Chapter 32 Chapter Thirty two

Chapter 32 Chapter Thirty two
Mira’s Pov

The bus ride home felt endless. I kept my phone face down in my lap, but I could feel it buzzing against my leg every few minutes, one notification stacking on top of another. My thumb hovered over the power button with the urge to shut the whole thing off. I held myself from looking at the notifications, I already knew what was on it. 
By the time the bus stopped at my corner, my shoulders were knotted and my stomach had twisted itself into a hard little ball. I trudged the half-block home, the weight of the day pressing heavier with each step.
I heard familiar voices drifting down the hallway before I even got my key in the door. Mom’s laugh mixed with another one I hadn’t heard in months. I pushed the door open and spotted the coat draped over the back of a kitchen chair before I saw her.
“Aunt Ruth!” Her name burst out of me before I’d even set my bag down, and I crossed the kitchen fast, throwing my arms around her.
“There’s my girl.” She laughed, squeezing me tight before holding me at arm’s length. “Look at you all grown and beautiful.”
“I didn’t know you were coming.” I grinned, some of the day’s weight actually lifting for a second.
“Surprise visit.” She winked, then studied my face a beat too long, her smile tilting into something more careful. “Guess who’s turning eighteen soon.” She glanced at Mom. “We were just talking about your party. Your mother said she hadn’t even started planning yet.”
Mom’s smile faltered, her eyes dropping to the teapot before she covered it with a laugh.
“Things have been busy.” She reached for another mug. “We’ll figure something out, baby.”
I forced a smile.
“You look tired.” Aunt Ruth tilted her head, studying me now instead of teasing. “Everything okay at school?”
“I got my period.” I lied, dropping my gaze to the floor. “The cramps were so bad today.”
She held my gaze a second longer than I liked, then let it go.
“I’ll bring you some tea.” Mom stood, already reaching for the pot. “Go lie down, baby.”
“We should still do something small.” Aunt Ruth called after me as I picked my bag back up. “Even if it’s just us. Eighteen only happens once.”
“Sure, Aunt.” I tossed her a smile over my shoulder. “Whatever you want.”
I went straight to my room and shut the door, dropping my bag by the desk before I let myself sit on the edge of the bed and finally look at my phone.
Forty-three notifications.
I opened the first one without thinking. Nat’s face filled the screen, inches from mine through the fence, his mouth twisted in a shout I could hear even on silent. The caption read: Martinez finally snaps on his stalker. Three hundred shares and climbing.
I scrolled down once, saw the same clip reposted from four different angles, comments stacking up under each one faster than I could read them.
One comment jumped out: “She’s been creeping on him for weeks, someone needs to get her expelled 😂.” 
My stomach turned. I tried to click on the replies before my phone rang.
I answered immediately. Elma’s face filled the screen.
“M, oh my god.” Her words spilled out breathless. “Are you okay? What happened? I’ve seen like six different versions of this already.”
“I don’t know what happened.” My voice cracked on the last word. “He thinks I’m stalking him, I swear I’m not, I didn’t do anything.”
“I believe you. Of course I believe you.” She let out a frustrated little sound, muttering “asshole” under her breath as she propped the phone better so I could see her fully. “I thought he’d stopped being a dick. How did this start? I remember this isn’t the first time he’s called you that.”
I told her everything I knew. She stayed quiet through most of it, offering small sounds to let me know she was still listening.
“That’s insane.” She exhaled hard once I finished. “That’s actually insane, M.”
“I keep thinking maybe I could’ve said something different to prove I’m not the stalker.”
“No.” She cut in sharp. “Don’t do that. I think someone is playing games, and with time we’ll find out.”
I dropped back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling with the phone still in my hand.
“I have some news, actually.” Her softened. I lifted the phone over my face.
“What is it?”
“We might be moving back to Paterson. Not for sure yet, but it’s looking real.” 
I sat up, some of the ache in my shoulders finally easing.
“Wait, really? Paterson?”
“Really really. Nothing’s signed yet, but Dad said it’s close.”
“Elma.” I wiped my face with my sleeve. “That’s the first good thing I’ve heard all day.”
“I know.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “I didn’t want to jinx it by telling you too early, but I figured you needed something right now.”
“Do you know how soon? Like, before graduation soon, or after?”
“Dad’s saying before. Maybe even before your birthday, if it all goes through fast enough.”
I hadn’t actually thought about my birthday for a while now until Aunt Ruth mentioned it. 
We talked another few minutes, her promising to keep me updated the second anything was official, me feeling lighter than I had since.
“I have to go, my mom needs help in the kitchen.” She sighed “Love you, M.”
“Love you too.”
I hung up and sat there for a second, letting myself hold onto the good part before the rest of it came flooding back in.
My phone buzzed again almost immediately. A text this time.
Hi Mirabel. I know it’s short notice, but would you be able to watch Emma this Saturday? We have another event.
I stared at the screen, not knowing what to reply. I set the phone down on the bed without answering.
It buzzed again a second later. Then again. Then again. Notifications blurred together into one ugly roar.
I turned it face-down with a growl, dropped back onto the bed, and pressed my palms against my eyes.
A soft knock came at my door.
“Mira? Your tea.” Mom said as she pushed the door open.
“Thanks, Mom.” I sat up and wiped my face fast. “Do you need painkillers?” she asked, setting the mug on my desk.
“No, I’m a bit better.”
She nodded, paused in the doorway a second, then pulled it shut behind her.
I heard her and Aunt Ruth talking low in the kitchen a few minutes later, their words too quiet to make out, just the shape of a conversation neither of them wanted me to hear. I wrapped both hands around the mug and let the heat seep into my fingers, waiting for it to feel like it helped.
The phone rang, loud enough to make me flinch.
My first thought was Mrs. Helen calling to push for an answer, but it was Ryan. I set the mug back on the desk and picked up.
“Hey.”
“Hey, how are you holding up?”
“I don’t know.” I admitted, pulling my knees up to my chest. “Not great.”
“I saw the videos.” He exhaled slow on his end. “For what it’s worth, everyone with half a brain can tell something’s off about all this. Don’t let it get in your head too much.”
“Easier said than done.”
“Yeah. I know.” He paused, something shifting in his tone. “Give it a day or two, it will fade.”
“I hope so.”
“I found something.” His voice dropped, careful, like he wasn’t sure who might be listening even through the phone. “About the hacker.”
I sat up straighter, my heart picking up for a different reason now.
“Tell me.”
“Not over the phone.” He hesitated. “Can you meet before school tomorrow? Early, before anyone else is around.”
“Ryan, just tell me.”
“Trust me.” His voice steadied, certain in a way that made my stomach twist. “You’re going to want to see this yourself. I think I know who it is.”