard across the face.

"Oliver, you've been spying on me and Mason for my mom?" she said through gritted teeth.

Oliver froze, but a moment later, he felt himself relax. Sabrina had gotten the wrong idea, but that was better than having her find out about the deal he'd made with Phoebe. So, he didn't bother correcting her.

Sabrina's expression grew even colder. "Wow, Oliver. You're a real piece of work."

She sneered. "Couldn't get me to like you, so you decided to suck up to my mom instead? You think breaking me and Mason up will make me fall for you? Keep dreaming!"

She turned and called out to a few of her friends nearby. "Hey! You guys took pictures of Oliver with his head in the toilet earlier, right?"

Oliver's eyes widened.

Then, Sabrina gave them an order that made his blood run cold. "Post all of them online!"

...

By the next morning, the photos of Oliver with his head shoved into a toilet had gone viral.

The teachers tried to stop them from spreading, but it was already too late.

Oliver shaved his hair into a buzz cut before going to school. He ignored the whispers and stares, keeping his head down and focusing on his studies.

Later that day, Mark called him into his office. "Oliver, I followed up on that application we talked about a couple of days ago. Still no word, I'm afraid."

Oliver paused. "Does that mean I've been rejected?"

"No, not necessarily." Mark shook his head. "It's a difficult application to get approved, so we'll just have to wait and see.

"In the meantime, Westbridge University is holding its early admissions assessment tomorrow. Since you've won an academic competition, you're automatically eligible to take it. Make sure you're prepared."

Oliver frowned and was about to respond, but Mark cut him off, "I know you want to study abroad, but there's no guarantee everything will work out. It's always good to have a backup plan."

Oliver hesitated, then nodded. "Okay."

Oliver spent the rest of the day studying for the assessment.

But while he was preparing, Sabrina suddenly posted a photo on social media. It showed a wrist that had been slashed open, covered in blood.

Oliver immediately recognized the background. It was the storage building behind the school.

His heart skipped a beat. He dropped everything and rushed over.

But when he got there, Sabrina was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Mason and a few of his friends were waiting for him.

"Well, look who actually showed up." Mason grinned. "You really are Sabrina's loyal little lapdog."

Oliver noticed Sabrina's phone in Mason's hand. The photo was still open on the screen, and the privacy settings showed that Oliver was the only person who could see the post.

He'd fallen for another one of their tricks.

Oliver turned to leave, but Mason grabbed him by the hair.

"So, I hear you've been snitching on me to Sabrina's mom?" Mason sneered. "I've hated tattletales ever since I was a kid. Guess it's time someone taught you a lesson."

Before Oliver could react, someone dumped a bucket of cold water over his head. They snatched his phone, shoved him into the storage building, and locked the door behind him.

The building was freezing in the middle of the night. With his clothes soaked through, Oliver was losing body heat fast.

He tried shouting for help, but there was no one around to hear him. Eventually, he stopped calling out, saving what little energy he had left to keep himself warm.

He gathered whatever discarded materials he could find and piled them over himself. But no matter what he did, he couldn't stop shivering. The cold kept seeping into his body, draining what little warmth he had left.

Just as he was about to pass out, the door finally swung open.

"Oliver!" It was Sabrina.

But Oliver was too weak to answer. His legs gave out, and he collapsed.