LOGINLUKE’S P.O.VWestfield Eagles 52 – Reddians High 58. We’re playing against the undefeated teams in the whole region, and we’re losing.It’s the final quarter, six minutes left in the game that will decide the regional champions. The most anticipated game in the entire season. As Coach would say, it's “the game that means everything.”The court is electric, the roar of the crowd vibrating through the floorboards and into my bones. Reddians' supporters fill the away team's bleachers, and Westfield, the home team, is equally packed. College scouts line the sidelines, clipboards in hand, eyes sharp. I wipe sweat from my brow, jersey clinging to my back, feeling heavier than usual. Vincent, captain and my assist for one last time, claps me on the shoulder as we huddle up.“You good, man?” He asked, voice low but steady. “We’ve got this. Just like we practised.”I nod, jaw tight. “I won’t fail you again. I promised.”The drama about the sender had spread like wildfire the moment I return
LUKE’S P.O.VThe truth is out. The nightmare is finally ending. I lay on my back in Dre’s bed, the room dark except for the soft glow of the bedside lamp. Dre’s curled on top of me, her head resting on my chest, legs tangled with mine. My arms wrap securely around her waist, hands splay on her back. Her curls spill across my shoulder and neck, and every time I breathe in, I catch that intoxicating sweet vanilla scent that is so uniquely her. It grounds me. For the first time in months, the ugly burden is gone, and I can finally breathe again. It’s crazy how something that’s been haunting me for months could be unravelled in barely a couple of hours. I have Dre and her intuition to thank for it.No more texts from an unknown number. No more paranoia every time I left her house. No more lying awake wondering if today would be the day her life got destroyed because of me. And now, here we are.I stroke my thumb gently along her spine, careful not to wake her. But she does anyway.“Ar
DRE’S P.O.VThe police station is much colder than I expect. I stay in the car, hands gripping the edge of the seat until my knuckles turn white. Luke had insisted I didn’t have to go inside. He understands. The thought of seeing Ruth after her confession makes my stomach twist. I can’t face the girl who had tried to destroy me while pretending to be my friend.Through the window, I watch Luke walk in with Ian beside him. Ian had shown up the second Luke called, still angry but loyal as ever. They disappear through the glass doors, and I’m left alone with my thoughts.It had all happened so fast after Luke left Ruth’s house. He didn’t waste a single second. While she confessed, she was completely oblivious to the fact he was recording. Ruth had cracked, screaming about how I was a “life-sucking piece of shit” who didn’t deserve him, how she had done everything to get him back. How she never meant for him to take the fall, but I deserved what happened to me.The recording is brutal. Bu
LUKE’S P.O.VRuth’s hand pauses on my back for a millisecond—too quick for it to go unnoticed. But I feel her hesitation.“I saw Dre this afternoon, wanted to give her her phone, “ I explain even though I don’t see the need to.Ruth nods, chewing her lips lightly. “I know, Dre and I are in a bad space right now, but how was she? How’s she taking all of this?”I stay mute, purposely dragging out the silence longer than I need to. I want to see what my silence does to her.I lift my head. My eyes start to water. “Dre....Dre’s not taking it well. She hates me, Ruth. She really hates me.”Ruth’s blue eyes widen with surprise as I keep going.“She hardly believes me; she said she doesn’t know what to believe anymore. It happened with Nathaniel, TJ, and now me...me. she says the story keeps repeating itself. The guys she falls in love with keep violating her. And when I told her the truth, and told her why I took the fall...she called me dumb. She called me stupid for taking the fall and ru
LUKE’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.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.*
LUKE'S P.O.V Footsteps follow behind me. "Luke," she calls. I'm angry, but never at Dre. I turn. My face softens instantly, just at the sight of her. "Are you okay?" she asks me. I don't answer. Dre sighs. "We've talked about this. I'd really like you both to get along. Nate is my boyfriend,
BOYFRIEND DRE'S P.O.V (PRESENT DAY) I'm going to kill those girls. No one is going to stop me— not even my boyfriend. I tap my desk angrily, my eyes never leave the clock. Class isn't over till fifteen minutes. The English teacher is up front. Her class drags on for so long. She had gi
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







