All Chapters of PAY TO BREAK ME: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

AARON'S POVThe moment we stepped out of the principal’s office, the tension followed us into the hallway.No one spoke.Jack walked beside me for a few seconds before moving slightly ahead like he didn’t even notice I was there anymore. His hands were shoved inside his pockets and his expression looked the same as always—calm, and slightly irritated.I slowed down eventually, letting him create distance between us without trying to stop him.Honestly, I didn’t even know what I would’ve said if we ended up talking.“Hey, thanks for not ruining my life?”Hell, no. I'll probably be six feet deep before I get to complete that sentence.My fingers tightened slightly around the folder in my hand as I exhaled quietly.At least it was over now.My name was back on the scholarship list and the entire drug accusation thing had finally been cleared properly. For the first time in days, I felt like I could breathe again without constantly feeling anxious.Still, my thoughts drifted back toward

JACK'S POVEarlier, I had received another text from the anonymous number.“Log into the Social Director’s account and wipe every video of Alex from the school blog. Do that… and the picture never leaves me.”I read the message twice before locking my phone and shoving it back into my pocket.At this point, whoever this person was had stopped sounding like a normal blackmailer.He was interfering.I walked down the hallway slowly, my jaw tight while my thoughts kept turning over themselves.Why the hell were they so obsessed with protecting Alex?First, at the alley, when I was dealing with Alex because he had ignored my warning and decided to mess with Aaron anyway, the anonymous texter had interfered.Then today, he wanted the videos erased too like he actually cared what happened to him.It was suspicious.I pushed open the stairwell door roughly and started heading downstairs.Could it be Alex himself?The thought crossed my mind again even though I had already ruled it out befo

AARON’S POVThe screams became louder with every step Jay took. The word “cops” was still ringing in my head, but nothing about the way people were running felt normal. Jay’s hand never left my wrist.He kept pulling me forward through the crowd like he already knew where he was going. People kept bumping into us, pushing past, shouting, falling over chairs, but his grip didn’t loosen once.And somehow that was the strangest part of everything.Even in all that chaos, he was steady. I could feel my arm being dragged through the mess, but I also noticed how careful he was not to let go of me even for a second, like if he did, I would get swallowed by the crowd completely.I didn’t understand why that mattered so much to him.We turned sharply into a narrow hallway behind the stage area and the noise reduced slightly.Jay pushed open a small door at the end.The room was too tiny. Shelves lined the walls, stacked with random boxes and cables. There was barely space to stand properly. I

AARON’S POVI kept staring out of the cab window even though there was nothing interesting to see. The city was still bustling like nothing had happened inside that club.My mind kept replaying the way Jay said “stay close” like it wasn’t just about surviving the chaos outside, but something else entirely. Standing that close to him, breathing the same tight air… noticing things I shouldn’t have noticed.And then Chloe’s picture.The way Jay had looked at my phone for that split second and went quiet afterwards. He suddenly seemed… different for a moment.But maybe I was just overthinking it.I shifted in my seat and exhaled slowly, pressing my head back against the window. My chest still felt tight for no clear reason, like I had carried something out of that place that didn’t belong to me.My phone vibrated.I already knew who it was even before checking.Chloe.I opened the message, stared at it for a second, then locked my phone again without replying.“It’s getting late. Why are

AARON'S POVThe sting didn’t fully register until Chloe tightened her grip around my wrist.“Why would you grab broken glass?” she asked quickly, her voice somewhere between annoyed and worried as she turned my palm slightly toward the light.Blood slid slowly across my skin in a thin line, but enough to make the cut look worse than it probably was.“I wasn’t thinking,” I muttered.Around us, the lab had gone unusually quiet. A few students were still staring while the instructor bent slightly to look at my hand.“You need to go to the infirmary,” he said almost immediately. “That cut might still have glass particles inside.”Damn it.I stared at my palm for a second, already exhausted by the thought. How many times had I even ended up at the infirmary this semester?First Jack, then Alex, and now some stupid microscope slide that couldn’t stay balanced for five seconds. At this point, I was starting to feel like the place should reserve a bed for me permanently.Chloe was still holdi