Page 86 of Bitter Lies

I can’t bear to see the hate and disgust that will surely be there, and with a mental sigh, I give in. This is my penance, and there is no fucking redemption.

“What’s he talking about?” he demands roughly.

“What…he said,” I flounder, earning me a warning look from Jason.

“Are you saying you made it up?”

“I was hurt.” Which isn’t a lie because I felt like I was dying the next day. Hell, I feel like I’m dying right now.

“So, you lied? About being raped?” Griffin bites out between clenched teeth.

“Okay, uh, see you around,” Jason says with an uncomfortable smile and I glare at him, disbelieving.

Dick.

Turning away from Griffin, I grab my bag numbly, hoping I can keep it together until I get back to my dorm. But it’s lingering below my skin, an itch that I can’t scratch, and the longer I stand here, the more I want to claw at it.

“So, you lied?”

Smiling sadly, I brush past him, saying, “Isn’t that what you said? I’m a liar. Right?”

“Halsey!”

Ignoring him, I race for the door, breathing deep when I get outside, but it’s not helping, and all the way back to my dorm room, I silently seethe because once again, I’m the one being fucking violated, and I’m tired of it.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Don’t lose faith…right.

After spending two painful days in bed where I refused to move, convincing my roommate that I was sick, I finally emerge.

Although I’m still reeling from the events at the library, I’ve also decided. I did what Jason wanted, but I’ll be damned if he’s gonna hold those videos over my head for an eternity. As it is, I feel powerless under this new revelation and frankly fearful he might use it against me in more nefarious ways.

I thought about telling my counselor, but the fewer people who know about the videos, the better. It’s bad enough knowing they exist, but for someone else to see them? No. Please, god, no.

How many times has Jason watched it? Did he share it with his friends? Is my humiliation being used to jack off with?

No, they need to disappear, and I’m willing to do just about anything to make it happen.

But after a frustrating conversation with my mother where she refused to release part of my birthday money without knowing why and I refused to tell her, I’m no better off than when I started, except now I have a fucking headache.

It’s a long shot, but I’m desperate, so I contact Max, who grudgingly agrees to meet me for lunch.

With a grim smile, he sits opposite me, looking terrible, and my chest clenches with worry because he’s not getting better; he’s getting worse, and I’m fucking powerless.

“I heard about the little charade,” he sneers in the way of greeting, and I frown.

“How did you know?”

“Well, I had to ask when Jason was invited to a fucking party at the house,” he says sourly. “Fucked-up shit, Hals. You could have ruined his life.”

Gritting my teeth, I smile, but it’s undoubtedly a horrific fucking rendition of amusement. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Griffin is buddies with Jason again. Hell, I helped it along, but it doesn’t stop the devastation I feel as a result.

I don’t know what’s going on in Griffin’s diabolical mind, but I have to assume at this point it’s as dark as mine.

And Jason has a massive set of balls walking back in as though nothing is wrong, which makes me that much more determined.

“Whatever. I need a favor,” I grumble, hoping that for once in his fucking life, my brother will throw me a damn bone.

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