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But, while I hadn’t brought much to college with me, I did still have a few personal possessions that I wanted to at least try to get before I left. My phone, with the shitty battery, was still plugged in on my bedside table, filled with pictures of Cole. And although it’s probably useless now, there’s still a folder on my laptop of all the information I’ve gathered.
Both may be backed up to the Cloud, but I don’t really want to leave them with Syn. He’s probably vindictive enough to work out my passwords and delete everything—just because.
So, instead of calling Payne, I went straight to Penny’s room. She’d taken one look at me, ushered me inside, and wrapped me in her blankets before handing me one of her signature Irish hot chocolates.
“Tori?”
“I said I’m awake. What time is it?” Finally able to see, I frown as I look at her face. “What’s the matter?”
“Where’s your phone?”
“Hopefully, where I left it in Denali House. Why?” I sit up, still trying to work out what’s going on. I can’t tell if she wants to cry, or if she wants to murder someone. I let out a long sigh. “What has Syn done?”
I’ve not told her exactly what happened. After Syn’s thinly veiled threats against her, I’m not sure I ever will. She just went to sleep knowing I was finished.
She takes a deep breath and angles her body to face mine, crossing her legs as she reaches out to take my hands in hers.
“Tori, I want you to know that I love you. You’re my best friend, and nothing is going to change that. I’m here, I’m not going anywhere, and we’re going to get through this together.”
“Has Syn started a rumor that we’re a couple?” I ask her, confused at how sincere she’s being. “I don’t give a damn if everyone thinks we’re a thing. Unless it’s your boyfriend and girlfriend, but we can explain that to them.”
Penny chews at her lip before she reaches for her phone. “As soon as I worked out what it was, I stopped watching.”
My heart stops.
Or at least, it feels like it.
The oxygen seems to have been sucked out of the room, and every inch of my skin is prickling. I don’t need to see what’s on her phone, because I know.
There’s only one thing that would make Penny act like this.
I reach for the phone, taking it. Her large screen is loaded to a paused video. The bar at the bottom really is only a couple of seconds in, but my completely naked body is on screen.
Since the moment Syn accepted my signed contract and NDA, I knew what was happening. I knew I was going to be filmed having sex, drinking and taking drugs. I knew he was going to keep that video and could release it at any time.
There wasn’t a time when I forgot it existed, and even Gemini was good enough to remind me about it the other day.
Maybe I was starting to think it would never see the light of day, despite his threats, but I was still prepared in case it did.
Or, I thought I was prepared.
Imagining how I was going to react versus how I actually feel now aren’t even close.
Penny reaches over and takes the phone from me, killing the screen before she shoves it beneath her pillow. Then she wraps her arms around me and hugs me like it’s her mission to squeeze all the air out of me and make me pass out. “Whatever you need, I’m here.”
All of a sudden, I feel dizzy and lightheaded. I wiggle out of her embrace and stagger off the bed, towards her window. The building is old, but the heating units in the room do a great job of making sure you never feel cold—unless someone has tampered with it. Each room has a large window that opens out, and I hurry to do that with Penny’s.
As a blast of ice-cold air hits my face, Penny joins my side. “If you need to throw up, go in the bathroom.”
I shake my head, as I lean my body against the wall and raise my face to the open window. There hadn’t been much snow on the ground last night, but it’s started snowing again; large snowflakes are swirling through the almost still air.
Our rooms are at the back of the building. With the weather and the time of day, there’s no one out this way. Everything is peaceful. It almost seems like the universe is glitching, because surely there should be a tornado destroying everything in sight.
Closing my eyes, I keep taking deep breaths, focusing on how the icy air feels as it fills my lungs. At some point, Penny leaves my side, returning moments later wearing a coat as she drapes a second over my shoulders. I’m only wearing a pair of pajamas she’s loaned me, but I can’t feel the cold.
“Jake’s pretty good with computers, and I know he has a lot of friends who I swear, he’s said have decent enough skills. I can call him and see if we can get it taken down.”
“Taken down from where?” I guess I’d assumed it was a video in a group chat, but before Penny can answer, I shake my head. “If it’s on the internet, it’s on there forever. Even if you got someone to take it down, there will be far too many people with copies saved to their phones, or whatever.”
