LOGINLUKE’S P.O.V“Just got off the phone with TJ. Aside from the endless apologies, you’ll never believe what else he told me...He and Ruth hooked up a few times in his room after we broke up. I’m taking a wild guess that’s how Ruth got the tapes.”I can’t believe I never suspected her. Not once did she cross my mind. She’s the perfect suspect, but I thought she never had it in her. She wouldn’t do something this cruel to anyone. But I was very, very wrong.How low is she willing to go to hurt Dre? To separate the both of us? How low can she go?I don’t care to know anymore; I’m getting to the bottom of this today.***Ruth’s spare key burns a hole in my pocket. The house is quiet when I let myself in. I stand in the living room for a long moment, heart hammering, looking around like I’m seeing it for the first time. Everything feels tainted now.I start searching.I move carefully at first — opening drawers in the kitchen, checking the coffee table, even looking under the couch cushions.
LUKE’S P.O.VAfter, Dre saw Silver off, I told her everything. For the next hour, I narrate everything that had transpired between the sender and me from start to finish.From the day they sent the tapes to the day they stopped. I told her how I thought it was Nathaniel, and when the sender had gone quiet, I still assumed it was him, but stopped because he was in Juvie. I told her he was the only person I suspected at that time. She didn’t like it when I told her about my visit to his juvie. She didn’t have to say anything, but her face said it all.I didn’t leave out the chase, or how the sender had been spying in front of her house. How they’ve been watching our every move just to make sure I’ve been staying away from her. I let her know that was the reason I stayed at Ian’s and couldn’t spend time with her much, blaming it on practice instead.Not that it’ll change anything, but I let her know I couldn’t bring myself to watch her tapes. For months, I couldn’t do it, and that slow
DRE’S P.O.VShortly after, Silver told me, Luke was at the door, I hear his voice.“Hi, Silver...can you give us a second?”"Sure," Silver responds.I grit my teeth, furious with, Silver. I told her to send him away if he came to come see me, but she's doing the exact opposite.The mattress shifts as Silver climbs off the bed. I stay rooted in place under the thick covers, sweating bullets. I could die of heat under here if I wanted to; it’s better than the conversation I’m about to have with Luke.The door closes and I hear footsteps moving to my bed. I feel his hands in my arm through the sheets. The covers start sliding down slowly. Luke is tugging them off. I grip the edges tightly, trying to keep them over my head, but he pulls them away with almost no effort.The cool air hits my face. I keep my head buried in the pillow, refusing to look at him.I can’t. The room is silent for a long moment. I can feel him sitting on the edge of the bed, close but not touching me.Then his vo
LUKE’S P.O.VRuth gets the back seat door for me, helping me in like I’m incapable of doing that myself.She has a lot of throw pillows for some reason, and she props them in a pile in case I want to get some shut-eye on the way.“How did you find me?” I ask a question that’s been whirling in my mind the moment I saw her.“My mum receives packages at that warehouse. I saw your car on my way out.”I notice the small parcel bandaged in duct tape marked as “fragile” on top of a small opened box.“Okay, you still hear from her?”Ruth forces a laugh. “Of course, Luke. Why else would I be receiving her packaging for her?”Ruth makes another quick stop at a gas station, but not for gas. When she returns, she hands me a bag.“What’s this?”She rolls her eyes. “It’s just a toothbrush, deodorant, socks and underwear. Things you’ll need.”I narrow my eyes, taking the bag somewhat grateful for them. Although the underwear part makes me a tad bit uncomfortable, it’s not like I have money to get an
LUKE’S P.O.VI drive around for what feels like hours, eyes burning from exhaustion while I look for a place to sleep for the night.But the nearest motel is way out of town, and I’m not allowed out to exceed my fifty-kilometre radius. I don’t even bother checking in. I have no money, no ID that the police didn’t take, and the last thing I need is someone recognising me as the disgraced star player who just confessed to leaking his girlfriend’s sex tapes. Eventually, I give up, and so does my car, because the gas tank is empty. With what’s left of the gas, I find a quiet, poorly lit spot behind an old warehouse on the edge of town and kill the engine. I climb into the backseat, folding my tall frame as best I can, and use my hoodie as a pillow. The leather is cold against my skin. Sleep doesn’t come easy, but eventually the exhaustion wins.The sharp sound of an alarm cuts through the silence the next morning.I jolt awake, disoriented, banging my knee against the seat in front of me
LUKE’S P.O.VMy phone buzzes for what seems to be the billionth time, but when I take it out after I park, it’s not my own—it’s Dre’s.Mine is long gone.I check the caller ID, and it’s Halle calling. But why will Halle call in the first place?She should be home with Dre.Shortly after that, Silver calls...then eventually, Ian.After Ian’s call, I quickly figured out what’s going on.Everyone knows Dre’s phone is with me. I don’t know about Silver and Halle– but Ian’s definitely trying to reach me.I shove Dre’s phone further down the depths of my pockets, sinking my elbows against the leather skin of my steering wheel, head buried in my hands.Today’s been a fucking day.I don’t know when my eyes close to sleep, but they fly open at the sound of relentless tapping on my window.I sit up quickly, rubbing my eyes, trying to get them to adjust to the darkness. I twist my head in the direction of the sound.The silhouette casts a light towards the face, peering at the window, and my sou
PROLOGUE (THREE YEARS AGO) LUKE'S P.O.V The sexiest girl in the entire school agreed to go on a date with me...Me, Lucas Ford! I couldn't contain the excitement I felt. My phone trembled in my hands as I re-read the text she had just sent me. *See you then* Nia fucking Saint, the sexie
DRE’S P.O.V (Present day) The sound of the door closing jolts me awake. I sit up so fast I almost fall out of the chair. I look to the sofa opposite me, and Luke’s gone— that makes me fall out of the chair, straight onto my ass. I rub my bruised elbow, scrambling to my feet. *He just left.*
DRE’S P.O.VLuke kills the engine after parking smoothly in front of my house.He was quiet the whole drive here, and it’s been killing me.He’d been locked in Principal Dennis’s office for hours. Ruth and I had waited until the receptionist finally told us to go back to class.After school, he dro
LUKE’S P.O.V Dre sits cross-legged on the floor opposite me, scribbling in a notebook while she does homework. The medication had finally settled her, leaving her calmer and more focused than I’d seen in days. “Can you pass me my glasses on the table?” She asks, pointing toward the table witho







