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Adam’s shoulders slumped. “Oh. Right.” He sighed and rubbed his jaw. “It’s just so hard to believe Hunter could stoop this low. I know he’s an asshole most of the time, but he’s still my brother, youknow?”
Trina averted her eyes and stirred her coffee. “I get what you mean, but I really don’t think he’s innocent in any of this,” she said. “He’s tortured Laney for ages. So why would we believe that he’d suddenly change and turn into a nice guy? Ithasto behim.”
“Yeah. I guess so,” hereplied.
I rubbed my eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “I keep thinking about it, and I can’t understand why he’d do it. Or why he’d hate me so much. I thought we were….”Falling for each other,I wanted to say. “I thought we were fine with each other,” I ended up saying instead. “So why would he want to hurt me likethis?”
“Maybe he planned to do it before you guys made up,” Adam suggested. “And he forgot to stop it fromhappening.”
I shook my head. “We made up on the same day I told him about the video. So that’s notpossible.”
“Oh.Right.”
“Maybe he didn’t believe you,” Trina said, looking back up atme.
“Aboutwhat?”
“The whole Lindsay thing. Maybe he was only pretending to believe you when you told him it wasn’t you. Maybe he still thinks you didit.”
Adam’s brows shot up. “Oh, shit. That’s gotta be it,” hesaid.
“But why the hell would he say he believed me if hedidn’t?”
“To lull you into a false sense of security,” Trina said. “So he could hit you when you least suspected it. When you were as vulnerable as he could possibly getyou.”
That was the same thing the Medusa girls said earlier. I nodded slowly, wishing it would sink into my brain properly. “I guess so,” Imumbled.
“I bet he was probably even going to try to sleep with you and make you think he was falling in love with you,” she said. “Just to make sure you’d really feel it when he turned around and betrayedyou.”
I swallowed hard and looked down at my plate, blazing-hot shame creeping over mycheeks.
Trina’s face fell. “Oh, no. Laney. Tell me youdidn’t.”
I couldn’t speak. I simply nodded as a fresh round of tears spilled out, dripping onto mynapkin.
“You slept with Hunter?” Adam asked, eyeswide.
Another silentnod.
“When?”
“Yesterday,” I chokedout.
Trina let out a short sigh. “And then the video got released just a few hours later,” she said, cutting her eyes to Adam. “Still think he might beinnocent?”
Adam put his head in his hands. “Fuck,” he muttered. “I’m going to kill him. Seriously. I can’t believe he’d do this to you,Laney.”
“It wasn’t really him,” I said. “I mean, he kissed me first, but I did therest.”
Trina shook her head. “No. He manipulated you into thinking it was all yourchoice.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I mumbled, picking at mynails.
“Did he make you feel like he had real feelings for you?” she asked, leaning forward. “And did he make you think you’d be togetherafterwards?”
“Yes,but—”
“He manipulated you, Laney. It’s literally the oldest trick in the book—act like you’re in love to get laid,” she said. “But in Hunter’s case, he didn’t just want to get laid. He wanted to break your heart. And the worst thing about it is that he has you blaming yourself and feeling like you deserve it for being so trusting andnaïve.”
