CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR - THE STALKER REVEALED

MONA'S POV

I looked at Aster in that moment, our eyes widening as we understood what it meant.

The stalker had finally revealed herself.

I didn't even have to say a word before he nodded at me.

“Let's go to the principal's office,” he said and I nodded, slamming my locker shut.

“Wait a second,” I paused, “there is someone I have to call first.”

Aster gave me a slight nod, the look in his eyes showing that he understood what I was going to do.

I was going to call Luka.

***

Luka was walking towards his car when I found him. 

“I don’t even want to hear it!” he shunned me, as he unlocked his car.

“But you have to this time,” I said, sounding desperate as I walked to where he stood, stopping him from getting in his car.

“I have told you Mona, just do whatever you want, pick Aster. I am not going to get involved anymore,” he said pushing past me to open his car door.

“No Luka, please listen to me,” I begged him as he sat inside. “I just got a note from the stalker.”

He paused immediately, turning to look at me.

“Do you know who it is?” he asked, stepping out of his car.

“No, but we are about to find out.”

***

The atmosphere in the principal’s office was thick with tension as we all stared in shock at the image displayed on the CCTV Monitor.

I could not believe my eyes.

The person displayed on the screen was none other than Sophia.

*What the fuck?*

Clearly, I wasn't the only one shocked by the discovery.

Luka mirrored my expression, while Aster stayed silent, watching the monitor like had seen this coming.

I couldn't believe it.

I had trusted her and she had clearly played in my face, using my doubt of Aster to manipulate me.

I felt like a fool.

I looked again at Aster, expecting him to smirk at me or worse tell me that he told me so, but instead, he stayed silent.

Watching as Sofia’s unmistakable figure sneak into the hallway, holding a paper in her hands, suddenly she drew out a claw and pricked her finger, writing the note with blood before she slipped it in my locker 

My fingers curled into fists as I watched the tape again and again. 

I had believed the worst about Aster and now, I had been proven wrong.

“That’s enough,” Principal Markus said, pausing the footage as his gaze settled on Aster. 

“This proves that you were right. Sophia was behind the entire thing.”

*He was right? So he suspected her from the start?*

Aster said nothing, he just stared into the distance with his jaw was tight and his hands clenched into fists.

The principal picked up the intercom phone on his desk, dialing a number, “send Sophia to my office immediately,” he instructed.

“Aster… I am so sorry,” I started to apologize but he only sighed at me, staying silent.

I hated this— His silence.

I would have preferred it if he yelled at me or at least reacted, but he just stayed silent.

I looked up to Luka, who seemed to still.be dazed, unable to believe what Sophia was capable of.

Just then, the door creaked open and Sophia stepped in, looking around awkwardly as she processed the fact that we were all waiting for her.

“Sophia,” the principal said, folding his hands. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“What do you mean?” She asked him, stepping forward as I glared at her.

“Why was I called here?”

“Don't play stupid,” I shouted, unable to control my temper. “You think we don't know what you did, or rather, what you have been doing?”

“What are you talking about?” She asked me, having the audacity to look confused.

Why couldn't she just understand that her game was up and she had been caught?

“Sophia we have footage here that you were the one who planted those pictures in Aster and that you have been stalking and threatening the people around him,” Principal Markus said, giving her an irritated look.

“What? I didn't do that?” She argued, while my hands trembled with the urge to hit her.

“Since you want to keep denying the truth, then watch this,” Markus said, pointing at the monitor and playing the tape for her.

Her eyes darted to the monitor, replaying what she had done, over and over again.

“There is no way that is me,” she continued to lie.

“Can you drop the fucking act?!” Luka yelled at her angrily

“You lied to everyone, to me, to Mona for years and then you tried to threaten Mona and now, you have been caught, so why can't you just admit that you are a freaking liar and a psychopath?” He yelled at her, his gray eyes reflecting the anger that he felt.

“I didn't lie to you Luka, and what is this ambush, that isn't me on the tape!” She shouted back, her blue eyes wide as she looked at us.

“Just shut the fuck up Sophia, your game is up and you have been caught,” Aster said, making her freeze as she looked at him.

She opened her mouth to speak  and for a second, I thought that she was going to lie again, but to everyone’s surprise, she let out a small, breathy laugh.

“I guess you caught me,” she admitted, shrugging. “So what?”

I stiffened. “So what? You lied to me, you threatened me and what? You don’t even care?”

Sophia’s expression darkened as her gaze locked on Aster. “I did it because I had to,” she said, her blue eyes widened with what looked like insanity reflected.

“Aster belongs to me. Not to you,” she spat, her voice shaking with emotion. “Not to anyone else. You were getting too close to him, Mona, and I couldn’t stand it.”

Aster exhaled sharply, seeming exhausted as he placed a hand on his head “I was never yours.”

“You could have been!” she snapped. “If it weren’t for her.” She turned her glare back to me

The principal sighed, shaking his head. “Sophia, you have shown no remorse for your actions, and I cannot overlook this.” Markus said with his voice hard as he glared at her. 

“You threaten your classmates and for that you are hereby suspended for the rest of the term.”

Sofia’s eyes widened, seeming shocked for a moment, but she forced a bitter smile. “Fine,” she said, looking at me and Aster. 

“Enjoy your little victory, Mona.” she said and with that, she turned on her heel and walked out, her posture stiff with unspoken anger.

I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed.  The shy and cool headed Sophia had revealed her true colors in front of me and I felt like an idiot.

Aster had asked me to trust him, the same way he had trusted me, but I hadn't.

A heavy silence settled in the office as she walked out.

The principal turned to Aster. “I’ll have an official statement sent to clear your name. You’re free to go.”

Aster nodded stoically,  “thank you.” he said as he turned to leave the office. We followed him out, both Luka and I stayed silent as we wondered what to even say to him.

Sophia has lied about everything, about Aster coming on to her.

About being led on.

She had lied to Luka for years, destroying his friendship with Aster and she had lied to me.

I wondered what I could even say to apologize to Aster right now.

As soon as they reached the hallway, my hand reached for Aster's shirt, tugging on it. He turned to look at me, his blue eyes curious.

“Can we talk? Alone?” I asked.

Luka understood immediately. “I’ll see you later,” he said, giving me a nod before walking off.

His expression was unreadable as I looked up at him. 

“What’s on your mind?” he asked

I took a deep breath before starting, “I owe you an apology.” I said, avoiding his gaze. 

“I shouldn’t have doubted you. I was so caught up in what I thought was the truth that I didn’t stop to question it.”

He seemed to study me for a moment before breaking into a smile, “I get it, Mona. It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not okay. I should’ve trusted you.” I replied, looking into his eyes, wondering how I could have been such a fool.

“It’s okay Mona, I don’t blame you, you were just getting to know me and she clearly took advantage of that,” he said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“I also want to apologize about Sierra, I was just so hurt and I wanted to hurt you back,”  he said, his blue eyes glinting in sincerity and warming my heart.

“It is fine,” I said, smiling up at him. It was funny how earlier today, I wanted to stab him with a biro and here we were now, reconciling like old friends.

*****

It was a week after the whole Sophia incident, and the school had seemingly moved on. Vera and I walked through the school hallway, heading to lunch as we watched a guy ask his girlfriend to prom.

“Yes, babe,” the girl blushed and her boyfriend stood up and kissed her on the lips.

“Wow, this prom thing is so romantic,” I gushed, turning to Vera.

“Nah…I think romance is overrated, if Luka and Aster don’t ask you to prom, you have to go with me,” Vera said as we walked into the cafeteria.

“Yeah right, so you can leave me and go and hang with one of your many friends,” I said, referring to what happened last time, during that party.

“Oh I’m sorry, besides, it won’t happen again this time,” she promised me as we grabbed a seat in the cafeteria.

We had barely sat down when Luka grabbed a seat beside me, his gray eyes locked on mine as he cleared his throat suddenly.

“Can I ask you something?” he started, looking slightly nervous

“Yeah?” I tilted my head to face him, wondering what he had to say

Luka took a deep breath. “Would you go to prom with me?”

“Oh.”

“Well there goes our plans,” Vera exclaimed, sounding hurt and I rolled my eyes at her, before turning back to Luka.

“I mean, only if you want to,” he added quickly. “I just thought... I’d really love to go with you.”

I honestly didn’t know what to say. Luka was kind, and handsome and anyone would love to go to prom with him, but maybe it was how he asked or something, the moment just didn’t feel right somehow.

Still, I smiled. “I’ll think about it, okay?”

Luka nodded. “Of course. No pressure.”

Later that day, after classes, I was heading back to my locker when an arm grabbed my wrist and gripped my wrist and pulled me into a classroom.

“Who the fuck—” I paused as I looked up to find Aster staring down at me, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Aster? Um… what do you want?” I asked, as his grip on my arm loosened.

“I have a way you can make things up to me,” he said and my stomach sank in dread as I figured out what he was going to ask before he even spoke.

“Go to prom with me, Mona.”