Chapter 111 HARPER
The moment the bathroom door closed behind me, my legs almost gave out.
I stumbled toward the sink, gripping the edge of it as if the porcelain could keep me upright. My reflection in the mirror looked pale and unfamiliar. My lips trembled. My breathing came too fast, shallow and uneven, like my body had forgotten how to slow down.
I pressed a hand against my stomach.
The anxiety felt physical. Thick. Sour. Like I might actually throw up.
The sounds from the hallway bled faintly through the walls. Lockers slamming. Distant laughter. Shoes squeaking against the polished floors. Every noise felt like it was aimed at me, like the whole school was whispering my name.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I couldn’t go back out there.
I couldn’t walk into another classroom knowing everyone had already made up their minds about me.
Mark would be there somewhere.
Tyler’s teammates too.
And the girls.
The girls would be the worst.
A wave of nausea rolled through me again.
They were probably already talking. They would be whispering behind their hands, glancing at me with that look people used when they thought they knew everything.
She’s a slut.
The word made my stomach twist violently.
I hated that I could already hear it in their voices.
My hands began to shake. I fumbled for my phone in my pocket, nearly dropping it before I managed to unlock the screen. My vision blurred as tears filled my eyes.
Dad.
I pressed the call button before I could change my mind. The phone rang twice before he answered.
“Harper?”
His voice was warm, even, the way it always was when he spoke to me.
That was all it took.
My throat tightened and the tears spilled over.
“Dad,” I whispered, trying to swallow the sob that threatened to break free. “Can you come pick me up?”
There was a pause on the other end.
“Honey, what’s wrong?”
I pressed my free hand against my mouth, trying to quiet the sound of my breathing. “I can’t stay here. Please. I just… I need to go home.”
Another pause. Longer this time.
“I’m a few miles away right now,” he said gently. “I’m in the middle of a property deal. I can’t leave immediately.”
My chest tightened painfully.
“But listen,” he continued quickly. “Give me a little time. I’ll finish up here and come get you as soon as I can. Just hang in there for a bit, okay?”
I didn’t answer right away. Because the thought of waiting even another hour inside this school made my stomach churn.
But I forced the words out anyway.
“Okay.”
The bathroom door opened.
Two girls walked in, their voices fading the moment they saw me standing by the sinks.
I froze.
They looked at me.
Then they looked at each other.
One of them rolled her eyes before whispering something to the other. Their gazes lingered just long enough to make the meaning obvious.
Disgust.
Judgment.
They pretended I wasn’t there as they washed their hands, but the occasional glance in the mirror told me they were watching.
My chest tightened further.
“Dad,” I murmured into the phone.
“I’m still here,” he said softly.
“I’ll wait.”
“Good girl,” he replied. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
The girls left a moment later, whispering to each other as the door swung shut behind them.
The silence that followed felt heavier than before.
I ended the call slowly.
More hours.
I had to survive more hours.
The door opened again.
Footsteps.
I didn’t look up at first.
But when I did, my breath caught.
“Megan.”
She froze in the doorway.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Her eyes flicked over my tear stained face, and something hard passed through her expression.
Then she turned as if she was about to leave.
“No.” The word burst out of me before I could stop it.
I hurried toward her, my heart pounding.
“Please don’t go.”
Megan hesitated, her back still half turned.
“It’s lonely,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “I know things are messed up between us right now, but you’re still my friend. You’re the only one I have left.”
She slowly turned to face me.
Her expression was cold.
“I remember a time when you were doing just fine without me,” she said quietly.
Her words sank deep, twisting something painfully inside my chest.
“You had Tyler. You had my brother. You didn’t seem to need me then.”
“That’s not true,” I said quickly. “Megan, please. Just stay with me for a few minutes. We can talk. Please.”
The bathroom door swung open again.
Two familiar looking faces walked in.
Sarah.
Claire.
Members of Racquel’s circle.
Claire clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as soon as she saw me.
“Well,” she said loudly to Sarah, clearly making sure I could hear every word. “This is why you should never throw stones at a glass house.”
Sarah smirked.
Claire leaned against the wall near the sinks, arms crossed. “Remember how she used to call Racquel a slut?”
Sarah snorted.
“And now look at her,” Claire continued. “Sleeping around with half the hockey team.”
My stomach twisted violently.
Sarah brushed past me, her shoulder bumping mine hard enough to sting.
“Whore,” she muttered.
Megan shifted beside me.
For a moment I thought she might say something.
Instead, she stepped toward the door.
Panic surged through me.
“Megan, wait.”
I grabbed the sleeve of her sweater.
She shoved my hand away.
“Don’t drag me into your mess,” she said sharply before walking out.
The door closed behind her.
The silence that followed felt dangerous.
I turned slowly.
Sarah and Claire were watching me.
The same cruel smiles stretched across their faces.
I backed toward the stalls.
If I could just get inside one, lock the door, maybe they would leave.
But before I could step inside, Sarah slammed the stall door shut in front of me.
The sound echoed sharply.
Claire laughed.
“Racquel said you might try hiding.”
My pulse pounded in my ears.
“What do you want?” I asked quietly.
Claire pulled out her phone.
“We brought you a little gift.”
The screen lit up.
Racquel’s face appeared.
Even through the video call, her smile looked vicious
.
“Well, well,” Racquel said. “Look who finally ran out of luck.”
My hands trembled.
“You thought you could steal Tyler and still keep Mark?” she continued. “That’s adorable.”
Claire angled the phone so Racquel could see me clearly.
“But only I get to play dirty and win,” Racquel went on. “Now look at you. No boyfriend. No friends.”
Her smile widened.
“Who’s going to save you now?”
Sarah reached into her bag.
Metal glinted between her fingers.
Scissors.
My heart dropped.
“I still haven’t forgotten how Tyler humiliated me,” Racquel said from the phone. “Asking me to cut my hair in front of everyone.”
She leaned closer to the screen.
“Now it’s my turn.”
Sarah stepped toward me.
Something inside me snapped.
“No,” I said, my voice shaking.
When she lunged forward, I shoved her away.
She stumbled backward, clearly surprised.
Claire cursed.
Sarah grabbed my arm.
We struggled, bodies slamming awkwardly into the narrow space between the stalls. My shoulder struck the metal partition, pain shooting through it.
“Hold her still!” Claire shouted.
I twisted violently, trying to pull free.
My foot slipped.
The stall door behind me swung open suddenly.
Sarah pushed forward at the same moment.
My balance disappeared.
The world tilted sideways.
Then my head struck the porcelain edge of the toilet.
The impact exploded through my skull.
For a moment there was nothing but blinding white pain.
The floor rushed up toward me.
My ears rang.
Everything blurred.
“Shit,” Sarah whispered.
“Oh my God,” Claire gasped.
Racquel’s voice crackled through the phone.
“What happened?”
I tried to push myself up, but my arms felt weak.
Something warm trickled down the side of my face.
My fingers moved slowly to my temple.
They came away red.
Blood.
My vision swam.
“She’s bleeding,” Claire whispered.
“Just leave her,” Racquel snapped through the phone. “Now. Pretend you were never there.”
Footsteps rushed toward the door.
The bathroom fell silent again.
I tried to crawl forward, my hands slipping against the tile.
The room spun violently around me.
The lights overhead blurred into streaks of white.
My body felt heavy. Too heavy.
I barely made it out of the stall before my strength gave out.
The last thing I saw before everything faded to black was the thin trail of blood spreading slowly across the floor beneath me.