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I took a few deep breaths and headed up to my bedroom. As I crawled into bed, I thought about Molly, the way her body fit perfectly against mine, the sound of her laugh, the feel of her hand in mine.
I couldn't believe that someone as amazing as her had been in my life all this time, and I had barely noticed.
At five, my alarm went off and I was feeling pretty good about the day. On my run, the birds were chirping and the sun was shining. A sense of contentment and hopefulness filled me, something that was becoming more and more commonplace since Molly entered my life. I think her optimism was catching.
When I returned home from my run, I woke Hailey up and she was surprisingly cooperative, getting herself ready without any hassle. Over breakfast she asked me a million questions about when she was a baby and about Amy's baby. I did my best to answer without making her mom look bad. Honestly, it was nice having Hailey chatter along as we got ready. As most teens do, she grew distant only to resurface as if she had never been gone.
We got to school a tad earlier than usual and I took advantage of the time and swung by Molly's room on the off chance she had got in early. Her classroom was dark, so I left, disappointed.
"You look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed today." Mrs. Peters said with a shark-like smile as she passed me in the hall. She was a friend of Valerie’s, a transplant I didn’t know well but she had lived here for long enough to seem like a local. Unfortunately, that meant she was part of the gossip mill.
"We had a good morning," I replied with a smile, trying to be polite. Besides, I was in a good mood.
"I heard Amy had a little girl. How lovely."
There were worse topics she could have introduced. "Yes. Little Amelia Rose. She’s perfect and they’re both doing well.”
"That's fantastic news," Mrs. Peters said, her eyes twinkling. "Babies have a way of bringing so much joy into our lives. Which after the year you’ve had, you could certainly use."
I nodded, the polite smile tightening. As I turned to leave, Mrs. Peters called out, "Oh, Jake, before you go, there's something I wanted to mention."
I paused and turned back to face her. "What is it?"
"Well, I got the memo from Mr. Walker about those fake online dating profiles that have been circulating. They mentioned something about it being a prank or a joke, but I couldn't help but wonder…” Her voice trailed off and I tried to guess where she was going. I tightened my fist and gritted my teeth waiting for her to continue. “I realize you probably think what happened to you was Valerie, but I can assure you it wasn’t her. What would she gain from that? The only person who seems to have benefited from this whole thing is Ms. Sinclair."
My stomach dropped at Mrs. Peters' words and a chill ran down my spine. The thought of Molly being behind the fake dating profiles had never even crossed my mind, but now that the seed of doubt had been planted, I knew I’d have a hard time shaking it.
"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. "Why would Molly have anything to do with this?"
Mrs. Peters gave me a sympathetic look, her eyes filled with a knowing glint that made me uneasy. There was no way I could trust her, but I wanted to hear her out. "Think about it, Jake. Who else has a motive? Valerie's been in love with you since you were kids, and she has no reason to want to hurt you. But Molly? She's been at you for years and then all of a sudden she’s the one who swoops in and picked up the pieces after the scandal broke." She tsked her tongue disapprovingly.
I shook my head, not wanting to believe what she was suggesting. Molly would suffer from those blackmail photos and that was one thing Mrs. Peters did not know about. "No, that can't be right. Molly wouldn't do something like that. She's not that kind of person. Besides there are things you don’t know."
Mrs. Peters reached out and patted my arm, her touch feeling more condescending than comforting. "I understand it's hard to accept, Jake, but sometimes the people closest to us are the ones who can hurt us the most. I just thought you should consider all the possibilities."
I nodded, my mind reeling with the implications of her words. "Yeah, ok, thanks."
She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Of course, Jake. I just want you to be careful. You've been through enough already." The weight of my past hung in her words.
As she walked away, I felt like the ground had shifted beneath my feet. I couldn't believe what she had suggested, but I couldn't deny the nagging feeling of doubt that had taken root in my gut.
I thought back to all the times Molly had been there for me, all the moments we had shared. She had always seemed so genuine, so caring. But what if it had all been an act? What if she had been manipulating me from the start? Could she have had the camera set up in Amy’s house? But then again, she wouldn’t have known I was coming over. The threat of the photos only hurts her, if they get out. But if she’s the one controlling it, then she was never in any real danger of them being leaked.
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I couldn't let myself go down that rabbit hole, not without proof. I needed to talk to Molly, to hear her side of the story.
The feeling of unease hadn’t eased at all by the time I had made it to my classroom. The idea that Molly, the woman I had come to care for so deeply, could have betrayed me like that was almost too much to bear.
I sat down at my desk and placed my head in my hands. I needed to confront her, to get to the bottom of this, but a part of me was afraid of what I might find out because if Mrs. Peters was right, if Molly was behind the fake profiles, then everything I thought I knew about her, about us, was a lie.
And that was a truth I wasn't sure I was ready to face.
Moments blended into one another as classes funneled in and out, creating a hazy blur throughout the day. I tried to focus on my grading, but my mind kept wandering back to the fake profiles and who could be behind them.
As the final bell rang, I gathered my things and headed towards Molly's classroom. I knocked on her door, my heart racing. When she opened it, her face lit up with a smile. "Hey, what's up?"
"Can we talk for a minute?" I asked, my voice low.
Her smile faltered, and she nodded. "What's wrong?"
