Page 35 of Her Forbidden Teacher

“Thank God,” I say, relieved for this girl I don’t even know. “I wonder what changed.”

Cason’s eyes twinkle. “She got a girlfriend. A protective one. Let’s just say it didn’t sit well with Lucy.”

I’m starting to get a clearer picture, and I don’t necessarily like it because I can see how it might involve me.

“Ophelia’s girlfriend, someone she met at the facility, went off on her social media about Lucy.” He swipes through his phone and shows me more screenshots.

Basically, Leigh, Ophelia’s girlfriend, made multiple posts only a few weeks ago about what a psychopath Lucy was and even accused her of sexual assault.

“It was just a stupid kiss. Don’t be such a prude.”

But it was more than that. I woke up from my sleepover with her lips on me, fingers probing me beneath my shirt, and hot breath in my ear. At first, I thought I was having a nightmare.

It was Lucy.

Kissing me and fingering my nipple.

I kind of freaked the hell out and she played it off like I was being ridiculous. We never spoke of it again. In fact, I did my best to shove it out of my mind as something silly. Now I’m not so sure.

“You think Lucy did something to Ophelia over the summer? Her own cousin?” I ask, my heart hammering wildly in my chest.

“I do. And whatever it was, it was bad enough to make Ophelia lose it. It explains how, when away from her cousin, she recovered, but when reintroduced to a private setting with her, she would rebound.” Cason flicks the phone screen. “Now, with Leigh’s posts, I feel like my suspicion is confirmed.” Then, he turns his probing stare on me. “Question is, why would Lucy turn on you?”

My face turns beet red and I cut my eyes to the floor. “I don’t know.”

“Bullshit. What did that bitch do to you?”

Tears well in my eyes. I shrug my shoulders. “It was stupid.”

Cason sets his phone and drink on the dresser and then makes me sit on the bed beside him. “Tell me. I’m your brother. I have always believed you. I won’t stop now.”

With bile creeping up my throat, I blurt out the sleepover from hell.

By the end of it, Cason’s jaw muscle is ticking, and violence is gleaming in his eyes. Not good. An angry Cason means someone’s life is about to get turned upside down.

“When was this?” he demands.

“A couple months before school ended last spring.”

“It makes sense now, Adds. Think about it,” he says, voice low and angry. “You sent that picture. An innocent thing on your part. She took it as permission to put the moves on you. When you reacted badly and turned her down, she then saw you as athreat. That her secret would get out. So, what does she do? She sends your picture to your teacher.”

My stomach hurts and my head throbs. “Why do you think she waited until I got back to school to start tormenting me?”

Cason shrugs. “Could have been she just wanted her smear campaign to have more impact. Or, perhaps after Leigh protecting Ophelia over the summer, she was just pissed off and needed an outlet. To feel in control of something.”

“How do we make her stop?” I ask, knowing I’m about to open a big can of worms.

“I have a plan up my sleeve.”

“Should I be scared?”

He bumps his shoulder into mine. “It might get messy, but I won’t do it without your approval.”

“Messy, how?”

“I’ll expose it all on my YouTube channel. Ask questions. Get people talking. Who knows, maybe other people will come forward who are just too scared? Your ex-bestie is a predator. It’s time to put her down.”

I’m feeling lighter by the time I reach Theo’s apartment. Cason loves investigating people and exposing secrets. I’m glad he’s on my team versus the other side. He’s a menace for those who aren’t.