Page 17 of On Broken Wings

I glared at where his arm was touching me. “No.”

“Suit yourself.” He shrugged as he jogged ahead of us, and shoved open the cafeteria doors.

“What was that about?” Kenzie stared at me in confusion.

“I don’t know.” I sighed. “It’s been happening all day.”

“Guess going to homecoming with Nate made you popular.” She giggled.

“Maybe. I didn’t really want all this though.” I flung my arms out. All I wanted right now was to go back to the way things used to be. Senior year was supposed to be fun, not stressful.

As we entered the cafeteria, it felt like everyone in there was staring at me. A few sets of eyes swung my way, but it was the way it got quieter that sort of freaked me out. I made my way to the line, and Kenzie followed. As we began choosing items, Nate and his friends started high fiving again. They laughed, and pointed, and then Nate stared right through me. It’s like his eyes were hollow, like I meant nothing to him.

A cold chill ran through me, and all my instincts told me to leave. Something was wrong, and I needed to get away, but I couldn’t. My feet were rooted, and my life was getting ready to take a turn in the worst direction.

“Come on.” Kenzie nudged me. We started walking toward a table. It was too chilly to eat outside now.

“They’re staring at me,” I growled. “What does everyone else know that I don’t?”

“I have no idea.” She looked perplexed. “They’re just stupid, I guess.” Normally Nate would be the one diffusing this situation. He’d do something funny, or threaten the ones who were laughing at me, but he was right there with them. He was part of the problem.

We found a spot and started to sit when Michelle began weaving her way through the crowd toward us. “Hey, Jen.” She bounced up beside us. “Did you have a good weekend?”

“What do you want?” Kenzie rolled her eyes. She hated Michelle as much as I did; only she didn’t hide her hatred.

“I thought you might want to know, you’re famous!” She squealed as she thrust her phone in front of me. At first I didn’t understand what she meant, but as her smile turned sinister, my stomach dropped to my knees.

There on the tiny screen with a Twitter symbol were Nate and me. It was us on Friday night, only we weren’t dancing. We were in the back of his brother’s SUV. It was us having sex. My eyes were closed, my head thrown back in pain, but it looked like I was enjoying myself. My pleas had been edited out, and in their place were panting and moaning. At the end, Nate’s face turned around and he smiled at the camera. Across the bottom it was captioned, “Pipe Masters Do It Again. Another virgin bites the dust.”

“See? Famous?” She giggled as she slipped her phone back into her pocket. “I think you’ve gotten around three hundred hits already today.”

“I gotta go,” I mumbled as I pushed my way to the bathroom. I could hear laughter coming from the guys’ table. Nate had taped us. He’d taped one of the most vulnerable moments of my life. Friday night should have been special. My first time should have been special.

As I barreled into the bathroom, I flung open the first empty stall and dropped to my knees. As I dry heaved into the toilet, I could hear snickering coming from outside the stall. I was never going to escape this. Even the girls thought it was funny.

“Jen?” Kenzie’s voice was timid.

“In here.” I stuck my arm out.

“She’s a bitch,” she soothed. “Let’s go.”

“Where? I’ll never escape this,” I whimpered.

“Home? The park? My house? Wherever you want to. I’ll go with you.” She offered a half smile, and held out her hand to help me up. “We really should tell your mom about this.”

“No! No one can know about this.” I shook my head, fear lacing my voice.

“Jen,” Kenzie warned.

“No!” I glared at her. “Promise me.”

“Fine.” She nodded. “Let’s get out of here.”

Chapter 7

Jenni

Six weeks. It’s been six weeks since I became Internet porn. When I look at myself in the mirror, I don’t even recognize my reflection. The dark circles under my eyes have become a permanent fixture. I’m lucky if I brush my hair before I leave the house. I sprained my ankle at gymnastics practice a few weeks ago, and my parents think that’s the cause of my depression. I’ve let them believe it because it’s just easier than admitting what’s happening at school. I’ve thought about dropping out. I’m old enough, and I could take the GED exam this summer. Kenzie’s the only person who calls me.

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