Page 33

Thirty Three

Hailey

“You what ?” Ella’s mouth fell open, her eyes wide, and the phone she had been typing on was about to slip out of her hand.

“Ugh, do I really have to say this again?” I rubbed my forehead with one hand, partly embarrassed and partly exasperated.

“Um, yeah? Because I think I misheard you. Otherwise, my ‘was a virgin until a few weeks ago’ roommate” — she arched her eyebrows — “not only had sex in public but filmed the whole thing. Kinky.”

“Nah, in that case, I don’t need to repeat anything, you got it all.”

She closed her eyes, shook her head, then grinned. “It’s always the quiet ones.”

“Don’t even start.”

She held her hands up, but the shit-eating grin remained on her face. “So your dad has your sex tape? Awkward .”

I snorted. “Awkward is putting it mildly. My da—you know what, I honestly don’t even want to call him that anymore. He’s no longer deserving of the title. Well, anyway, he’s using it as leverage. We have some idea how he got all this stuff, but very little idea how to get it back from him.”

She narrowed her eyes on me. “Meh. I think you need to decide how far you’re willing to go first, because I see two possible paths here.”

With furrowed brows, I asked, “What do you mean?”

She leaned back against her desk, tightened her ponytail, and crossed her arms. Keeping her eyes on the floor, she said, “Either he disappears, or the video does.”

I stared at her, eyes wide. “I’m not going to kill him, Ella!” I hissed.

She glanced up at me, taken aback. “Nah, that’s not what I meant. Girl, have you been listening to those true-crime podcasts again? What I meant was that it sounded to me like your dad’s business might not be completely legit anymore … maybe even so dirty that he could go to jail for it?”

I froze. The thought hadn’t even occurred to me. I had to wake up, because I couldn’t afford to go on being so naive. Naivety was for people without a bastard for a father who wanted to sell them like cattle and then—

I stopped before I let myself dwell on that thought again. Everything related to this matter was a cesspool of unpleasant, bitter thoughts I simply couldn’t allow myself to sink into right now. Or ever.

“Maybe,” I said noncommittally. “I honestly haven’t thought about it yet, and I would definitely have to before I chose that path. ”

“Sure, that’s only fair.” Ella shrugged.

“It’s just that the other way isn’t as easy as it sounds.” I rubbed my temples. “I can’t just fly home and give finding it myself a go. That would be way too conspicuous, and who knows what he’d do if he panicked.”

Ella’s hands moved to her ponytail, playing with the long wavy strands as she racked her brain.

She pursed her lips. “Well, I guess we have to get to the root of the problem. What’s your theory on how he got the video?”

“One of Colt’s teammates, who’s a pretty big douche. It had to be someone who had access to his cell phone. There aren’t too many people who have that. But even if we could prove anything, how would that take away my dad’s leverage?”

Her eyes flicked from side to side, sweeping the room without really looking at anything, then she slapped her hand on her thigh loud enough to make me jump.

“Wait, Hunter’s majoring in cybersecurity, right?”

I stared at her, thrown off. “Yeah? Wait … how do you know that?”

“Just something I picked up.” She tried to sound nonchalant, but I knew her better.

“Uh-huh, sure.” I smirked.

“Anyway, back to the main issue. How good is he? Do you think he might be able to pull off something not technically legal?”

“How would I know? It’s not like I know anything about it. He has a ton of screens, that’s about as far as my knowledge goes. We’d have to ask him. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“I’ve got an idea, but I don’t know if it’s even possible. I’ll have to run it by Hunter. Can you give him my number?”

“Yeah, sure. Can’t you at least tell me what this idea is? You know how nosy I am,” I whined.

She grinned and shook her head. “Nah. It would sound even crazier if I said it out loud. Let me see if it’s even doable first.”

“Ugh, I hate you.” I plopped down on my bed.

“Sure. Don’t you have your Business Law class coming up?”

“Yeah,” I groaned. “No one told me that majoring in international business would involve so much accounting and legal stuff.”

She laughed. “Come on, I have a class in an hour too, we can grab a bite to eat on the way.”

I dragged myself up, grabbed my things, and followed her out of our room. Sometimes, it was still strange for me to have a person I could confide in now.

We strolled across campus, Ella’s ponytail swinging with her bouncy steps, and I spotted no less than four guys checking her out.

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you, how are things going on the dating front?”

She huffed. “Just as shitty as the last time we talked about it. If I hear ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ one more time, I might scream.”

I grimaced sympathetically. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

“Tell me about it.”

“The right one will come along,” I assured her.

“Yeah, maybe. Or maybe I’ve already met him and just don’t know it yet.”

***

The gym buzzed with energy as the cheerleaders gathered on the mats, the sound of squeaking sneakers and idle chatter filling the air. The captain, clipboard in hand, called everyone into a huddle. After a brisk warm-up — jumping jacks, high knees, and sprinting across the mat — we transitioned into deep stretches.

We dropped into splits, keeping our arms in perfect alignment. Coach circled around, checking our form. “Remember to point your toes, Sarah,” she said, her voice calm but authoritative. “Legs high, arms straight, every muscle engaged.”

This wasn’t just about flexibility; it was about strength and balance, the foundation of our stunts. Next came the tumbling drills. The squad lined up at one end of the gym and took turns sprinting across the mat to perform backflips, aerials, and handsprings. The sound of hands hitting the floor and sneakers landing on the mat echoed throughout the gym.

After I finished, I leaned forward, breathing heavily, put my hands on my knees, and took a few swigs from my water bottle.

“Stunt time!” the captain called. The bases and flyers took their positions. I adjusted my bow and tugged at my shorts as I prepared to be launched into the air. Two bases crouched, muscles tensed, as I climbed onto their intertwined hands. “One, two, down, up!” the captain counted. In perfect unison, I was launched upward, legs straight, arms extended in a clean extension.

The coach stood nearby, her eyes narrowing as she watched.

“Hold that toe touch longer, Hailey!” she yelled midflight. I adapted, arching my back as my legs snapped out into a perfect toe touch, then landed safely in the waiting arms of my bases.

After nailing several stunts, we transitioned into pyramids, stacking ourselves in levels, creating a structure of people that looked impossible from the outside.

With only a few minutes left, we worked on the choreography of our routine, combining all the elements we had been practicing. Sharp, synchronized arm movements, energetic kicks, and perfectly timed jumps formed the backbone of the routine.

“Tighter! Faster!” shouted the captain as she paced up front. The music blared from the speakers, and the squad moved in perfect unison.

As practice wound down, we all sat in a circle, stretching tired muscles and breathing heavily. Sweat dripped from my brow, but our spirits were high after a successful practice.

I walked over to my bag, wiping the sweat from my face with a towel. Fuck, I was starving. I definitely needed a snack soon, or I would turn into a hangry bitch.

My phone vibrated in my bag, and I pulled it out of the inside pocket. Frowning, I scrolled through the missed notifications.

Ella: My idea might work according to our grumpy in-house quasi-hacker *side-eye emoji*

Me: You still haven’t told me what your idea was in the first place

Ella: Whelp, it’s kind of already in motion *sheepish grin emoji*

Me: What the hell did you do?

Oh God, what has she done? Why hasn’t she said anything? I’m gonna strangle her!

I stuffed all my things into my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and made my way out of the gym. Still no answer from Ella, but if I remembered correctly, she was in a lecture. On a whim, I made my way to the building where she had most of her classes.

Me: I’m coming for you. There’s no point in running.

The breeze picked up, and I pulled on my hoodie, no longer hot from my workout. With quick, purposeful steps, I crossed the campus, my eyes fixed on the path ahead, hoping no one would stop me or talk to me. I had no time for trivial pleasantries at the moment.

I was pretty sure Ella was in one of her marketing classes, so I made my way to the hallway where a lot of them took place. Maybe I’d get lucky.

Ella: Calm down, Rambo. My class is almost over, then I’ll call you and we’ll talk.

I didn’t even bother with answering her because at that moment the first doors opened, and I scanned the people streaming out so as not to miss a certain redhead. Not that she was easy to miss, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

When she finally appeared, smiling as she talked to a tall guy walking beside her, I almost regretted having to interrupt. Almost.

I weaved my way through the crowd to get to her, which, considering my height, was more difficult than it should have been, and grabbed her arm. She turned to me, a little startled .

“Oh! Hey, girl. What are you doing here?”

“Don’t ‘ hey, girl ’ me. We need to talk. Now.”

Her eyes widened, then she nodded. “ Oh! Yeah, sure, let’s talk on the way home.”

She said goodbye to the guy, who looked disappointed — couldn’t blame him — and then I dragged her away with me. We didn’t broach the precarious subject until we were in my car, which I always drove on practice days even though the campus was walkable.

No sooner had the doors closed than I turned to her and said, “Let’s hear it.”

“Okay, wait, let me start at the beginning. So, I was thinking, what if we could digitally infiltrate your father’s network and delete the material without him knowing? Which, of course, sounds kind of crazy … But, I mean, crazier shit has been done, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.”

“You mean like a virus of some kind?”

She nodded vigorously. “Yeah, pretty much. Well, something along those lines, but I didn’t know if it was possible, and I didn’t know if Hunter was capable of it.”

I was almost afraid to ask, but as usual, my curiosity won out. “So, can he do it?” I asked, my eyebrows raised in a skeptical frown. I had no idea that Hunter’s abilities went to this extent, and it made me even more aware of how much he played his cards close to his chest.

Ella gave a shrug. “He didn’t come right out and say it. He was pretty tight-lipped. Just said that he was going to take care of it, and I haven’t heard from him since.”

The lines on my forehead deepened, and I thought aloud. “But that doesn’t make any sense. Why wouldn’t he have suggested it himself if he was capable of something like that? ”

“Yeah, good point. I dunno, to be honest. Maybe Colt knows something about it, though?”

I buried my head in my hands, so frustrated I wanted to tear my hair out or scream. “No idea.”

“Look, I wasn’t going to do anything unless you agreed, but Hunter just sort of went rogue.” She grimaced.

I let my head slump against the wheel. Why the hell was I in this situation?

“Are you mad at me?” she asked cautiously after a few moments of silence.

“No.” I sighed. “It’s a good idea. Let’s see what happens. I’m just … Well, reflecting on my life choices, I guess. Wondering how I ended up here, how I managed to get Colt into this mess.”

“Hey,” she said, touching me on the shoulder and waiting for me to meet her gaze in return. “This dude would go through hell for you if he had to. I’m pretty sure this whole thing is pissing him off, less for his sake and more for yours. Besides, what’s that supposed to mean? You certainly didn’t push your father into making bad business decisions, shady deals, and blackmailing your boyfriend. None of that is your fault.”

“Logically, I know that, but … Let’s just hope it’s over soon.”

She squeezed my arm, her expression sympathetic. “I can’t imagine how shitty this situation must be for you right now, but I truly believe that everything will be okay. No matter what happens, I don’t think Colt would ever walk away from you, and let’s be real, that’s all you really need to know, isn’t it? Does anything else matter?”

I thought about that statement, and my chest, which had a heaviness to it a moment ago, suddenly felt lighter. Ella was right. None of this mattered. Colt had proven time and time again that I mattered to him, that I was even, dare I say it, precious to him. He had even tried to protect me from the pain of my father wanting to use me like livestock to be traded. Had been willing to handle the situation by himself to spare me any pain.

“No,” I said firmly, straightening up, “it doesn’t. You’re right.”

She smirked. “I usually am.” Then she gave her ponytail a silly, exaggerated flick.

I shot her a sideways glance, and we burst out laughing, the tension forgotten. God, it felt good to have a genuine friend.