Page 97 of Colton

The pain is getting unbearable. It’s as though someone has taken a million small needles and is piercing them through my heart, all at the same time. There’s nothing going on inside my head, except for the voice that’s screaming at me for being so reckless.

The truth is, Colton and I did get too comfortable. Since the first time we managed to get away with it, albeit barely, I allowed myself to think we were invincible. There’s always been that small, tiny voice at the back of my head, screaming that this will end terribly.

Yet, I didn’t listen.

“We’re going to figure this out,” Sophia says, keeping her voice deliberately soft, but her hug seems to grow stronger. “I promise you, nothing will happen to you.”

“This just means we’ll fight back twice as hard,” Grace adds.

The anger in her voice is palpable, her jaw clenched, and her hands fisted. She’s ready to throw punches at whoever was taking these photos, but at this point, I don’t know why I’m surprised.

For years, Sinners and Saints has had an open forum for students to post gossip, and they decide what’s worth spreading. That means multiple people were taking pictures of Colton and me. Some were even in the gated town no ordinary person could enter.

“What am I going to do now?” The question falls from my lips in a soft, broken whisper. They waited until the end of the year on purpose — until I’m too vulnerable, yet there’s enough time for something to be done. I’ll have to endure all the stares, all the shame, all the fucking embarrassment.

My grades have never been perfect, but they’ve always been good. I know people will be saying the only reason I have good grades is that I slept with the dean, and that none of it came from my hard work.

My entire body feels as though it’s been set on fire. Every nerve is inflamed, and every bone in my body is throbbing. Then, nausea starts building in the pit of my stomach, threatening to come out of my mouth.

“Grace, do you still have the images of me from earlier in the year?”

Sophia’s question throws me off guard, and I pull away from the hug. Back when all of the Soren and Sophia issue was at its peak, Cassia was blackmailing Soren into silence and playing into the role of her boyfriend with Sophia’s nude pictures.

“Yes, I have them somewhere. Why?”

“Leak them,” Sophia says without an ounce of hesitation. “Send them to Sinners and Saints.”

My eyes snap to hers in pure horror. “What? No! I won’t let you do that!”

“You’re not my mother, you can’t let me do anything,” Sophia says, using her thumbs to wipe the tears from beneath my eyes. “I’m an adult capable of making her own decisions. My naked pictures will take attention away from you and Colton, at least long enough for him to figure out how to deal with this.”

“Sophia,” I whisper. “Don’t do that. I’m not worth it. You’ll ruin your reputation.”

“My reputation got ruined the moment the image of me sucking Soren’s dick in an elevator got leaked,” she snorts. “Don’t worry too much about it, okay?”

There’s no hesitation, no malice in her face. All I see is a pure need to help me, and that makes this whole situation far more delicate. She’s willing to ruin everything she’s worked hard to obtain to help me, and I don’t know whether to thank her or to scold her for acting so stupidly.

“Not today,” Grace says. “In a day or two. If I do it now, there’s no chance they’ll publish it. We need to let the dust settle a little.”

“I’m still against this,” I sigh.

I’m a nobody, and this news will affect Colton more than me. However, at this rate, Sophia’s a public figure. She’s the daughter of the most powerful oil mogul in the United States — his only daughter, and someone will take the news to numerous media outlets. The repercussions she’ll face are far greater than any consequence I might end up facing.

“I need you to take a breather,” Sophia instructs, taking my hands in hers. “I’m not going to say I told you so, but I had a hunch this was going to happen sooner or later. But we’re in this together, alright? We’ve got you.”

And at those words, my eyes start tearing up again.

To the outside world, Sophia Sloane is a stone-cold bitch, with no filter, and no regard for people she deems irrelevant. But for the people she loves? She’d do anything, and I’m only now starting to get the full view of it all.

I don’t know how I’d survive this without her.

37

Every year, the paperwork seems to grow. Now that all the exams are done and the results are up for students to see, I have almost no time for anything other than finalizing this year’s paperwork. I’ve been signing papers every day, yet the stack doesn’t seem to shrink. In fact, I could almost swear someone’s been putting more and more workload on my desk.

With a deep breath, I lean back in my chair, taking a small sip of the tea. It’s lukewarm at best, and the taste’s terrible now. I push the cup away from me, rubbing my temples in exhaustion. It’s only a matter of time before I resign, as this is something I no longer have the time to deal with.

A knock comes to the door, and I roll my eyes. Aretmis has visited four times in the past two days, and she knocks on the door obnoxiously loudly, then enters regardless of whether I told her to come in.