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Immediately, Michael’s screen appeared on the smart board. As Gabriel gently massaged the back of my hand with his thumb, Michael’s eyes found mine and his face lit up with a haughty grin. “We’ve got some footage to show, too. With sound. I think you’ll like it. Hold up.”
Everett hit the lights and suddenly there was a video playing on the screen. Except, this wasn’t a clip from a sport. That was me, on the screen, standing next to Fred at the club. It had been shot in a vertical screen, as if it’d been recorded with a cell phone.
“Please, call me Fred.” Fred’s voice was kind of faint, as her back was to the camera, but it was still clear enough to understand. “Are you in the gaming tournament?”
I sat up straighter, adrenaline spiking through my veins. That couldn’t be what I thought it was. Me...waiting for Gabriel to show up at the club. Right before I was going to confess everything to him. And right before his horrible brother got in the way.
The camera was too far away to show the nervous expression on my face, but in the film I shifted my feet and shrugged. “Yeah, sort of. I mean, yes. Yes, I am. It’s kind of a secret, actually. No one is supposed to know that I’m playing. But that’s me, right there.”
And then I pointed at the wall—directly at the name CurrerBFighting. My stomach sank as I watched the video. Gabriel’s massaging thumb had frozen on the back of my hand, his grip loosening slightly as he remained glued to the screen.
“And what a perfect name for your alter ego,” Fred said as I just smiled at her. And then the video ended.
“Oops,” Michael said with extra emphasis. He blinked innocently up at Mr. Hart. “Wrong video. Sorry. I’ll just save that one for next week’s project on how lying and cheating affects the human body. I’m sure my brother would have a lot to say for that one—especially since the girl that’s been catfishing him for months is in this very class. That’s right—CurrerBFighting is a girl. Beth Frye, to be clear. Surprise, brother.”
I bolted up from my chair, tears springing to my eyes. Every eye was on me, waiting for my response, but a lump had permanently lodged itself in my throat. I couldn’t even look at Gabriel. This wasn’t how I’d meant to tell him. There was no coming back from this. If Michael had just let me tell him myself, we could’ve avoided this public humiliation for all of us. But no, he had to do what he always did—tear me down for everyone to see. Except this time, I had it coming.
All of my lies had come back to haunt me.
“You’re a...” I thought of all the terrible names I would’ve liked to throw in Michael’s face. All of the words that could’ve earned me quite a few evenings of cleaning Mr. Hart’s tanks. Instead, I curled my lips and glared at him. “You’re the worst, Michael. You’re a bully and a jerk. And worst of all, you’re a terrible loser. You’ve bullied me for years, just because I beat you in a video game. Grow up and get over yourself.”
Haughtiness simmered in his eyes as he lifted his chin and stared back at me. “And you’re a wannabe gamer that has to hide behind a boy’s name to get anyone to take you seriously.”
Tears sprung to my eyes. I hated that he was about to make me cry, especially in a room full of our classmates. I wanted to wipe that smug look off of his face. Instead, I forced myself to look down at Gabriel. He was watching his brother with his mouth slightly ajar, shock spilling into his features. Oh, how I wished I could’ve made this all go away. It wasn’t fair that he was being put in the middle of this fight. I never should’ve catfished him. I never should’ve used my fake profile to get information from him. And I should’ve been braver and told him the truth a long time ago. He deserved so much better.
“I’m sorry,” I said, drawing his gaze toward me. A pang went through my chest when we made eye contact and his jaw tensed. “I really didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
Mr. Hart stood up, dropping his clipboard on the desk in front of him. “All right, that’s about enough, Michael.”
“I agree, Coach.” Michael crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve had enough of her, too. We all have.”
My heart couldn’t take any more. I snagged my backpack and made a break for the door before the tears could begin to fall from my eyes. A few people called my name, but I was gone before anyone could stop me. Down the hall I ran, zooming past open classrooms and a few students mindlessly wandering on bathroom breaks. Finally, I made it to the parking lot and found my little Chevy. I’d never skipped school before today, but nothing held me back as I threw that car into drive and peeled out onto the street, needing as much space between me and the Corrigan brothers as possible.
Chapter Twenty
I wasn’t sure where I was headed. By the time I figured it out, I’d been driving for an hour. No one could contact me. I’d immediately deleted the Battlegrounds app from my phone and then shut it off. Complete silence. There was no doubt that Charlotte and maybe even Lexi were texting me like crazy. I didn’t want to talk to them. I didn’t want their pity. Not after the way I’d messed everything up. I needed to be alone with my thoughts. And there was no better place to be alone during the school day than the Rock Valley after-school club.
The manager, Carl, practically lived at the club, so it was open nearly all the time. Some of the homeschoolers used it during the day for their school work, but the best part about it was that at this time of day no gamers from Rock Valley would be there. I didn’t need the audience there to hackle me as I did this.
My sister’s boots made clacking noises on the hard tile floor as I marched through the entryway. The entryway where Michael had obviously filmed my conversation with Fred. How smug he must’ve felt, getting that on camera. I thought I’d saved myself when I’d identified him as the wrong twin, but he’d already known about my deception. He was savoring it for a more public time to jump on me. And he got it, all right. He’d flayed me right in front of his brother and by the end of the day, the entire school would know about my pathetic lies. If there was one thing I could say about Michael, it was that he sure had a natural inclination toward cruelty.
It took mere seconds for me to find my intended target. With a flare of my nostrils and a deep breath, I walked up to my profile name on the tournament board. CurrerBfighting was still there. It was a big flashing neon sign pointing to all of my lies. I dug my finger under the edges and tore it off, leaving only the corners still stapled to the board. Piece by piece, it came apart in my hands. However, the satisfaction I thought I’d feel at ripping it to shreds didn’t come. And as I stared at the remains littering the floor, tears once again filled my eyes.
No more gaming tournament.
No more Winter Ball.
No more Gabriel.
It was all over. I’d been the one to put the last nail in the coffin.
“Beth? What’s going on?” someone called.
My eyes were too blurry to make her out as she walked toward me, but I still recognized her voice. “I’m so sorry, Fred. I can’t be in the tournament tomorrow. I’m just taking down my name.”
“Why?” She stopped in front of me, concern strong in her voice. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“I messed up. Bad.”
