The alarm on my phone goes off, gently waking me up. My eyes open and I grab my phone off my bedside table, silencing the alarm. I reluctantly climb out of bed and walk over to my vanity, sitting down in front of my mirror. I grab my makeup bag and apply my makeup, adding foundation and concealer to my neck in attempt to cover up my still-noticeable hickeys. Satisfied with the way they look, I stand up from the chair and head over to my closet. I pull out a mustard-colored sweater cardigan, a gray tank top, and blue high-waisted jeans. I slip my feet into a pair of white Converses and shut my closet door. I grab my book bag and head downstairs, walking into the kitchen.
"Hi Mom." I say, greeting my mom as I walk in. She turns around and smiles at me before resuming the lunch she's packing for Ava.
"Hi Helaina." Mom replies. I walk past her and open up the cupboard, pulling out a box of Rice Krispies. I grab a bowl and milk and walk over to the kitchen table. I pour myself a bowl of cereal and quickly begin eating. As I eat, I pull my phone and begin to scroll through Instagram.
"Dad isn't working late tonight, so he'll be home earlier than usual. I think he might even be home before me, so just remember that in case you hear someone walk in the house when you're home alone later." Mom tells me, and I nod.
"Why isn't he working late?" I ask. This is the first time he's had a night off in months.
Mom shrugs.
"I guess it's because he's been working so much lately that the hospital decided he needs a little bit of a break. I know he's happy about it." Mom laughs, and I smile. I finish up my bowl of cereal and put my phone down, walking over to the sink. As I get ready to wash it out, Mom stops me and says, "Don't worry about it Helaina. I'll do it."
"Are you sure?" I ask, and she nods.
"Yeah, it's fine."
"Thanks. Where's Lucas at? He's going to be late." I say.
"Oh, he had a field trip with his history class today. He had to get to school early, so Jacob's mom offered to give him a ride since she knows I have you and Ava here and your dad is already gone by the time any of us wake up." Mom explains, and I nod.
"That was nice of her." I say. Just as Mom is about to respond, I hear a horn beep and hear my phone vibrates on the table a few times. "That means Julia's here. Bye Mom, love you." I hug her goodbye for the day and grab my phone off the table and sling my bag around my shoulder, heading for the door.
"Bye Helaina, have fun at schoool." Mom calls.
"Thanks, but I won't." I joke as I walk out of the house. I shut the door behind me and walk down the lawn to Julia's car. The second I open the door and look at her, I can tell something's wrong.
"What's wrong?" I ask, sliding into the passengers seat. I close the door and put on my seatbelt, and Julia's car lurches forward.
"You didn't see what I texted you?" she asks, and I shake my head. "Just look. Open your messages. It's easier than me saying anything aloud."
"Julia, what's going on? You're making me really scared-" I begin, but Julia cuts me off.
"Just open my texts." she interrupts. I frown and pull my phone out of my back pocket. I see she's sent me three picture messages, but they're all too small to read. I slide my finger against the screen and unlock my phone, pulling open my text messages with Julia. I press on the first picture and am greeted with a series of screenshots of tweets.
@shawnmendes: it's too easy to get ass these days lol #truth 💯
@shawnmendes: girls will hook up with you for any reason
@shawnmendes: you can be a dick and they'll still suck yours 🙄👀💯
I swallow hard as I swipe to the next picture and begin reading the next tweets.
@shawnmendes: being a complete dick really works 😂😂
@shawnmendes: I never got this much ass from girls until I started acting like a dick
@shawnmendes: don't even need more than one girl in a night when
@shawnmendes: you have one who will listen to anything you say and believe it
I bite the inside of my lip and swipe to the final picture, desperately fighting back tears. This can't be happening. At least no one knows this is about me except for the people I was with at Carson's party, and they're all my friends. They would never tell anyone. I think to myself.
@shawnmendes: girls act like they hate you and then they hook up with you
@shawnmendes: Helaina Jefferson is too easy 😂💯
I can't stop the tears from escaping. They come out too fast without any warning, and before I even have the chance to fully react to what I just read, the tears are already down my face and dripping onto my jeans, leaving wet-splotches. A sob rips from my mouth and my hand flies up to my mouth in attempt to stifle the cries. It's no use, and I double-over as the tears come out.
"Oh my God." I cry, and I feel Julia's hand on my back. "I can't believe he would do this to me!"
"Helaina, please don't cry. If you go into school like this, he's going to win. You can't let him feel victory over this." Julia says, and I shake my head.
"Julia, what else am I supposed to do? What he said wasn't even true! All we did was make out, and yet he probably has the entire school believing I let him sleep with me while I was drunk at a party!" I scream, and I see the hurt in Julia's eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you like that."
"Don't apologize. I would react the same way if I were you." Julia says, and I nod. I hiccup from my sobs and watch with dread and fear as we pull into the school parking lot. "Are you still going to class or do you want to skip?"
"I have to go. My mom doesn't know what happened Friday night and if I skip, she'll kill me for skipping and what happened at the party." I say, shaking my head as I try to steady my breathing. Julia nods and parks the car. I wipe my nose and eyes, thankful I decided not to wear eyeliner today.
"If anyone tries to say anything to you today, I promise I'll fight them. I'll get OD or ISS if it means helping you." Julia says with a smile. I laugh through my tears and try my best to smile back. I can tell my smile is weak, but she knows it's genuine, and that's all that matters.
"Thanks Jules. This is why you're my best friend." I say. She nods, and together we climb out of the car, ready to live through what hell awaits me inside the building