Up In Smoke: A Brighton High School Reunion by Cassie Lein

Author:Cassie Lein [Lein, Cassie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-24T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

‘You’re ruining the only good thing in our lives for some childish bullying!’

I’m out of my chair before I can even second-guess it. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Nic move to grab me, but Chad grasps his elbow, holding him in place.

I’m around the desk and in Abel’s face, poking him in the chest hard as I speak. “The only good thing in your life? That’s fucking rich coming from you.”

He steps back away from me, but I’m not letting him get away that easily. “You took the only hours of peace I had from me and made it hell. School should have been my escape, seven hours of no touching, no creepy men, and no Greg fucking Kolster sticking his cock where it doesn’t belong.”

Rowan sucks in a breath from beside me, where he’s standing wide-eyed, watching Abel and me. “I didn’t know.”

“Of course you didn’t fucking know. No one knew. The one time I confided in my teacher, they turned on me and became a client of my dad’s. Greg made sure he kept his little dolly just for him and his creepy friends. You never questioned why, when I was out with my parents, I was dressed like a small child from the eighties? He had me in frilly dresses and ruffle socks at all his charity events. Wanna know why he made so much money and had extra to give away? Me! He sold me like a prized pony to his friends every week, and on Thursdays, it was his alone time with me while Sally filmed, so he could sell videos to the people who didn’t live around here.” My chest is heaving as I vomit out every dark secret I’ve kept to myself all these years. Some of this shit Nic doesn’t even know; but the floodgates are open now and I’m done hiding in the shadows.

“Lorna,” Nic whimpers and I spin to look at him. Chad has him wrapped in his arms as they both look at me with tears in their eyes.

“Don’t you feel sorry for me, Nic Santini. You’re my best friend and this changes nothing. I’m only standing here, serving these bastards a dime of payback after what they did to me because you stood by my side. You were my only friend in school. I wouldn’t of survived it without you.” He sniffs and nods his head, and before I turn back to Abel, I see him mouth ‘I love you.’

“Lorna, I swear if we knew that was happening, we would have helped you. I’m so sorry. It doesn’t fix it now, but—fuck! I’m so god-damn sorry,” Rowan stammers. His head slumps and he’s avoiding eye contact with me.

“This ends today. You know my secret; my dark past. Keep your precious fucking hockey jobs. It’s why I hinted to Chad that the team was for sale, so I could ruin you without taking your one thing. Because I’m better than you. I played this game better than you and I’ll end this like you should have ten years ago.

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