XANDER’S POV
I can’t sit still. I keep pacing back and forth in my apartment, my phone clutched in my hand like it’s some kind of lifeline.
I’ve tried calling Aria fifteen times. Every single call goes straight to voicemail.
I’ve sent her text after text, but she’s not responding to any of them.
I stop pacing and type out another message: “You think I’d share a photo of you like that? Never! I didn’t do it, believe me Aria.”
I hit send and wait, staring at the screen.
Nothing.
She’s not going to respond. She’s made up her mind that I’m the one who betrayed her, and nothing I say is going to change that.
But I know I didn’t do it. I know I would never hurt her like that. Which means someone else did.
Someone else had access to that photo somehow.
I start thinking through the possibilities. The photo was on my phone. I never sent it to anyone, never showed it to anyone, never even looked at it after that night.
But someone got it. Someone shared it. Someone made sure the entire school saw it.
Who?
The guys. It has to be one of the guys. They’re the only ones who would do something this sick, this cruel.
I grab my car keys and head for the door. I need answers, and I need them now.
Caleb’s apartment is only ten minutes away, but it feels like the longest drive of my life. By the time I get there, I’m so angry I can barely see straight.
I take the stairs two at a time and pound on his door.
“Caleb! Open up!”
The door opens, and Caleb’s standing there with a beer in his hand like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
“Xander, what’s up, man?”
I push past him into the apartment. Jake, Marcus, and Tyler are all there, sprawled out on the couch playing video games.
“We need to talk,” I say.
“About what?” Caleb asks, closing the door.
“About the picture of Aria that’s been going around school.”
“Oh, that,” Jake says without looking away from the TV. “Yeah, that was crazy. I can’t believe you actually got her to pose like that.”
“I didn’t get her to do anything. And I sure as hell didn’t share that picture.”
“Then how did everyone get it?” Marcus asks.
“That’s what I want to know.” I look around the room at all of them. “Which one of you saw it first?”
They all exchange glances, and I can see they’re trying to decide what to tell me.
“Come on,” Tyler says. “Does it really matter? The bet’s over, you won. Time to collect your money.”
“There is no bet anymore,” I say through gritted teeth. “There never was. Not really.”
“Right,” Jake laughs. “You’re telling us you actually have feelings for the fat girl?”
“Don’t call her that.”
“Whoa, he’s serious,” Marcus says. “Xander actually caught feelings.”
“Which one of you saw the picture first?” I ask again, my voice getting louder.
They all look at each other again, and finally Tyler points at Caleb.
“Caleb shared it,” he says, like he’s afraid of what I might do.
I turn to look at Caleb, and I can see from his expression that it’s true.
“You?” I ask quietly. “You did this?”
Caleb shrugs, like it’s no big deal. “Wasn’t all of this a bet? Just because you finally got a taste doesn’t mean you get to forget about the bet.”
Something inside me snaps.
I lunge at him, my fist connecting with his jaw before he even knows what’s happening.
“How dare you?” I shout, grabbing him by his shirt.
He stumbles backward, his hand going to his bleeding lip.
“What the hell, man?”
“You shared a private photo of her! You humiliated her in front of the entire school!”
“It was just a picture!”
“It was her! It was private! It was meant to stay between us!”
I swing at him again, but this time he’s ready for it. He ducks and comes back with a punch that catches me in the mouth.
“You’re losing it over some girl who doesn’t even want you!” he yells.
“She’s not just some girl!”
I tackle him, and we both go down hard. He tries to pin me, but I’m too angry to be stopped. I get on top of him and start throwing punches.
“You ruined everything!” I shout between hits. “You destroyed her life!”
“Get off me!”
The other guys are yelling, trying to pull us apart, but I don’t want to stop. I want to make Caleb pay for what he did to Aria.
Finally, Jake and Marcus manage to drag me off him. We’re both breathing hard, both bleeding from our mouths.
“You’re crazy,” Caleb says, wiping blood from his lip. “She’s just some fat slut who spread her legs for you.”
I try to lunge at him again, but Jake and Marcus hold me back.
“Don’t you ever talk about her like that again,” I warn him.
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll do a lot worse than punch you.”
Caleb laughs, but I can see he’s shaken. “This is ridiculous. It was just a stupid bet.”
“It stopped being a bet the moment I got to know her.”
“Right. And now you’re in love or whatever.”
“Yeah. I am.”
The room goes quiet. Even the guys holding me back seem surprised.
“You’re serious?” Tyler asks.
“Dead serious. I love her. And this asshole ruined any chance I had with her.”
I look directly at Caleb.
“Find a way to get rid of that picture off the school website before it gets to the school authorities,” I tell him.
“I can’t just make it disappear.”
“Figure it out.”
“And if I don’t?”
I pull out my phone and scroll through my photos until I find what I’m looking for. A picture from last year’s party where Caleb got so drunk he passed out half-naked with a girl’s bra on his head.
I show him the screen.
“Then I’ll share yours too.”
His face goes pale.
30
