Slut? Me?

Tears well up in my eyes, as more and more of them look at me as if I’m the scum of the earth. I run into the nearest bathroom and take out my cell phone. With shaking hands, I text Chris and tell him to meet me here. I don’t want to leave; they’re all looking at me, and I hate it. Why are they calling me names and looking at me like that? I’ve done nothing wrong. Nothing weird.

Nothing … except one night with Chris.

It finally sinks in, and I struggle to breathe. My fingers tremble and the phone drops to the stone floor, cracking the screen. That’s when someone knocks on the door.

Chapter 11

Emily

Age 16

“Emily?”

His voice alone makes a tear roll down my cheeks.

“Are you in here?”

“Yes,” I say.

I’m not sure what I should do. A part of me wants to tell him to stay the hell away, and another part of me wants him to explain. I care about him, and for him to do this to me … I can’t imagine it.

When the door opens, my choice is made for me. He peeks through the slit before entering, and the moment he spots my teary eyes, he says, “What happened?”

“You did this,” I say.

“What?” he says, closing the door behind him.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. They’re calling me a slut, Chris. A slut. A whore. A cheap girl.” I grind my teeth from anger.

“What? Why?”

“Why? Isn’t it obvious?” I yell. “You told them we … we …” I can’t even say it without feeling sick to my stomach at the thought that everyone knows.

“Wait … but I didn’t …” He smacks his hand on his forehead, his jaw dropping. “Fuck no. The guys …”

“What about them?” I say, crossing my arms. “You told them, didn’t you?”

He rubs his lips together. “I’m sorry. I just … they kept asking me what I was doing with you, and I felt so good about it, it somehow just slipped out.”

“You told them we had sex?” I scream.

“Shhh.” Chris puts his finger in front of his lip. “Not so loud.”

“Why? Are you afraid the whole school will know what we did? Guess what, Chris? Too late!”

“No, I didn’t mean for this to happen,” he says. “I just couldn’t contain myself. I promise you, they swore they’d keep it a secret.”

“They didn’t,” I say, swallowing away the lump in my throat. “And now the whole school knows. And on top of that, your friend came to me asking if I could provide the same ‘service’ to him.”

“What?” His jaw drops even further.

“You used me,” I snarl. “You used me for your own fun, and I fell for it.”

“No, that’s not at all—”

“Save it. I don’t want to hear it,” I say. My heart is breaking. He crushed it in his hand the moment he told his friends about us.

“Am I just a trophy to you? A girl you scored? That one night you can boast about to your friends?” I spit, unable to control myself. “Well, good for you. You did it. Congratulations. The school nerd fell for the jock and she got owned.” I open my bag and take out his notebook. “Here’s your medal.” I fling it toward him, and he barely manages to catch it.

“Don’t do this,” he says. “It’s not like that, not at all.”

“Yeah? Well, how am I supposed to believe that, huh? With the whole school calling me a slut?” I push back the tears that scream to be set free. “You sold me out. I feel like a prostitute.”

“Don’t call yourself that.” He takes a step in my direction, but I hold up my hand.

“Don’t come any closer.” I can’t allow him to touch me because I know the effect it has on me. I don’t trust myself one bit around him, but I need to do this for my own self-worth.

“I didn’t know this would happen. You have to believe me,” he says. “They made it all up, I swear. It’s all lies. I didn’t tell them I paid you.”

“It doesn’t matter, Chris. It still happened, and now the whole school thinks I’m for sale.”

“I’m sorry,” he says with a genuine frown.

“Please, just …” I sigh and sling my backpack over my shoulder. “Just leave me alone, okay?”

As I walk past him, he says, “I meant it when I said I liked being with you. What we had…”

I lower my head, and a tear still manages to escape. I can’t forgive him for this. Not now. It’s too fresh, too painful. When I walk out of here, people will still talk about me. They will still call me names based on a lie. Boys will harass me, thinking I’m easy. It’s going to be even tougher than before, but I’ll hold my head high and show them I’m not who they think I am.

I won’t scream, I won’t shout, and I won’t fight. But my silence will show that I’m not one to mess with.

Chapter 12

Chris

Present

Sweet Jesus, have mercy on me. That ass is so fine I’d take a bite if I could.

I check her out as she gets off her seat and bends over to pick up a stack of the papers that fell off the desk. When she gets back up and turns her head, she narrows her eyes at me while I’m biting my lip. Shit, she caught me in the act.

“Were you checking me out?” she says.

“Ahh … no comment.” I grin. “See? I’m a good learner.”

She rolls her eyes and sits back down again, slamming the stack of papers on her desk. “Except you’re supposed to be honest with me. How else am I going to improve your current, and horrible might I add, standing with the media?”

“Ouch, that was harsh, si—I mean Em.” I swallow, but she clearly appreciates me trying not to use the word she hates so much. Pity, because I love to use it. It gets her so angry, like spitfire will spew from her mouth. I guess I’m just a sucker for her attention in whatever way I can get it.

She immediately begins typing again, probably sending out another one of her emails, but I’m not having any of it.

“Nuh-uh,” I say, grabbing her arm and picking her up from her chair. “We’re not doing this.”

“What?” she says as I drag her away from her chair. “What are you doing?”

“Taking you out for some coffee.”

“I have work to do, Chris.”

“Work later. Take a break now,” I say as I pull her through the door of the office.

“I have a Kit Kat in my drawer.”

I laugh. “And I have a Milky Way in my pants.”

“Oh, ha-ha,” she says.

“Don’t make me pull it out.” I grin at her, which makes her roll her eyes.

“Been there, done that. I wasn’t too impressed,” she muses, freeing herself from my grip.

“Liar,” I say, raising a brow. “I know you liked it. Especially the white filling.”

“Oh, Jesus … that one time?” she jokes. “Do I need to remind you of what happened after that? At school? With your friends?”

I guess we’re not talking about Kit Kats and Milky Ways anymore. Too bad, because I was definitely getting in the mood for a taste of that sweet caramel.

“No, I remember vividly, thanks,” I say. “Now let’s go.”

When I attempt to grab her hand, she crosses her arms. “Who says I’m coming with you? I can’t afford to take a break. Not with my boss peeking over my shoulder every hour.”

“Tell her I forced you. She’ll forgive me.”

“She knows when I’m lying,” she says, dropping her arms.

With a smirk, I say, “It’s not a lie. I get what I want, and I’m taking you with me now.”

Her eyes widen and a flush appears on her cheeks, and then I grab her hand and pull her along with me.

“You’re really pushy, you know that?” she says.

“I learned from the best,” I muse.

“Hey, I hope you don’t mean me, dude.”

“No comment.” I glance at her, her frown making me smile broadly. I can’t help myself, I just love to see her face, and I know she’ll definitely look at me when I’ve ticked her off. “I’m doing you a favor here.”

“Well, thanks,” she says. “I didn’t ask for one.”

“You don’t have to ask; I know what you need.” I stop walking, and she almost bumps into me, so I catch her in my arms. “You need some dark … hot … oozing …”