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  Everyone filed out of the room after him, leaving my mother, a picture of my drugged up face on the screen, my shame and guilt, along with me.

  “Cashmere.” My mother's voice was stern yet soft. “All of this was because of some boy? The boy you brought into my home?”

  I shook my head, finally letting the tears flow freely. “I don't know! I can't even remember fully what went on, and none of this would've happened if I didn't drink and take what I did.”

  My mother rolled her lips into her mouth before pulling me into a hug. This was strange, because before this my mother was not an affectionate person.

  “This is not your fault, and although I must chastise you for underage drinking and taking pills, do not blame yourself for someone taking advantage of you,” she murmured, rubbing circles into my back.

  “What should I do?” I asked, sniffling and wiping the tears from my eyes. “They can't get away with this.”

  “Take the deal,” my mom said, which shocked me. “I know this sounds crazy, your education comes first. Don't let those two run you off campus for a case that could go on for a year and stop you from learning.”

  She held my shoulders and looked into my arms. “You are a strong girl, Cashmere. Don't let those boys stomp all over you by leaving this campus.”

  I sighed and nodded, understanding where she was coming from. I would have to see the men who assaulted me more often than I would like to, but I wouldn’t have to worry about tuition.

  “Just so you know, I never liked that Justice boy,” my mother said, which made me chuckle slightly. “He was too hood for Adonis, and Adonis is already enough street for me.”

  I was on my way out of the building, and I noticed Wesley leaning against a lamppost. He jumped up the minute he spotted me. He was wearing navy blue basketball shorts along with his typical see through white shirt. He had a gym bag with him, so he was probably headed to practice.

  “Get away from my daughter,” my mom spat, shoving him away from me.

  “Mrs. Rawlings—”

  “You've done enough already—”

  “Mom,” I interrupted her, shaking my head. “He's fine. He didn't have a part in anything.”

  She looked him up and down before saying: “you're not welcome in my house ever again.”

  When she was halfway to the parking lot, Wesley ran a hand through his hair. “Wow, she's a lot tougher than I remember.”

  “What is it, Wes?” I wanted to get back to my dorm and unwind. I wasn't touching alcohol or drugs for a long time.

  “I heard whispers yesterday in the locker room that you're taking this to court. Is that true?” He asked, shifting his gym bag on his shoulder.

  I shrugged. “They offered me a full ride to shut my mouth.”

  “You're not gonna take it, are you?” His eyes went wide when I hesitated. “Shit, Cash. You're just gonna let them act like they did nothing wrong?”

  “It's a full ride, Wesley.” We started to walk across the courtyard, side by side. It felt like old times, when things were less complicated.

  “They bought you,” he argued, shaking his head. “They waved money in your face and you took it, which you told me you would never do something like that.”

  “I didn't have much of a choice.” I didn't want to fight with him, but it felt like it was getting there. A dull pain was starting to throb in my head.

  “You always have a choice!” He said loudly, holding me by my shoulders.

  “Well, I didn't have a choice when your teammates shoved their dicks down my throat without my consent!” I yelled, shoving him away from me. “I could care less about how your image of me will change because the nice, soft girl you dated is fucking gone. Fuck your feelings.”

  I shoved past him and made my way to my dorm, holding back tears. If I was going to be on the same campus with Leo and Justice, I was going to have to grow a thicker skin.

  twenty one: plan

  “Cashmere!” Wesley yelled as I lost my balance and fell against the door. The back of my head smacked against the hard glass, making me see stars for a couple of seconds.

  Instantly, he helped me into my feet, but I was still wobbling. He bent down and became eye level with me.

  “Let's go sit down,” he suggested, pulling me over to a bench outside my dorm. I let him tug me over, but I was still lost in my thoughts.

  How could the video have resurfaced if the president and I saw Leo deleted all the copies from all his devices?

  “How—what...” I started to say but I couldn't manage to get the words out.

  “This morning while I was at practice, my friends from the football team came up to me. When I asked them to show me, they hesitated and Justice overheard and said 'if I watch, I'm going to get my feelings hurt'.”

  I sighed before putting my head in my hands. I felt so, so stupid, because even though Leo may have been the one recording, Justice was likely to have a copy of the video as well, and we only looked at his phone but never searched his laptop. He must’ve

  “So then I watched it, and knocked him the fuck out,” he said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.

  “You what?” I asked, shocked at his words. “You beat him up?”

  “No, don't you listen?” He said shaking his head with a chuckle. “I said I knocked him out. I punched him clean in the temple and he passed out. Beating him up would've embarrassed him.”

  I couldn't help but laugh at him, because only Wesley would try his hardest not to beat someone up, even an asshole that he didn't like. He was always super levelheaded and sincere.

  He smiled once I calmed down and lazily threw his arm over my shoulder. I felt comfortable with him, because even when we dated, we were more friends than lovers.

  “At this frat party two months ago, Leo was drunk and I'm pretty sure something slipped out by accident,” he told me, and I looked up as an indicator for him to go on. “I should've knocked his ass out too.”

  “What did he say?”

  “I still can't believe it, my diabolical play ended up not working,” Leo slurred as he poured himself another drink. “Oh well, lose some, lose some.”

  “What are you talking about?” Wesley asked, rolling his eyes. “We didn't even run any of your plays in the game tonight.”

  “Not that play!” He shouted, spilling his drink when he slammed it on the table. “My play that involved your bitch of an ex-girlfriend.”

  Wesley's eyes narrowed. “What?”

  “You know my boy, Justice? Well, he got drafted along with Cashmere's brother Adonis, but his bitch ass chose to go to NYU since they had a 'better Journalism program'. Writing in newspapers is for f-fucking pussies.”

  “Hmm,” Wesley said, trying to control his anger. He could feel a terrible explanation coming forth. “Go on.”

  “Justice was so mad, and wanted to get back at him, so he told me that he had a twin on campus, which was when I created the master plan. I was supposed to fuck her and humiliate her at first, but she chose you instead of me. Because everyone loves Wesley fucking Molloy, and who had no idea of the plan in the first place.

  “With me being the plan maker, I realized that there was a way to get back at him but still humiliating her. Alas, the video was made but she ended up not even telling her brother, but I heard he was already transferring here anyway, so we killed two birds with one stone, eh?”

  He laughed uncontrollably, while everyone in the area awkwardly stared at him. The boy was crazy.

  Justice came around the back of the couch to yank Leo up by his shirt collar. “That’s enough out of your drunk ass for tonight.”

  “You've got to be fucking kidding me,” I seethed, my nostrils flaring. “This was all part of a plan, just to embarrass me for saying no and to get back at my brother?”

  My hands started to shake, and I needed to talk to Zeus before I went to go beat up Leo for old times’ sake.

  “I have to go,” I stammered out, rising from the bench. “Just do
me a favor, if Zeus asks you about this, can you tell him the whole story? I don’t think I have the capacity to even face him.”

  “Yeah, sure thing,” he said, getting up as well. “Don't kill anyone for the love of God.”

  “What if I'm an atheist?” I muttered to myself as I walked towards Zeus' building.

  I had to explain to him the basis of the video. He also needed to understand that this did not take place last night, and although I was wearing the same dress, it wasn't recent. When I was in the hallway of his building however, I saw Levi walking out and he stopped him his tracks. “You have the nerve to show your face-”

  “Shut up, whatever Zeus told you is not the whole story.” I quickly told him the story of how it all began and filled in the missing pieces with the new knowledge I gained today.

  “Jesus Christ,” Levi said with his eyes wide once I finished. “If the basketball team practiced with the time they used to make plans like this, maybe they'd actually win games.”

  I smiled weakly at his joke, but I couldn't find it in me to laugh when so much was going on and my stomach was doing backflips with anxiety. Would Zeus even believe what I have to say?

  “Should I tell him now? I'm actually about to throw up because I'm so nervous and still hungover,” I said, clutching my stomach.

  “Not on my shoes, you’re not,” Levi quipped with disgust, moving away from me. “But honestly, if he doesn't want to listen, he's not fucking worth it. He may be my best friend, but he can be really dense. He does not deserve someone like you.”

  I smiled as he patted me on the shoulder, before making my way down the hall. His words gave me the confidence to open his slightly ajar main door, and I took in a deep breath before knocking on his bedroom door.

  To my bitter surprise, Jasmine opened it. A smug smile was clear on her face as I looked her up and down. She was wearing one of Zeus' shirts and nothing else, except for a pair of socks.

  “Can I help you?” She asked snidely, her eyebrow raised, and I wanted nothing more than to drag her out his room and beat her ass.

  “Is Zeus here?” I tried to subtly peer behind her, but she closed the door ever further.

  “Leave a message, I'll be sure to pass it to him,” she replied, but her smirk was all too telling.

  “You know what?” My patience was gone. “Get the fuck out of my way.”

  I pushed her aside and barged into the room to see Zeus walking out of his bathroom, texting on his phone. When he noticed me, he just stared back, with a blank look on his face. “We need to talk.”

  “We have nothing to talk about,” he said, his voice void of emotion.

  “We have everything to talk about!” I yelled, running a hand through my hair. “But I'm not going to do it with Jasmine here.”

  “I'm sorry, but she's important to me now, especially since she's having my kid,” he told me, shrugging his shoulders. “I'm not going to be out of their life for—”

  “For me?” I finished his sentence. Then I sighed and shook my head. This drama wasn’t even worth it. None of it was. “You know what, you two deserve each other. I have tried endlessly for the past few months to be with you, but you'll always go back to her, despite my efforts.”

  “I'm sorry—” he started to say, but I stopped him.

  “That we couldn't work out? God, you're so predictable,” I said, trying not to let tears fall out of my eyes. I was tired of being so strong when it came to this boy sitting in front of me, and I just wanted to break. “I wish you both the best fucking luck.”

  “Thank you, and his future son will appreciate what you did,” Jasmine decided to butt in, rubbing her flat stomach.

  “Jasmine,” Zeus warned, finally walking over to me. But it was too late.

  “How are you so certain it's even a boy when you're so early?” I had to ask, my eyes narrowing at her.

  “Because I know that he's going to grow up, play football, get picked for a college team, marry a pretty girl from an nice family, and go into the draft in his last year,” she explained to me, a smirk on her face as she walked over to Zeus and patted his head. “Just like his daddy.”

  “I thought you were going into the draft this year?” I blurted out but instantly regretted it, not wanting to seem concerned.

  He sighed. “With this baby on the way, a college degree would be best in case no one picks me high up on the draft list.”

  My eyebrows furrowed. Zeus was one of the best college quarterbacks in the nation, he wouldn't even dream of seeing the bottom of the draft list.

  His eyes darkened. “I'm not sure why that's your concern though, considering what you did. My whole team saw that video of you.”

  Jasmine was now leaning against his bedroom’s door frame, looking smugly at the two of us arguing. This was probably what she was wishing for this whole semester, a way to try and break us up for good. And sadly, it was working.

  “I didn't do anything! That video is from eight months ago!” I yelled, now getting frustrated. “I don’t know what happened last night, but I’m telling you the truth.”

  “So how is it that you were wearing the exact same dress in the video!” He yelled back. “I'm tired of playing this game with you. You looked me in the eye and promised me no more secrets. I’m tired of the lies, Cash.”

  “What the hell do you want from me?” I asked, my voice cracking at the end. God, please don't let me cry in front of this boy right now. “What do I have to do to make you believe me?”

  “At this point, I want nothing from you,” he said with a tone of finality. “Everything is different now.”

  He shook his head before walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

  “Well, there's the door,” Jasmine said, opening the door to the main room. “You can see yourself out, since he wants nothing to do with you now.”

  “If you weren't pregnant, I beat your ass right now,” I spat at her, before walking through the doorway.

  “Oh, I'm not,” she admitted in a low tone with a cruel smile. Shocked, I turned back to look at her incredulously. “I just picked up a technique girls like you learned how to perfect a long time ago: how to trap boys with a baby. But don't worry babe, I'll actually have sex with him this time so your worst nightmare can come true.”

  My jaw dropped as she closed the door in my face.

  twenty two: beat

  I couldn't figure out if I was angry, upset, sad, or all of those emotions at once. Frustrated was the only adjective that encompassed all these feelings at once.

  Why can't anyone just listen to me? Why does Zeus insist on listening to the explanation of other people who aren't me? Was I really that untrustworthy that his source for information had to be from other people? If I had just listened to everyone and told them what happened, I wouldn’t be in this mess with Zeus or Adonis.

  Shaking my head, I exited his dorm to head for the basketball courts to confront Leo and Justice but turns out I didn't have to go that far. Leo was walking by the dorms, and what better way than to catch him off guard?

  I sprinted toward him, all the anger rushing into my veins and when he turned around, I clocked him in the jaw as hard as I could.

  “Fuck!” He yelled, as blood sprayed from his mouth. “What—”

  I shoved him to the ground and landed blow after blow on him. “How dare you try this shit again on me!”

  “Jesus, get off me!” Leo yelled, trying to push me away, but I was not budging until he was knocked out.

  “Cash!” I was yanked up from the ground and two arms wrapped around me. I swung around and saw Levi holding me back, astonishment in his eyes. “What is going on?!”

  “I'll tell you what's going on!” I blew up, finally frustrated from all the events of today. “Eight months ago, this piece of shit here and Justice, made a plan to get back at my brother for not coming to this school. Long story fucking short, he and Justice filmed a video of me blowing them and I thought it was gone until someone showed
the video around the football team and his morning!”

  I finished screaming, my throat dry and hoarse. I was so, so tired of all these fucking games and plans and foolishness everyone on this campus had going on.

  I was done.

  Hearing Leo spit beside himself, I turned towards him. “You're beating up the wrong guy. I swear on my life I deleted all of the footage. You should be looking at Justice, that bobblehead blonde bitch, and the quarterback.”

  “Huh?” I asked, confused by his words. It was like a teen movie word generator made his sentence up.

  He spit again, and I cringed at how close it was to my shoes. “At a party I went to a couple weeks ago, I saw Justice talking to the quarterback Morales about the video, and then send him something. I could be wrong because fifteen minutes prior, Wesley punched me in the face and I blacked out.”

  I laughed. I fucking laughed. Of course. Jasmine didn't associate with anyone on the basketball team, so how would she have even known about the video to begin with?

  “What the hell?” Levi said, obviously disgusted at his words. “You're a liar. Diego would never.”

  Leo shrugged, and shook his head. “I've stayed out of trouble and I held up my end of the bargain with the non-disclosure agreement. I have no reason to lie to you, that shit’s in the past.”

  Levi's fists clenched, before turning around and stalking off. I went to follow him, but Leo called my name.

  “Cash, do me a favor and sue the shit out of this school,” he advised, brushing his jeans off and picking up his gym bag. “I've been doing some reading, and this NDA shit my dad’s been doing is illegal.”

  I raised my eyebrow. “You want me to sue the school your father is the president of? What's your motive?”

  He shook his head. “There's so much shit that needs to be uncovered here. You're not the only person that something like this happened to that my dad tried to cover up.”

  He handed my bag that was on the floor, and I tentatively took it, while eyeing him.