Chapter 104 Caught too close
Lilibeth looked ready to throw the phone across the hallway.
“This school is actually sick in the head.”
Kylen grabbed the phone from her hand, jaw tight as he read the post again.
“How are they getting these pictures so fast?” he muttered.
Lenora stared at the screen quietly.
The photo looked intimate.
Too intimate.
The angle.
The closeness.
The timing.
Like someone had been waiting for the exact moment.
The hockey boy took the phone next.
His expression changed instantly.
Not shock.
Recognition.
Lenora noticed immediately.
“You know something.”
He looked up.
Slowly.
“That picture wasn’t random,” he said.
Kylen frowned.
“No kidding.”
The boy ignored him.
Then zoomed into the corner of the photo.
Near the staircase reflection in the glass window—
A figure.
Blurry.
But visible.
Lilibeth leaned closer.
“Wait…”
Kylen’s expression darkened.
“Someone was hiding there.”
Lenora felt irritation crawl up her spine.
No.
Not irritation anymore.
Violation.
The hockey boy handed the phone back.
“They’re following you on purpose now,” he said.
Lilibeth crossed her arms tightly.
“This is getting creepy.”
Kylen nodded once.
“We need to find whoever runs that page.”
Lenora looked down the hallway.
Students walking normally.
Laughing.
Talking.
Like none of this was insane.
Then she said quietly,
“No.”
Everyone looked at her.
Kylen frowned.
“What do you mean no?”
Lenora looked back at him.
“If we chase the page now, we play exactly where they want us.”
Lilibeth blinked.
“So we just let them stalk you?”
Lenora’s jaw tightened slightly.
“No,” she said.
A pause.
“We make them slip first.”
The hockey boy watched her carefully.
Then nodded once.
“She’s right.”
Kylen looked between both of them.
“I hate when you two agree.”
Lilibeth pointed at the photo again.
“Well I hate THIS.”
Lenora exhaled slowly.
Her chest still tight from seeing it.
Because the worst part wasn’t the caption.
It wasn’t even the rumor.
It was how real the picture looked.
Like there actually was something happening between them.
And honestly?
There was.
That was the dangerous part.
The hockey boy leaned closer slightly.
“You okay?”
Lenora looked at him.
And immediately remembered his hand near her waist.
His voice low near her ear.
The way she almost leaned in again.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
“I’m fine,” she lied.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Like he knew.
Of course he knew.
Before anyone could speak again—
A loud whistle echoed down the hallway.
Coach.
Standing near the gym entrance already irritated.
“Practice. Now,” he barked.
The hockey boy grabbed his bag.
But before leaving, he looked back at Lenora one more time.
“Don’t walk alone today,” he said quietly.
Then he left.
Lilibeth watched him go dramatically.
“That man is one emotional stare away from becoming your actual problem.”
Lenora rolled her eyes.
“He already IS my problem.”
Kylen snorted softly.
“Not the way you’re saying it.”
Lenora glared at both of them.
But deep down—
She knew they weren’t wrong.
The rest of the day dragged badly.
Every classroom felt tense.
Every hallway felt watched.
And the rumors had evolved again.
Now people weren’t just talking about Pamela.
Or the fight.
Or the blood.
Now it was:
Lenora and the hockey boy.
“He’s obsessed with her.”
“She’s manipulating him.”
“They’ve probably been together secretly.”
“No wonder everything keeps happening around her.”
Lenora wanted to scream.
Instead she kept walking.
By last period, she couldn’t take it anymore.
So the second the bell rang—
She left first.
Fast.
Outside air hit her immediately.
For exactly ten seconds.
Then—
“Lenora.”
She stopped.
Turned.
Pamela.
Again.
Lenora almost laughed from exhaustion.
“Do you ever appear with good news?”
Pamela ignored the comment.
Her expression looked tight.
Uneasy.
“You need to stop being seen with him,” she said immediately.
Lenora crossed her arms.
“There it is.”
Pamela stepped closer.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I,” Lenora replied. “What’s your issue with him?”
Pamela hesitated.
Too long.
Lenora noticed immediately.
“You know him,” she said slowly.
Pamela looked away briefly.
Wrong move.
Lenora stepped closer now.
“How?”
Pamela’s jaw tightened.
“It’s complicated.”
“That answer is getting annoying.”
Pamela exhaled sharply.
“You think this is just school drama,” she said quietly. “It’s not.”
Lenora’s patience snapped slightly.
“Then SAY what it is.”
Pamela looked around nervously before lowering her voice.
“The people behind this wanted you close to him.”
Silence.
Lenora blinked once.
“What?”
Pamela swallowed.
“They knew it would make things messier.”
That made no sense.
And somehow—
Too much sense.
Lenora frowned harder.
“Why would that matter?”
Pamela looked directly at her.
“Because his family is involved too.”
The world seemed to pause for a second.
Lenora stared at her.
“What family?”
Pamela looked like she regretted speaking already.
But before she could answer—
A black car pulled up sharply near the sidewalk.
Too fast.
Too sudden.
Both girls turned immediately.
The back window rolled down slowly.
And Lenora’s stomach dropped.
Her grandmother.
Watching them.
Like she already knew this conversation would happen.
Pamela stepped back instantly.
Fear flashing across her face.
Real fear.
Lenora noticed that immediately.
The car door opened.
Her grandmother spoke calmly from inside.
“Get in, Lenora.”
Pamela looked pale suddenly.
And that?
That scared Lenora more than the car itself.
Because Pamela looked at her grandmother the same way people looked at dangerous secrets.
Like she knew exactly what kind of woman she really was.