Dot crosses her arms. “Ezra, do you even know?—”
“I know exactly what’s going on,” I say.
Meredith scoffs. “Do you? Because your girlfriend just got exposed as the person who’s been ruining people’s lives.”
Rue’s breath catches, but I don’t flinch. “Yeah. And?”
Dot blinks. “And?”
“And you’re all acting like you’ve never said anything about anyone behind their back. Like you’ve never spread something that wasn’t yours to share.”
“That’s different.”
Mabel tries to intervene. “Sis?—”
“No. She doesn’t get to play victim here. I knew I shouldn’t have forgiven her so easily when she clearly liked Carlton. In fact, I bet that’s why she posted all that about him and Mabel. To sabotage us so she could have him.” Meredith’s eyes flash at Rue. “For theentire schoolto see.”
“No,” croaks Rue. “I promise that’s not true. I was honestly just trying to help, but I took the coward’s way out when I posted it instead of talking to you.”
I shrug. “And the rest of you read it, shared it, believed it, and made it worse. So don’t stand here pretending you’re innocent.”
Meredith crosses her arms. “We’re allowed to be upset.”
“Upset?” I laugh harshly. “Try hypocritical.”
Meredith’s eyes narrow. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” I say. “Rue has spent a long time being the quiet one you all expect to just deal with things. You talk over her and dismiss her.”
Rue’s friends exchange glances, shifting awkwardly. Meredith sniffs. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know exactly what I’m talking about.” I try to soften my tone, but frustration remains simmering beneath it. “Rue apologizes for herself all the time, and none of you ever stops her. Half the time, you don’t even notice when she’s struggling.”
Tears spill over Rue’s cheeks and lashes now, and I don’t back down. “You all want to act like she’s some villain? No. I’m not letting you do that. If you can’t give Rue even one ounce of the grace she’s given all you more times than you probably realize, you don’t deserve to have her in your life.”
Silence. Total, stunned silence.
I squeeze her hand and nod toward my favorite study spot, tucked into a dimly lit wing by the office. “Come on, let’s go.”
I lead Rue by the hand away from everyone watching. The crowd parts like curtains for us as we walk past them, whispers simmering all around us like they’re ready to boil over any moment.
When we’re finally alone, Rue sinks down into a chair, and I take the one beside her. She sniffs a few times, and I let her sit in silence before I ask the question still nagging in the back of mymind. “Why would you enter your name into that app in the first place?”
She wraps her arms around her stomach like she’s trying to hold herself together. “I didn’t. Someone entered me in without telling me. I honestly thought it was Meredith, or maybe Carlton. But I guess I was wrong. And I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, Ezra. I thought if anything, I could be easy on everyone else, only spreading good stuff, unlike the last Little Birdie. But I realize now that all I did was make everything worse.” Her voice cracks.
I press my palms together, elbows braced on my knees, trying to breathe through this new tightness in my chest. “You should have told me. I thought we were closer than this now.”
Her expression softens. “We are. But I didn’t know how to tell you without you hating me.” Tears wet her lashes as she stares at her fidgeting hands. I shove down the urge to take them in my own to still them.
“Rue,” I say softly, “look at me.”
She hesitates, then lifts her gaze.
“I’m not going to lie. I wish you told me when I asked you if you were Little Birdie. But I don’t hate you. That would be impossible. If you want me on your side, then all I ask is no more secrets.”
She nods. Her crying has finally stopped, and for the first time this morning, a glimmer of hope shines in her gaze. “Okay. But I think I really did it this time. My friends will never forgive me for this.”
“No. That’s not true. Tell me how to help,” I say softly. “Let’s fix it. Together.”
