Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29

CHASE

I exchange glances with Tally and Brody as we fall into step behind my furious, and frankly really fucking hot, girlfriend. She stabs the elevator button aggressively.

“What are we doing?” I ask.

“Dealing with the problem once and for all.” She tears down several pages of her story from the announcement board while we wait for the elevator of eternity. Two of them have her picture in the top corner.

I pull down three more pages that are too high for Cammie to reach. “Why are they such assholes?”

“They’re insecure and want what they can’t have,” Tally says.

We step into the elevator. Brody blocks people from getting in with us. There are more pages of Cammie’s story taped to the walls.

“You don’t have to come with me.” Cammie shoves her hands in her hoodie pocket.

“We’re your backup,” Tally assures her. When we reach Barbie and Annabelle’s room, Brody steps in front and knocks on their door. Which is a good call.

Barbie opens the door a few inches, all simpering smile. “Hey, Brody! How are you? ”

“Oh! It’s Brody!” Annabelle yanks the door wide, and Barbie nearly falls over.

I’ve never seen the inside of their room, but the contents are shocking and damning.

The closet doors are wide open. Barbie scrambles to close it, but we’ve already seen the many, many photos of me and Cammie taped to the inside. Which is really weird to begin with. But what makes it so much worse is that she’s taped her smiling face over Cammie’s.

As if that isn’t bad enough, there’s a stack of copies of Cammie’s story sitting on top of her printer, while it continues to whir and spit out more pages. A few flutter to the floor.

“This is the last time either of you will fuck with me.” Cammie pans her phone over to the printer, creating video evidence of this sabotage effort, as well as the stalkery-vibes photo collage in her closet. “You will leave my boyfriend alone. You will leave his friends alone. You will not talk about me, look at me, or spread any more lies about me. Because if you do, I will post this video, and I don’t think you want anyone to know just how obsessed you are with my boyfriend.”

“Maybe you should just post it anyway,” Brody suggests.

“Seriously considering it,” Cammie quips.

For a moment I consider stepping in, but watching my girlfriend school these mean girls is kinda hot.

Barbie looks like she’s about to throw up.

Annabelle is standing in front of her closet wearing a look of abject terror.

The printer finally stops. I’m pretty sure I’m getting a contact high from the ink.

Cammie takes a step closer to Barbie, who basically tries to climb inside her closet. “What kind of lies have you been spreading about me?”

Barbie mumbles something.

“Louder please. So I can hear you.”

“That you’re sleeping with the whole hockey team. ”

“Cute. What else?”

“That you get your scenes for your story from Brody and Chase.” Barbie swallows thickly.

“Be more specific, please.”

“You let them…tag-team you.”

“First, so what if I was? It wouldn’t have been any of your business anyway. But you decided that because you read it in a story? Or did you think that spreading those lies about me would make Chase break up with me so you’d have a chance to shoot your shot? How’s that strategy working out for you?”

“I just—I—I?—”

“You just what?”

“It’s not fair! You weren’t even on Chase’s radar until the storm!”

“So this is your act of revenge?” Cammie scoffs. “You ruined your own chance with any of those guys by pulling the shit you did with Mac. I didn’t do that. You did. You can take it out on me all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that your actions are the reason you’re in this position.”

I fall even more in love with Cammie than I already am.

She rolls her shoulders back and puts Barbie in her place. “You have two choices. You can either make a statement to everyone on our floor admitting that you spread false information and lies about me, as well as the guys on the team, and that you are truly and deeply sorry for your actions, or I can post this video. Totally up to you how you want this to play out.”

“F-fine! I’ll make a statement!” Barbie snaps.

“Great. I’ll have Colby call a floor meeting.” Cammie gathers the fallen papers from the floor.

Brody, Tally, and I step in to take the rest of the papers from her desk. “Seriously, so many trees died for literally no reason,” I mutter.

“Honestly, if you two spent nearly as much time on self-reflection as you do tearing other people down, you might actually be decent human beings.” Cammie shakes her head .

We traipse out into the hall.

“That was seriously fucking incredible,” I say.

“Okay, well, I’ll see you all later.” Tally kisses Cammie on the cheek. “Text me when you’re not busy.”

“I want to be you when I grow up.” Brody salutes Cammie and disappears into our room, still carrying a stack of printed pages.

“Can I come to your room?” I rub the back of my neck.

“People will talk.”

“Yeah.”

“It’ll be annoying.”

“I can handle it.”

“Come on.” She nods toward her room. “I have this new scene idea and I want to try something.”

“Hell yeah, you do.” I lift her up by her waist and throw her over my shoulder.