Chapter 10
Hardin's POV
One of the advantages of the fact that my father had built his mansion in the woods, was the expanse of land that we were surrounded by. It was easy to shift and run in the woods. It was also easy to get some exercise in it, if you wanted to do it outside and if there was one things wolves hated, it was feeling claustrophobic.
I had just finished running and I stood in the clearing behind our house where I had set two goal posts and lined the field with chalk.
We had a lacrosse game coming up soon against the neighboring town and as the captain, it would be a damn shame to be out of form and lose the game when we had managed to retain our winning streaks since the season started.
As I removed my shirt and threw it on the grass, I picked up the lacrosse stick and ball and stood in the center of the field that I had created and demarcated, ready to train when my mind went to Jasmine.
With the way she had looked at me when our parents had returned from their trip last weekend, I was certain that she was at her breaking point with all that I had done to her and was ready to tell on me. Well, I was ready to deny any and all of her allegations.
But this morning, she hadn't said a single word at breakfast and said she was skipping school. I had decided to do the same because I could, and I felt like also.
But she had given me a weird look that made me uncomfortable.
Who was she to look at me like that?
With my mind wandering about Jasmine, the ball missed the net and I groaned.
I needed to stop thinking about my stepsister and just focus. I blamed her for it, slithering into my thoughts like the little snake that she was.
I refused to believe the shocked look on her face anytime I touched her, like she had no idea what I was doing or had never experienced it before. She was lying to try to get me to stop and I had already made up my mind about torturing her. Since Jasmine and her mother were going to continue staying in the house, then they left me with no choice. It didn't matter whether she cried her eyes out. I needed to remind myself that she was not the victim here.
The ball missed the net again and I frowned, about to head to where it had dropped so that I could try again when my phone rang in my pocket.
Frowning, I saw that it was Alex and was about to ignore because it was probably to ask why I was not in school today. But just as I was about to pocket my phone, it rang again and this time it was Sandro.
Sandro never called me except it was important, he always texted instead.
Swiping to the right, I placed the phone against my ear.
"What's going on?" I said immediately and when he sighed, I knew it would be nothing good.
"You need to check social media bro. There's an anonymous post about you and Jasmine. About her trying to seduce you and shit. Where have you been? I've sent you dozens of messages immediately it came out. It's trending everywhere." Sandro said in a rush and my face paled in shock, my mouth wide open as I tried to digest what he just said.
"Are you still there, bro?" Sandro asked and I realized that in my surprise, I had remained silent.
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks. I'll check it out now." I answered and immediately I hung up, I started to scroll through social media.
True to Sandro's words, the news was everywhere. It had started as an anonymous post on our school's social media website and now it was trending everywhere.
When Sandro had said the news was about me and Jasmine, for a second I had worried that she was the one who had posted something. But this?
I could never have expected it. This was not only false, but it was worded in such a way that had set Jasmine for the worst of trolling.
I didn't know why I was uncomfortable about the news when I was supposed to be celebrating. After all, I wanted Jasmine to suffer, didn't I? And whoever just posted this had done me a favour.
So why was I upset about the news?
Perhaps because it wasn't true. A part of me wished that it was, that Jasmine was throwing herself at me so that it would be easier to bully her and make her life a living hell but instead, even before I found her in the bathroom, she avoided me like I had the plague and looked at me like I was nothing. It infuriated me, but this news was doing a lot of harm especially for something that was not true.
Picking up my shirt from the ground, I turned to head into the house and shower so I could go to school and find out what had happened and who was responsible, when Jasmine came storming out of the house in a flowery dress that stopped at her knees, her hair up in a messy bun with eyes red and swollen from crying.
"I have waited for hours since I found out about this, hoping that you would take it down. Hoping that you would finally find your conscience and take it down. I didn't sleep all night because of this. I did not dare go to school because of this. I waited for your father and my mother to leave the house so that they would not witness me coming to meet you but I have had enough of this. I have simply had enough." She screamed as she stopped several feet from me and I froze, unused to this side of Jasmine.
I had glimpsed this side of her once when she had stood up for her friend in the cafeteria but I had no idea that this person was still hidden somewhere since she had spent days and weeks after that, cowering in front of me. I thought I had broken her into submission.
I was wrong.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Jasmine. Care to explain?" I answered nonchalantly, deciding to pretend that I had no idea why she was screaming so loud and her face hardened in rage
Picking the lacrosse stick on the ground, she pointed it at me.
"Fuck you, Hardin Morales. Fuck you. Because I have never done a single thing to you. How do you even sleep at night knowing that you have done such evil and wicked things. When have I ever thrown myself at you, huh? When have I ever tried to seduce you? You cheap liar."
"Watch your mouth" I growled but she laughed and rolled her eyes.
"Or what? You'll throw yourself at me? You've done that already. You've done worse things to me than you can ever imagine. But this? Lying about the truth when you are the one assaulting me every chance you get, for some likes and applause is a new low. Even for you."
"Jasmine, you just said you have been waiting for our parents to leave before coming to see me. Does that not sound like stalking to you? Between the both of us, who is more likely to throw themselves at another person. Read the room, Jasmine. Perhaps , you should take a few tips from your mother on how to seduce properly so that you can meet up with what the post said."
Her eyes widened in horror and she started crying.
There was a twinge in my heart but I ignored it. She deserved everything that was happening to her.
"Why are you doing this to me, Hardin? Why are you cooking up lies day after day to destroy my life? What game are you playing? Is this funny to you? Is watching me cry funny to you?" She yelled, whispering the last sentence.
Her eyes suddenly closed and she swayed from side to side before falling back to the ground, her knees scratching the ground.
Her sobs became even harder when she looked at the bruises on her knees and before I knew what I was doing, I rushed to her side and helped her to sit up.
I carried her in a bridal style into the house and dropped her on the couch where she was still crying. And when I returned to the first aid kit, I tried to touch her again but she slapped my hand away.
"Get lost, Hardin. Stop suddenly trying to be nice. We both know that you are responsible for that post, and now you want to go as far as treating me. Some game player you are!" Swatting my hands away, she sighed and rushed upstairs to the room.
As I stood from where I had knelt down to help her clean her wounds, I wondered why I had even offered to help her when she had been nothing but silly and it made me regret ever showing her kindness because she did not deserve it.
I didn't know if she had put me under a spell that had made me rush to her side and help her like she was a friend when I was supposed to hate her.
But it didn't matter anyways, because even though she deserved whatever she got from that social media post, I wanted to get to the root of the issue and find out who was behind that post.
And once I wanted something, I always got it.