Nicholas Grey Must Not Die | ✓

7 | Headline

"And I never saw you coming. And I'll never be the same. This is a state of grace. This is a worthwhile fight. Love is a ruthless game unless you play it good and right"

~ State of Grace (Red)

(THE WORD RAPE IS MENTIONED A FEW TIMES IN THIS CHAPTER, BUT NO DETAILS ARE USED AND NO DESCRIPTIONS ARE WRITTEN)  

"Okay, you guys have to tell me what happened that night at the party with Nick," I said humorously after they laughed at an inside joke Daisy made about that night. 

I was eating lunch with the five girls Nick played. We were sitting at a booth in The Cheesecake Factory, waiting for our orders to arrive. 

I nibbled on the delicious bread they offered as an appetizer as Daisy responded with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you didn't want to know about the details?"

Shrugging, I tried my best to act like I truly cared. "I know, but it's not fun to not get your inside jokes. I feel left out." In all honesty, I was conflicted. I had lied to Nick by omission. I thought that maybe if I knew what had gone down that night, I would feel better about lying to him. 

Her eyebrow lowered and her face softened. She gave me a sweet smile. "Well, technically a lot happened that night," she said, looking at the other girls for approval.

When they nodded in accordance, she turned to me with a much more serious gaze. "But, first, you have to promise to not tell anybody anything that we tell you. You have to keep everything a secret, Iris, okay?"

Beyond confused, I said, "wait, what do you mean? Did something happen?"

"Promise us first, Iris. You can't tell anyone of what we're about to tell you," she said more sternly, "we're about to trust you with detrimental information. Don't betray us."

Don't betray us.

The words echoed in my thoughts, alarming me to what she could possibly mean by them.

I was even more confused after her warning, but I didn't want to prolong anything. So, I just let out a soft breath and gave the girls a convincing smile. "Of course. I promise I won't tell anyone anything you tell me. I will protect your secret as if it were my own. And I promise I will keep my word."

I had to be a great actor because they were convinced by the words that felt bitter as I uttered them. 

Nicole spoke up then in a hushed voice. "Okay, so we didn't tell you this before, because you said you didn't want to be involved in the details."

My eyebrows furrowed. "Tell me what?"

"Our plan on how we were going to get back at Nick for messing with all of us," Serena clarified, taking a sip of her coke. 

The tension I felt all over my body worsened as I asked, "And what was the plan?"

The girls all looked at each other for a bit before they all turned to look at me with soft eyes. Anne ran her fingers through her strawberry blonde hair and pushed the strands behind her ear. She scooted to the edge of her seat and caught my eyes in a stringent gaze. Then she spoke. Her voice was low but it displayed the seriousness of the words she said. "That night after you left, we all met with him individually. We all went into a secluded room with him alone. Of course, we all did it hours apart so he wouldn't notice anything."

My heartbeat sped up at the sound of them being along with him. I tried to suppress the anger that violently rose up in me, but I could feel myself losing control. "What did you do in the room?" I bit out, putting in extra effort to hide the irritation from my tone.