Page 83 of Web of Lies
Salvageable,” Zepp says, finishing my sentence. “Whoever came here obviously didn’t know to damage the tower too, not just the screen. On both of them.” Relief spills through me again until my eyes meet the floor. Every single piece of clothing is on the ground, bleach stains lining the dark fabrics. They tore my school uniforms to pieces like someone had a sword and went to town. My computer screen’s glass is scattered on the ground, and someone kicked them up into my shredded sheets. Feathers from my pillows and mattress cover the room in a delicate white, almost like snow has fallen. There isn’t an inch of this place they haven’t wrecked.
“Sorry, Kace,” Seger says, putting a hand on my shoulder. Chase squeezes my hand he still holds, and Zepp tightens his hold on me.
“They said my punishment for hanging with you all was the dumpster, but why this?” Tears threaten to spill again.
I never remember wanting to cry like this. They have ripped a piece of my soul from my body at the sight of all my things thrown around like trash. Even Magnolia’s paintings sit on the floor.
“It’s a warning, I think,” Zepp says hesitantly.
“For what?” I shake my head against his chest, letting the boys surround me with their presence. I’m not sure I could do this without them right now.
“For us,” Seger whispers. My eyebrows shoot up into my hairline.
“Did they?” I whisper, pulling back from Zepp’s chest to inspect their downed faces.
“Yeah, about ten minutes ago,” Zepp confirms my worst fears for them.
“Where did they post it?” I ask, crossing my arms across my chest. A million thoughts shoot through my mind.
“Why, you wanna watch it?” Seger quips, a grin spreading across his face, despite the sadness in his tone.
I snort. “Well, duh, everyone needs a twin-sandwich, right?” Chase chokes beside me, coughing on his spit.
“Ugh,” Seger groans, rolling his eyes.
“Why did you really ask?” Zepp asks, tilting his head.
“It’s a little-known fact my siblings are disgusting, and that’s my doing,” I say with a shrug, peering across the room again. My heart breaks at the sight of it all. I wish I could make it all disappear and go back to how it was before.
“How so?” Chase sputters.
“My siblings liked to show off their gross body parts at parties. They constantly had pictures taken and put online.”
“And?” Seger asks almost impatiently.
“And I got rid of the evidence.” A grin finds Zepp’s face as soon as I say it.
“She can take it down, is what she’s trying to say,” Zepp says, slapping a hand across Seger’s chest.
“Fucking computer nerds.” Seger shakes his head back and forth, grinning like an idiot. “I was kinda hoping you wanted to watch it. We could turn it on the big screen, reenact it—you—umph!” Seger loses his breath as Chase’s fist softly finds his stomach.
“Cut the shit, Seg,” he says, shaking his head. “So, what do we need to do?” I turn to Zepp, rubbing my hands together.
“I have a monitor you can borrow. Want me to grab those?” Zepp asks, nodding towards the untouched computer towers.
The boys help me lug my important computer into the house, along with Magnolia’s paintings. I can’t admit in front of Chase yet why I’m bringing them, just that they’re essential to me. The boys help me turn in a claim to the school, taking pictures of the damage, hoping a crew will help with the damages. Zepp claims if the school does nothing, he’ll buy me anything I need. But I tell him my dad can help if I explain the break-in, just not the other things happening. I don’t want my dad to pull me from this school.
The guys let me borrow a shirt and sweatpants to hold me over until new uniforms can get sent over to the house. So, after a shower, and I mean a thorough shower, I finally sit down at the computer with Chase by my side. Seger and Zepp head off to the dining hall, thankfully it remains open all night long, to grab us all a late dinner while I track down the sex tape of them floating around the internet.
“How do you know how to do this?” Chase asks with his mouth open wide, watching my fingers bounce against the keys.
“It’s my specialty, I guess,” I say with a shrug, starting a tracer on the picture, tracking it down to the original site of upload. The house goes quiet as I let the computer work its magic. Tracing photos or videos rarely takes long, but it just depends on how secure the original is. Once I track that one, I can delete them all and, hopefully, save the boys some face.
Chase’s body heat pours into the side of my body, bringing me back to the moment he wrapped me in his arms. Our noses had touched in such a way, I wanted to kiss him—again. He and I have done it before, but as a teenager, I want to do it again. Something I never thought I’d have the chance to do or want to do. But being in his arms, being carried across campus like the most important person in the world, makes butterflies flutter to life in my belly. I wonder if he remembers the girl he kissed in the darkened corner of a film studio after a round of hide and seek? The girl he laughed with and had fun with for just a little while. I wonder if he remembers what my lips felt like on his because I’ve never forgotten.
I sit back in my chair, peering over at Chase’s curious face. His eyes watch the codes springing across the screen in wonderment. He can’t peel them away, even if he wanted to.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” I ask, tilting my head to the side. His eyebrows furrow at my words, eyes finally leaving the tracing code.
