041. The Ultimate Betrayal
At Aquino High, sometimes you just need a break from everything.
I want to run away and never come back to Aquino High, but I have no choice to make my way to fourth period and sit down in the same seat I always do. Both Celia and Spencer watch me as I barely endure the lecture, but neither of them dares to say a word. Maybe they don't want to be seen associating with me anymore, or maybe they're just too scared to hear what I have to say. Either way, I feel more alone than ever.
After school I jog to my car, shielding my head from the rain with my physics textbook. I avoid eye contact with everyone, even the freshmen who probably haven't gotten wind of the latest development of drama yet. I've almost made it to my car when a hand comes down on my shoulder. Whirling around, I see Taylor standing behind me, the rain causing his jet-black hair, plastered to his forehead, to look even darker than usual.
"Congratulations," I say bitterly. "You don't have to pretend we aren't dating anymore."
He rakes his hand through his hair, successfully managing to make it look even messier than before. "How did that happen?" he asks. "You weren't filming, were you?"
"Do you think I'm psycho? Obviously someone recorded it. My blackmailer. Her name is Brianna by the way, and she obviously hates my guts."
We continue walking to my car; he takes my textbook and holds it over my head for me so my tired arms can take a break. "It's not the worst thing in the world that everyone knows," he says quietly. "People will get over it eventually. I doubt you'll lose your friends."
"Of course I will! Brynn's probably so mad right now, even Allison. Never mind that they've both moved on—I can't just go around sleeping with their exes."
"Allison and I were never officially a thing—"
"Shut up. You can argue it however you want. It's not a bad thing; you're not even related." Frustrated, I yank open my car door and throw my backpack in the backseat. "I just want to go home and bury myself in my blankets."
He tosses my physics book on top of my bag. "You going to Liam's party tonight?"
"You'll never catch me at a high school party again, much less one of Liam's lame get-drunk fests."
For a second Taylor watches me climb into the driver's seat and then buckle my seatbelt, but when I go to close the door he stops me. "I think you should go," he says. "If you hide people will only see that you're affected more. You're essentially letting Brianna and Liam win."
I frown, but I can't deny that he has a point.
"Go home, freshen up, and put up your sexiest dress. I'll meet you at his house at eight."
"Taylor—"
"I'm not taking no for an answer." He shuts the door before I can reply, mouthing through the window, "Be there."
Clearly, I don't have a choice. Shooting him a reluctant thumbs-up, I start my engine.
I don't stay long at my house, because I know the longer I stare at my bed the more welcoming it will look. Instead I fix my makeup and throw on a black minidress before slinging my backpack over my shoulder again. On my way out the door, I call Brynn.
"Can I come over to your house to work on homework before Liam's party?" I ask when she answers.
"Shoot." I hear rustling and then Brynn says, "Sorry, I'm actually not at home. Um, I'll see you at his party?"
"Oh, are you with Cass? I could meet you guys."
There's only a fraction of a second's pause. "No, sorry. But I swear I'll see you at Liam's. Sorry!"
She hangs up before I can get in another word.
Confused, I shove my phone in my backpack and get in the car anyway. The party officially starts at seven and I figure I can get in a good meal and some studying at Starbucks before I head over.
For the next few hours, I try to focus entirely on the calculus and physics problems in front of me. Neither is productive, though, because calc makes me think of Spencer and physics makes me think of Liam. He wasn't in class today, and despite what he's done to me I miss his wry comments and amused expressions as he watched Mr. Shapiro lecture.
As soon as I can without seeming desperate, I show up at Liam's front door. There's only a few early arrivers at the party, and I help myself to some water from the fridge before I know all the drinks will get spiked. Nobody I know is there yet, so I settle myself down on a barstool and study the sheets of paper adhered to his fridge with colorful magnets.
"Erika? Thank God you're here."
Liam is suddenly standing right beside me, tugging at my sleeve. I nearly drop my cup of water in surprise and in my attempt to get away from him. "Don't get near me," I snap. "I'm only here because I have nowhere better to be."
"You do have somewhere better to be. My room, now."
"Liam, what?" I'm trying adamantly to pull away from him but his grip's firm, and I'm afraid that any second he'll rip my dress.
"I want to talk to you," he says. "About the video."
This piques my interest. Even though it's probably dangerous, I can't help but want to hear his reasoning for what he did. With a final sip from my cup, I follow him up the stairs, avoiding judging glances from the few people who are mingling in his living room.
Once we're in the seclusion of his room, he shuts and locks the door behind him and leans against the wall, crossing his arms. "So you know everyone's seen the video, right?"
"Even my friends?"
He nods. "They watched it out of pure curiosity. Well, and then after that Brynn was too mad to stop watching."
Why's she mad? I want to ask. I'd get that she'd be upset, but she doesn't have to hold it against me. She doesn't even like Taylor anymore.
"Anyway, that's the least of your concerns right now."
"What do you mean?" I demand. "That's my top concern right now. It's the reason I feel like a total outcast and loser. It's the reason my friends hate me."
"While I agree with you on all that, this is more important. I figured out what's going on."
All I can do is stare at him and wonder if he thinks I'm a fool. Here he is, having dragged me up to his room, just to try once again to convince me that he isn't behind all this? I saw the video, clear as day—there's no way he could be innocent.
And yet I'm too confused, too interested, not to hear him out.
"The second you showed me that video of me giving you the death threat and all, I thought I knew who was behind it," he explains. "So I did some digging—it took me all weekend. I had to practically live at Celia's house, going through her laptop when she wasn't around."
"Wait, Celia?" I hate that I'm going along with this, but I'm not giving myself any other choice.
"Yeah. Shocker, right? Obviously, I broke up with her."
"Wait, Celia's been blackmailing me?" This girl has been nowhere on my suspect list—what's more, I can't really see any reason why she'd hate me. We've never gotten along wonderfully, but she doesn't have any major cause for revenge like some others in our group has.
Liam holds out his hands, shutting me up temporarily. "Celia's part of it, yeah. Well, it's a duo. Here, these videos might make everything more clear."
He's holding out his phone, bribing me to take the bait. And I do. His story seems to wild to make up, and I doubt he would have broken up with Celia unless he had a well-founded reason.
Sitting down on his bed, I lean against his headboard and open the first video. It's of Celia and Liam, laughing in her bedroom. His hair is ruffled and he's grinning from ear to ear, like he's the happiest guy in the world.
"You have to imitate Spencer now," he says, glancing at Celia. He tucks a wayward curl behind her ear and she giggles, scooting closer to him.
"Okay, okay," she says, trying to keep a straight face. Then she leans into the camera lens and says in an over-exaggerated deep voice, "I'm upset because I made a ninety on this calc test instead of a hundred."
Liam lets out a huge laugh, causing me to jump. "You sound just like him, babe."
Personally, I didn't think she sounded at all like Spencer, nor do I get the point of this video—until Celia nudges and Liam and says, "Now you do Taylor."
"Why'd you give me such a hard one?" he asks, but when she gives him a pointed glare he rolls his eyes. Then he scoots so that he's in full view of the camera and locks eyes with it, declaring very slowly, "Erika Soto, you're dead to me."
My hand comes up to my mouth and I keep in there as Celia squeals. Then Liam takes the phone from me and presses pause.
"You can see where she got the footage," he says. "That was taken shortly after you destroyed the Post-It system and Taylor was pissed at you. That was the only imitation I could think to do."
I can't even feel surprise right now, just total regret: regret that I ever doubted one of my best friends, regret that I was so quick to call him guilty without giving him a chance to truly explain.
"I was able to trace back the videos," he adds softly, sitting down next to me. "Not all of them originally came from Celia's computer."
"You don't owe anything to me," I manage. "I can't believe I didn't believe you, Liam. I'm an awful friend and I don't deserve your help."
"Erika, I'm serious. This is important. I spent all weekend and all of physics class today working to hack into the videos. I'm sorry I couldn't do it sooner, I started as soon as I knew it was Celia's fault but it took me longer than I thought. The videos—they originally came from Taylor's computer."
"No they didn't."
He curls an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his soft t-shirt. I want to bury my head in his chest and pretend I'm not hearing any of this, but I'm too numb to move.
"I wouldn't lie to you, Erika. I'm sorry. He's been playing you all along."
I don't realize a tear is crawling down my cheek until Liam reaches up and brushes it away with his thumb. Then I'm sobbing full-on, hating that Liam is seeing my puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks but unable to stop the torment. I believed Taylor even when everything else was stacked up against him, and this is how he repays me?
It all makes sense now. The missing phone, the video despite the closed blinds: he's been the one recording from the inside.
The only thing I can manage as I sob into Liam's shoulder are four words. "I'm such an idiot."
"No, you're not." Liam smoothes down my hair, sending goosebumps down my arms. "This isn't your fault. You've been doing what you've had to."
"Yes, it is. Do you know what's been going on?"
He shakes his head, so I straighten and say, "Some junior's been blackmailing me—I guess she's been working with Celia and Taylor. I've had to find out all these secrets about my friends and report it back to this girl she's been holding videos and my friends' secrets over my head if I don't. Then she tried to make me tell the whole school everything at the assembly today, or she'd release the video of me and Taylor. And I didn't, so she did." Sniffing, I wipe away a few last tears.
"Can I see your phone?" asks Liam. When I hand it to him he finds my blackmailers contact and copies it into his phone. A few seconds later he turns to me and says, "Brianna Sutton. Eleventh grade. She's the one who's been calling and texting you."
My mouth opens into an O of owe, but he says modestly, "I've had a lot of practice tracking phone numbers." Passing me back my phone, he says, "Taylor's obviously still sore about the Post-It system. And honestly, he does still like you. I think he was using this as a sick way to get close to you while simultaneously punishing you."
"That's so twisted," I whisper.
"Agreed. And Celia—who knows why she's been helping him? I guess we still have to figure that out. Either way, I'm done with her."
I study him for a few seconds: the open, almost guilty look in his eyes, like he blames himself for this. I want to somehow reassure him that it's entirely my fault, not his, but I don't know what to say. I've been on the wrong track solving this mystery for weeks, and everyone's suffering because I was too naïve to figure out the truth.
It's like he knows what I'm thinking, because he says softly, "Please don't blame yourself. Taylor is a master manipulator. I know you're hurting right now, but feeling worse about yourself is just what he wants."
"I know. It's just hard not to."
We're quiet for a few seconds before he clears his throat and says, "Look. I know everyone's sort of mad at you right now for being with Taylor behind their backs. But once they find out the truth, they can't stay upset. Every one of your friends knows how much he exploits people. You were a pawn in his game and they have to accept that."
"I should have realized what was going on," I protest.
"No, you shouldn't have." He stands and crosses the room, then returns with some tissues. "I know you probably don't want to go back downstairs to the party. Want me to stay up here with you? I'm not feeling so hot myself. And speaking of hot—" He stops to survey me, from my black pumps to the top of my head— "You look pretty fine yourself tonight."
At that I can't help cracking a smile. There's no one like Liam Alvarado to make me laugh when I need to, and I missed that. "I think I might just go home," I say. "You can go back to the party."
He smiles back and helps me stand. "Totally get that. At Aquino High, sometimes you just need a break from everything, you know?"
I'm almost out the door before I turn around again. "Liam?"
"Yeah?"
"Please don't drink to much tonight." My hand hesitates on the doorknob, stopping myself from exiting. "I don't want to worry about you."
He locks eyes with me, and in an instant I know he knows the secret I had to report. Then he nods, so hesitantly I almost don't notice it at all. "All right."
I return his gaze, absorbing the intensity of his gaze. "We're going to fight our demons together, okay?"
"Okay."
I feel better as I step out into the hallway and down the stairs, the carpet muting the sound of my heels. It's louder down here than it was when I left, and I have to carefully navigate my way back through the kitchen and to the entryway. I know Taylor's expecting me hear—it's nearing eight o'clock now—and I want to be gone by the time he arrives. If need be, I know Liam will explain where I am and why I left.
I still don't know what I'm going to do about Taylor. I want to get his full story; I need a look inside his head to figure out why he did what he did. Liam's rationale seems accurate, but I won't accept it until I know for sure.
Tonight, I feel like I lost a large part of myself, but it feels like it was a chunk that needed to go. The slice of myself that Taylor wrenched away from me is the part filled with poison and hatred, the revengeful part that considered announcing my friends' secrets to the whole school just to save myself. With his influence and that piece of me gone, I feel confident that I'll never look down the road of vengeance again. I know how toxic it can't be, and I don't want to have to repeat the isolation and desperation I've been feeling the last few weeks.
As I walk down the driveway to me car I see Taylor park and climb out of his front seat. For a few seconds I watch him, the way his steady hands shut the car door and lock it, the way he walks purposefully, like he's got everything under control. When he looks my way I switch my gaze and pretend not to see him, ignoring the hammering in my chest. That sensation will fade soon, I figure. I can't love him anymore, knowing he's treated me the way he has. The fantasy that consists of me and him together is slipping away fast, and I let it go without hesitation.
He passes me without a word, far enough away that maybe he hasn't seen me yet. In case he turns around, I hurry the last few steps to my car and jump inside. Then I turn to see him step inside the house and shut the front door behind him. He's entering into a night of debauchery and vice, and I'm leaving that life in my past forever.
With fingers that for once aren't shaking, I start my car. And then I leave Taylor Cunningham behind, for the very last time.
A/N: So we finally know who's guilty! I challenge you to look back at past chapters and find all the tiny hints that add up to Celia & Taylor being the blackmailers...how many can you find?
2 chapters left until the end! The Paper Flowers countdown continues :)