Page 101 of Always Choosing You

She took a closer look at her screen, at the two girls who were kissing. And realized she recognized them both.

It was Helen, her hair pinned away from her face in a classy topknot, her hands on flushed, smiling cheeks.

Zoe’s smiling cheeks. In Helen’s embrace, her slicked-back blonde hair tucked behind her ears.

“Holy crap, indeed,” Rory whispered.

“Dear god,” Vanessa said, hopping off the couch, phone still in hand. “This is bad.”

“Why is it bad?” Melanie retorted.

“No, not bad as in what they are doing is bad,” Vanessa corrected. “Bad as in this is everywhere. Walker blasted it on Snapchat and now it’s circulating all over. Four different people just texted it to me.”

“That’s disgusting,” Melanie said. “How could he do that?”

“Because he wants her to hurt,” Rory whispered, realization now dawning on her. “He wants to get back at her.”

Melanie just looked confused. “Why?”

Rory suddenly felt panicked. For Zoe. For Helen. For the two of them at this godforsaken dance, being outed on full blast for the school to see.

She glanced at Vanessa. “Call Sean.”

Vanessa quickly obeyed, putting her phone on speaker. Sean answered in two rings.

“Sean,” Rory rushed out. “Where’s Zoe?”

“Tyler just whisked both of them out of here,” Sean explained, music booming in the background. “Gina is on the phone with Helen now. They’re peeling out of the parking lot.”

“And Walker?”

“His face is still white after whatever Tyler just said to him before they left.”

Rory’s heart swooped, her chest tight. A protector. A gentleman to the bitter end.

“Okay, Gina says Tyler is dropping them off at Helen’s place.”

The three of them exhaled, staring at one another.

“Guys, I’m not sure how much more of this I can take,” Sean admitted. “I just sent in a bunch of dancing images. Do you think we’ll have enough?”

“Absolutely,” Vanessa said. “At this point, screw it. We’ll work with what we got.”

“I can go home and edit them—”

“Sean, we know how to edit an image for crying out loud,” Rory retorted. “Now turn off your camera and make out with Gina a little before you take her home.”

Melanie coughed out a laugh.

Sean’s silence was telling enough—they could feel his embarrassment. “Yes, ma’am,” he mumbled before hanging up.

The three of them were silent for a beat, staring at Vanessa’s phone.

“Rory,” Melanie finally whispered. “Should we…call Tyler?”

Rory shook her head. “I can’t deal with that right now. We have a yearbook to finish.”

The three of them settled back on the couch and got to work. Melanie helped choose the best images, and Vanessa gave them any edits they needed before sending them off to Rory to place into the spreads. The work was grounding during such a chaotic night, but that didn’t stop Rory from glancing out the window constantly, wondering when a certain Jeep would pull in.