Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
Astrid’s laying in the hospital bed, looking out the window. Sophia got her fucking good. Her eye is in a deep shade of purple, her nose crooked, and one of her bottom teeth is missing. She has barely spoken to anyone since it happened last night, and I’ve been unable to reach Sophia.
And God, I have fucking tried reaching her. It’s taking all the willpower not to waltz straight into her home and start something that I’m not sure would be the smart fucking move.
“Why did you do it, Astrid?”
My question is met with pure, and utter silence. Astrid doesn’t even acknowledge that I’m here. The silence stretches between us for what seems to be eternity, and if it weren’t for her steady breathing, I’d think she’s asleep.
I’m angry, and I don’t know what to do with all the anger inside of me.
I’ve never felt such an extent of betrayal before, and Astrid isn’t helping.
She’s my little sister, yet she did the most unimaginable thing to me.
If she wanted to hurt Sophia, that’s one thing.
The fact that she didn’t think twice about how this would affect me is what’s bothering me.
“Astrid,” my voice lowers, a threatening tone to it appearing. She’s still refusing to look at me, and I know it’s because she’s ashamed of what she’s done. Ever since she was a kid, she’d avoid eye contact if she felt truly embarrassed by her actions, or else she’d start bawling her eyes out.
Nina’s asleep in the hospital chair next to me, her soft snoring the only reason I haven’t allowed my anger to take over just yet. Our parents are outside the room, speaking to the doctor.
It would’ve been far worse if Sawyer hadn’t pulled Sophia off Astrid in time.
She should be lucky she’s not suffering any severe injuries, given how hard Sophia slammed her head against the concrete ground.
Her tooth will be fixed when she heals completely, and she won’t be attending the academy for the first month of the second semester.
Slowly, Astrid turns to look at me, and as soon as we make eye contact, her eyes start leaking tears. She swallows them down, trying not to cry in front of me, and no matter how much I hate seeing my sister cry, I’m fucking furious with her.
“I’m sorry.”
The words weigh heavily between us, and the sincerity in her tone catches me off guard. The look of remorse fills her eyes, and her bottom lip quivers, her hands clutching the white sheets.
“Why?”
She looks down at her lap, fidgeting with her fingers. She’s silent for another minute, trying to figure out her next steps. Meanwhile, I’m slowly but surely running out of patience for this entire thing.
“I’m one of the people behind Sinners and Saints.”
The admission makes me falter. I’m shocked to the bone, and she can tell. Because, although I already knew, on some level, a part of me believed that my little sister isn’t so stupid, and sinister.
When she looks at me, she looks so little, so broken, and it only manages to piss me off more. She’s been the one leaking all of my information to that fucking site, and she has the audacity to look guilty?
“You’re what?!”
Nina stirs a little beside me, but doesn’t wake up. I suck in a sharp breath, trying to let go of the anger that’s threatening to burst to the surface. If Sophia found out this, no wonder she beat the living shit out of Astrid. I’d do it too, if I were in her shoes.
“Who are the other people?”
“I don’t know,” Astrid looks up at me. “I just know there’s more of them.”
“Twice, Astrid,” I chuckle, the bitter sound filling the small hospital room. “You leaked my sex tape twice. The first one with Ms. Ellie, and now this. Why? Why the fuck would you do that to me?”
“No, no!” She defends. “I didn’t do it the first time, I promise! One of the others leaked it. It wasn’t me.”
“It doesn’t change the fact that you did it last night. Why?”
“I wanted to hurt Sophia,” she mutters. “I wanted to see her perfect, little life crumble. And of course, she found a way out,” she laughs, but the sound’s devoid of any humor.
“Because she always finds a way out, doesn’t she?
Little Miss Perfect has friends in powerful places, with skills that I’m lacking.
The image vanished off the face of the Earth, and now it’s just through word of mouth that it even existed. ”
“You know, you claim to hate Sophia,” I pause, and Astrid looks me dead in the eye.
“But you’re just like her. This is something Sophia would do.
She never cares what she needs to do in order to hurt someone.
Well, I highly doubt she’d use Sawyer to hurt anyone, because if that girl has anything, it’s loyalty for her family. ”
Astrid swallows, and tears stream down her cheeks, falling onto her lap.
She takes in a deep breath, her eyes glossy.
“I’m sorry, Soren. I wasn’t thinking about how this would affect you.
But you’re being a hypocrite — telling me to break things off with Sawyer while doing that with Sophia.
So, maybe, on a subconscious level, I did do it to hurt you, too. Because you’re not being fair.”
“That’s your takeaway from all of this?” I scoff, disbelief in my voice. “Astrid, those two aren’t related in the slightest. You did something to hurt me, knowing how terribly it would’ve ended up for both Sophia and me. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Your sorry doesn’t mean shit,” I spit out, hands curling around the armrest of the chair, squeezing it tightly.
“You’re not a prepubescent kid who doesn’t know what she was doing.
You somehow got those images, saw them, and sent them everywhere.
You knew damn well what you were doing, so apologizing doesn’t mean a goddamn thing. ”
“I know,” she whispers. “I didn’t think.”
“Do you ever?”
“I just wanted to hurt you and Sophia,” she admits, and somehow, it breaks my heart a lot more. I’m not sure if it’s because she’s truly being remorseful, or the fact that she’d go to such lengths to get back at me. “And I didn’t go about it the right way. I’m sorry.”
“Why do you hate Sophia so much? It can’t be because she didn’t want to be your friend. You’re not that dense, are you?”
“Because we got the same head-start in life,” Astrid looks at me, and I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry at the pure hatred in her eyes.
“Sure, the family rivalry has always been there, but we both got the best of the best — education, clothes, and all the advantages and privileges that come with being wealthy. But she just…”
I lift a brow. “She just what?”
“She has a group of friends that everyone either fears or likes. She has the confidence, and she knows she has all the life advantages. Sophia is perfect in every way, shape, and form. She’s what little girls want to be when they grow up.
Pretty, fit, and smart enough to make people go silent when she starts speaking. ”
“You’re jealous of Sophia.”
It’s not a question — it’s a statement. Astrid, realizing what she just admitted to, looks away in shame. She’s staring out the window yet again, her mouth clamping shut. Her body’s tense, and it finally sinks for me.
This isn’t anything new; this isn’t something Astrid did on a whim. She might not have had anything to do with my sex tape being leaked, but this little scene in the elevator with Sophia was something she’s been waiting for.
“Astrid,” I lower my voice, careful not to wake Nina up. “Did you start dating Sawyer just to spite Sophia, knowing she’d lose her shit?”
Astrid’s head snaps in my direction. “What? No! Sawyer… he’s such an amazing person, Soren.
He’s wonderful, he’s kind, and he treats me like the rest of the world treats Sophia, like I’m royalty.
Maybe, at first, it was a little about getting a reaction out of her, but that’s long gone. I love him, I really do.”
“What’s your plan, then?” I lean in, resting my elbows on my knees.
“You fucked up, Astrid. Mom and Dad are encouraging you to press charges against Sophia, so how do you think that’ll end for your relationship with Sawyer?
Unless, of course, the two families sit down and have a proper discussion about this. ”
“I will press charges, the bitch beat the crap out of me,” she snaps. “But Sawyer… he understands. He’s taking my side.”
“For now,” I snort. “Knowing Sophia, she’ll tell him he’s dead to her and all that nonsense, but when all’s said and done, Sawyer will go back to his sister.
The bond between those two is too strong to be broken by you, Astrid.
I’m fucking angry with you beyond the point of repair, but you’ll lose everyone if you continue acting like this. ”
“You mean, as Sophia acts?” She scoffs.
“It’s different.”
“How is it different, Soren?”
“It’s different because Sophia, no matter how much of a bitch she is, she does things for a reason. And spite isn’t one of them. She thinks ahead, considers all the consequences before springing into action. You just do shit for the sake of doing it. And I’m fucking done with you.”
Her whole demeanor changes when the words leave my mouth, and she pales a shade. “What? No, you can’t do that.”
“You fucked me over because of some petty jealousy, because of your own insecurity,” I bite out, knowing the words will hurt her.
But hell, I’m fucking hurting, too. “And now, not only have you dragged our family’s name through mud for no fucking reason, but you’re also going into a law war with Sophia.
She will fucking crush you, because unlike you, she actually has the guts to stick to her guns.
And I won’t be sitting here, waiting for you to realize how utterly stupid this was. ”
“You hate me now,” she whispers, crying yet again.
“I don’t hate you. I just don’t want anything to do with you until you grow out of that teenager mindset, Astrid. You’re twenty-two, for fuck’s sake. Act your goddamn age.”
“I’m sorry, Soren,” she cries out, burying her face in her hands, her body trembling while she tries to weep silently.
“You should be.”