Chapter 46
Thump. Thump. Thump.
My feet hit the stairs hard. I wasn't floating on a cloud of love anymore. I was falling into a nightmare.
"GABBY! GABBY!"
My voice cracked. It sounded like a broken violin.
I sprinted down the grand staircase, gripping the railing so tight my knuckles turned white. My other hand clutched my phone—the phone that was currently burning a hole in my palm with that horrible, horrible video.
I reached the bottom of the stairs. I almost tripped over my own feet (because I was crying so hard I couldn't see!), but I caught myself and ran toward the foyer.
They were still there.
Gabriel was standing near the door, his face like a thundercloud. He had put some distance between himself and the pink rug where... where we just kissed.
And the other guy—the one in the hoodie who walked in on us—was standing there too.
"Gabby!" I wailed.
Gabriel turned around instantly. His dark eyes widened when he saw my face.
"Aleesha?"
He took a step toward me. "What is wrong? Are you hurt?"
I ran straight into his chest. Whump. But I didn't hug him. I couldn't hug him. Not right now.
I shoved my phone in his face.
"You said it was gone!" I sobbed, shaking the screen at him. "You said Sean fixed it! You said the files were scrubbed! You said they were deleted forever!"
Gabriel frowned. He looked at the phone screen.
The video was still playing on a loop. The views were climbing. 30,000 now.
His face went pale. Not scared-pale. Deadly pale.
"What is this?" he demanded, his voice dropping to a terrifying growl.
"It's the video!" I cried, tears streaming down my cheeks like waterfalls. "It's Stephie! It's viral, Gabby! It's everywhere! Facebook! Twitter! Even the school group chat! How?! How is it here if we deleted it?!"
I turned to the guy in the hoodie—Sean.
"You!" I pointed a trembling finger at him. "You are the IT guy! Gabby said you are a wizard!"
Sean's eyes widened. He looked panicked.
He grabbed the phone from my hand. He tapped furiously on the screen, scrolling, checking the source code or whatever IT people do.
"This..." Sean muttered, sweat forming on his forehead. "This is impossible. I scrubbed the cloud. I fried the hard drive. I implanted a worm to eat the backups."
"Well, the worm didn't eat fast enough!" I wailed. "Look at it! Everyone is laughing at her!"
Sean looked at Gabriel. He looked terrified.
"Boss," Sean stammered. "It... it must have been a Dead Man's Switch. Or a secondary server we didn't track. Or maybe he sent it to a third party before I got in. I... I missed it."
Missed it.
The words hung in the air like poison.
Gabriel's expression was terrifying. He looked at Sean like he was about to disassemble him.
But then he looked at me.
I was shaking. My knees were knocking together. I felt sick. Physically sick.
"Aleesha," Gabriel said softly.
He reached out and pulled me into his arms. He pressed my head against his chest, shielding me from the sight of Sean and the phone.
"Shhh," he soothed, stroking my hair. "Breathe. We will fix this."
"You can't fix it!" I screamed into his shirt, soaking it with my tears. "It's out! Once it's on the internet, it's forever! Stephie's life is ruined! And I... I promised her! I told her it was okay! I told her my husband handled it!"
I pulled back, looking up at him with blurry eyes.
"I lied to her, Gabby! Unintentionally! But I lied!"
"We will contain it," Gabriel said firmly. "Sean will take down the sites. We will scrub it again."
"It's too late!" I shook my head vigorously. "I need to go to her! Right now!"
I gripped his shirt collar.
"Drive me," I pleaded. "Please, Gabby. Drive me to her house. I need to make sure she's okay. She... she said dark things at the spa. If she sees this... she might..."
I couldn't even finish the sentence. The thought was too scary.
Gabriel looked into my eyes.
He nodded once.
"Sean," he barked without looking back. "Car. Now. And bring your kit."
★
The drive was a blur.
I didn't sing Aerosmith. I didn't touch Gabriel's arm. I sat in the passenger seat, rocking back and forth, biting my fingernails until they hurt.
Gabriel drove fast. Faster than usual. He wove through traffic like a professional racer, his face set in a grim line.
We reached the expensive subdivision where Stephie lives. It's called "Golden Hills." It has big gates and security guards, but they let us in because Gabriel's car looks expensive enough to own the place.
We pulled up to the Miller Mansion. It was huge. White. Pristine.
But it felt like a haunted house right now.
The car stopped.
I didn't wait. I unbuckled and hopped out.
I ran to the front gate.
Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
I pressed the doorbell button like a maniac. "Stephie! Stephie!"
A few agonizing seconds later, the front door opened.
A maid in a uniform came out. It was Cherry. I knew her. She always gave us cookies when we studied.
Cherry looked sad. Her eyes were red too.
She walked to the gate and opened it.
"Miss Aleesha?" she sniffled.
"Cherry!" I grabbed her hands. "Where is she? Is she okay?"
"She... she hasn't stepped out of her room," Cherry whispered, wiping a tear. "Since the notification... she just screamed. And then silence. She locked the door. Her parents are on a business trip... I don't know what to do!"
My heart stopped. Silence.
"Oh my gosh."
I didn't wait for permission. I ran past Cherry. I ran across the manicured lawn. I burst through the front door.
"STEPHIE!"
I sprinted up the spiral staircase. My footsteps echoed in the big, empty house.
Gabriel and Sean were right behind me. Their heavy boots thudded on the marble.
I reached the end of the hallway. The white door with the "Keep Out" sign (which used to be funny, but now was scary).
Bang. Bang. Bang.
I pounded on the wood.
"Stephie! It's me! It's Aleesha!"
Silence.
"Stephie, please! Open the door! I'm here! We can fix this! We can... we can move to Switzerland! We can change our names!"
Nothing. No sound. Not even crying.
Panic clawed at my throat.
"She's not answering!" I turned to Gabriel, sobbing. "Gabby! She's not answering! What if she... what if..."
Gabriel stepped forward. He put a hand on my shoulder to steady me.
He looked at Sean. He tilted his head toward the lock.
"Open it," Gabriel ordered.
Sean nodded. He pulled a small black case from his hoodie pocket. He took out two thin metal tools. Lockpicks.
He knelt in front of the door.
Click. Scrape. Click.
It felt like it took hours. But it was probably only five seconds.
Clack.
The lock turned.
Sean stood up and backed away.
I grabbed the handle. My hand was shaking so bad I almost couldn't turn it.
I pushed the door open.
"Stephie?"
The room was dark. The curtains were drawn tight. It smelled like stale air and despair.
I squinted.
There, on the bed, curled up into a tiny ball under the duvet, was Stephie.
She wasn't moving.
"STEPHIE!" I screamed.
I rushed to the bed. I practically dove onto the mattress.
She flinched violently.
She sat up. Her hair was a mess. Her face... oh, her face. It was swollen. Blotchy. Her eyes were almost shut from crying so much. She looked like a ghost of my best friend.
"Stephie!" I cried, reaching out to hug her. "I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"
I wrapped my arms around her.
But she didn't hug me back.
She went stiff. Rigid as a board.
And then... she pushed.
"GET OFF!"
It wasn't a weak push. It was a shove.
I stumbled back, falling off the bed and landing on the carpet.
"Stephie?" I whispered, looking up at her.
She stared down at me. Her eyes weren't just sad. They were angry. Hateful.
"You said you handled it," she rasped. Her voice was raw, like she had been screaming into a pillow for hours.
"I... I thought I did!" I stammered. "Gabby helped! We deleted the files! We tried!"
"YOU LIED!" she screamed.
She grabbed a pillow and threw it at me. It hit my face. Soft, but it felt like a brick.
"You told me it was gone! You told me I was safe! And because of you... because I trusted you... I didn't go to the police! I didn't tell my parents! I just sat here and waited!"
She started shaking.
"And now... now everyone has seen it! Everyone! Chad wins! And I am ruined!"
"No!" I crawled toward her. "No, Stephie! We can still delete it! Sean is here! He's a wizard!"
"GET OUT!" Stephie shrieked. She looked wild. "I don't want your wizard! I don't want your help! You made it worse!"
She pointed a shaking finger at the door.
"You promised me, Aleesha! You promised!"
Her words were like knives. They stabbed me right in the heart.
I promised.
I did. I pinky promised. Just like I pinky promised Gabriel.
And I broke it.
"I... I didn't mean to..." I sobbed, reaching for her hand.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
She lunged at me, trying to shove me again.
But before she could touch me, a shadow moved.
Gabriel.
He stepped between us instantly. He blocked Stephie's hand with his arm. He didn't hurt her, but he was a wall of muscle that she couldn't move.
"Do not touch her," Gabriel said. His voice was cold. Dangerous.
"Gabby, no!" I pulled on his pants leg. "Don't be mean! She's hurt!"
"She is attacking you," Gabriel stated.
"She has the right to!" I cried. "I ruined her life!"
"GET OUT! ALL OF YOU!" Stephie screamed, grabbing a glass of water from her nightstand and throwing it.
SMASH.
It hit the wall right next to Sean's head. Glass shattered everywhere.
Sean flinched. "Whoa, okay. She's upset."
"Get out!" Stephie was sobbing hysterically now, tearing at her hair. "I hate you, Aleesha! I hate you! Just leave me alone to die!"
The words echoed in the room. I hate you.
My best friend. My soul sister. The person I share milkshakes with.
She hates me.
I felt like I couldn't breathe. The room was spinning.
Gabriel looked at Stephie, then down at me. He saw that I was about to collapse.
He bent down and scooped me up. One arm under my knees, one around my back.
"We are leaving," he announced.
"No! Put me down! I need to fix it!" I kicked my legs feebly.
"There is nothing to fix here right now," Gabriel said firmly. "She is volatile. You are distressed."
He turned and walked toward the door.
"Sean," he commanded. "Stay. Ensure she does not harm herself. Call the medics if necessary. Do not let her leave this room until I say so."
"Got it, Boss," Sean nodded, looking wary of the screaming girl.
Gabriel carried me out of the room.
"NO! STEPHIE!" I reached out over his shoulder.
I saw her one last time. She was curled up on the bed again, burying her face in her knees, sobbing so hard her whole body shook.
Gabriel didn't stop. He carried me down the hallway. Down the spiral staircase. Out the front door.
Into the fresh air.
But the air didn't feel fresh. It felt heavy with guilt.
He walked to the car and placed me in the passenger seat. He buckled my seatbelt like I was a child.
I sat there, frozen, staring at the white mansion.
I tried to be a spy. I tried to be a hero.
And I failed.