Page 120 of Let's Get Textual

What he’s saying clicks.

“You think Shep did this?” He nods. “But why?”

“Um, because it’s Shep,” Zoe answers, mirroring Caleb’s pose. “It makes sense, D. The guy is a total ass and if you poke at him, he’ll strike back.”

“That’s not a joke. He’s done shitty stuff to girls who didn’t fall for his bullshit, and he tends to brag about it in the locker room. I kind of hate the guy.”

“Did you do anything to him?” Zoe asks.

“No? I mean, I mentioned you and he was a bit of an ass about it, but other than that, no.”

“I wonder if he got ahold of Zach’s phone before or after that.”

“I’m betting after,” Caleb says. He shoots from the couch and begins pacing the living room. “I want to march over to campus, rip that asshole out of class, and beat him senseless for this shit.”

“Calm down. We don’t knowfor surethat it was him.”

“I don’t know, D. Caleb is making excellent points, and I have a feeling it was,” Zoe says. “Besides, you said yourself that you can’t believe Zach would do something like that. To me there’s nothing malicious about him…”

“When I met him, he spent the entire night telling me about this non-profit he wants to start,” Caleb tells me.

“You do know how the idea began, right?” Caleb shakes his head at my question. “It was because Zach developed an app in high school that was a hot-or-not kind of thing. It spun out of control and caused a ton of drama.”

“So you’re saying you think he’s capable of sending out anakedphoto of hisgirlfriendbecause he did a shitty thing in high school?” Caleb volleys back.

Well…no, I don’t think that at all. I think that’s why I’m having such a hard time with all this. When Zach told me the story of what he did in high school, Ifelthis remorse. He was beyond sorry it ever happened. Whenever he speaks about Embody Positivity, he’spassionate.

I don’t think he did this.

And I’m a complete asshole for jumping the gun on him.

Fuck.I think I screwed up the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

I release a heavy sigh and fall back onto the couch. “I’m the worst.”

“You’re not the worst. The evidence was there, there’s no denying that. Besides, this is all theory at this point. We don’t have concrete proof that it was Shep.”

“How do we get it?”

Caleb continues to pace, mumbling to himself. Neither me nor Zoe can understand him. We sit and watch as he rolls a plan around in his head.

Finally, he faces us, hands on his hips. “Let me take care of it.”

“Okay.”

“But, D? If it turns out he isn’t the one who sent the photo—though I’m fairly certain that’s highly unlikely—you need to be prepared.”

My mouth goes dry at the thought. I got so wrapped up in the theory that Zach is innocent that I forgot to think about him being guilty.

My stomach clenches.

“I’ll be ready, Caleb.”

My alarm clock sounds, and I reach over to the bedside table and launch it across the room.

I don’t want to go to class this morning. I can’t.

I’m not ready to face everyone. Iknowthere will be at least one person in the class that’s seen the photo. Caleb claims no one knows who the girl is, butI’llknow, and every time someone looks at me, I’ll wonder if they know too.

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