Page 102 of I'm Gonna Get You Back
But he didn’t see me like that.
It wouldn’t stop you. Nothing can stop you.
I lost almost everything that mattered to me last year. I thought that those losses defined me. But I’m still here. Still trying. Still fighting for what matters to me.
Maybe that’s what defines me.
Looking at Mitchell now—who’s so afraid to get hurt again he refuses to acknowledge what’s real even when it’s speaking ridiculous Shakespearean English in his ear—I’m starting to see that pushing Reid away time and again didn’t protect either of us from pain. It actually invited so much more in.
When Mitchell goes to refill his bowl, I pick up my phone to check my favorite poetry account the way I have all year when I miss him. Itstillhasn’t updated. But I can’t linger on that long when in the nextmoment, both our phones chime. We share a quick glance. That can only mean a text on the group chat.
Sure enough, Kenji sent an update from the Legacy Lore account with the text,Another reason we hate Josh!!! He’s why I had to retake that AP Calc final!!!
@LEGACY_LORE: A former Woodhurst student entrepreneur who relocated to a different school midyear has revealed his number one customer. Anyone recognize a certain Legacy? More soon…
The post includes several screenshots of text messages between Anderson Beck, who got expelled last year for selling answer keys to tests, and Josh negotiating where to meet and the price for both the midterm and the final.
Mitchell lets out a low laugh. “Oh, this is bad.”
As I read through the texts I think of Josh’s response when I asked him about the cheating accusation.I have nothing to hide.He said that about what happened between us last year, too. He’s a good liar.
Still, this isn’t exactly hard proof.
“I mean, there’s no way to know for sure it’s actually Josh and Anderson sending these.”
Mitchell shakes his head. “You know nobody cares about proof. The damage is done.”
The comments prove Mitchell’s point. They’re scathing. Of Josh and the school. Starting to call into question the Legacy Program.
As someone also trying to tell that story, I should be excited that its faults are starting to show. But I’m not.
Whoever is behind this account isn’t trying to right wrongs or bringthe truth to light, they’re trying to ruin reputations. They seem hell-bent on forcing out anything that could threaten the Legacies’ scholarships. Their very futures. Everything Reid has worked for.
Irefuseto let that happen to him.
Which is exactly why I’m making the doc.
If Reid is still willing to talk to me after what happened between us this morning, I can finally get his interview at the brunch with just enough time to finish putting the video together for the banquet tonight. To show thecompletestory.
Hopefully before any more rumors get around.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVENREIDNOW
DAY OF LEGACY BANQUET
@haikuforyou
Larkspur survives frost
Fighting against a cold fate
We could be like that
I THINK I FINALLYpushed too far. The run with my dad was manageable until the final hill. I pretended my shoelace came untied and told my dad to run ahead. I ended up having to walk the rest of the way home, and even that was a lot on my knee.
After I shower and dress in jeans and a hoodie for the Legacy Brunch, I hobble to the kitchen for some ice and ibuprofen. For the first time since I got home, I’m not sure I can keep acting like it’s okay.
I don’t move from the couch until the front door explodes open announcing Mitchell’s arrival home. Everything he does is loud—it’s why living with him is fucking exhausting.
