Chapter 26 #2
Caleb's eyes narrow, his earlier reluctance replaced by indignation. "Yes," he says firmly. "That's the woman who paid me to set you up. She came to the design lab with that guy."
"That's ridiculous!" Cher exclaims, stepping back. "This is obviously some kind of setup."
"Funny," Gavin says, crossing his arms. "That's exactly what you did to Tyler and Ethan."
Drew appears in the doorway, his expression thunderous. "Cher, you're banned from this house and any Delta Psi Omega event. Forever. And we'll be speaking with your sorority president about this."
"You can't do that," she says, but her confidence is cracking. "My father—"
"I don't care if your father is the golf buddy of the president of the university," Drew interrupts coldly. "You deliberately set out to hurt two people who never did anything to you. Actions have consequences."
"I don't understand why you'd do this." The words come out flat, confused. "What did you possibly gain from destroying my relationship?"
Tears spring to Cher's eyes, but they look more like rage than sadness.
"You know what? Fine! You want to know why I did it?
" Her voice climbs higher, losing all pretense of control.
"Because everyone's been laughing at me!
Do you know what it's like having people whisper that you're so awful you turned your boyfriend gay?
That you're such a toxic bitch even men don't want to date women anymore because of you? "
Her perfectly composed mask is completely gone now, replaced by something wild and desperate. “Eight months, Tyler! Eight months I spent being the perfect girlfriend, and you threw it all away for some twink in scrubs who probably doesn't even know how to give a proper blowjob!"
The silence that follows is deafening.
“When did you become a person who cared what people think of you? You were never—”
Fuck, what happened to the girl who'd show up at my door at midnight with a pizza and some shitty old movie, wearing my old hoodie that was way too big for her?
She used to laugh so hard she'd snort, didn't give a fuck what anyone thought.
Now she's... what, plotting revenge because people are talking?
Since when does Cher care about shit like this?
But it doesn’t matter anymore why. “The only thing I regret," I say quietly, "is ever thinking you cared about me."
She stares at me for a long moment, mascara starting to run, then turns and storms down the walkway, her perfect posture rigid with fury.
"Well," Gavin says into the silence that follows, "that was dramatic."
Caleb shifts uncomfortably. "She's going to make trouble. She and Ryan both."
"Let them try," Drew says. "We have the truth on our side now."
I look at Caleb, who seems smaller somehow without his earlier defiance. "Thank you," I say sincerely. "For standing up to her."
He shrugs, but there's a hint of pride in his expression. "Yeah, well. It felt good to tell off someone like her finally."
"Someone like her?" Gavin asks.
"Rich, entitled people who think they can buy whatever they want," Caleb explains with unexpected bitterness. "Including people."
Coming from someone who introduced himself as "the Third," it's an interesting perspective. Maybe Drew was right about Caleb fitting in better than expected.
Two hours later, I'm sitting with James, Gavin, and Caleb in the living room, surrounded by printouts and laptop screens. Caleb has proven surprisingly helpful once committed to the cause, providing the source images and explaining in detail how the manipulations were done.
"See here?" he points to one of the photos. "This is actually Cher with her ex from last year. I just replaced his face with Tyler's. And this one—" he points to another, "—is from a completely different party. Look at the lighting difference when you know what to look for."
James nods, impressed. "You did a good job with the editing. Too good."
"Thanks, I guess?" Caleb replies dryly.
A knock at the door interrupts our session. Drew goes to answer it and returns with Mia, the Theta Pi Nu VP I remember from the night Cher tried to force herself on me.
"Mia," I say, standing. "What brings you here?"
She looks deeply uncomfortable. "I came to apologize. To all of you, but especially to you, Tyler." She glances at the evidence spread across the living room. "I see you've figured it out."
"That Cher set me up? Yeah, we're putting the pieces together."
Mia nods grimly. "The sorority had an emergency meeting this afternoon after Cher returned to the house... upset. One of our sophomores confessed that she'd seen Cher meeting with a guy in the digital design building and overheard them discussing photo manipulation."
"Caleb," I supply.
"I don't know his name," Mia continues. "But when confronted, Cher... didn't deny it. She actually tried to justify it." She looks genuinely distressed. "I want you to know that we took immediate action. The vote to expel her from the sorority was unanimous. She's packing her things as we speak."
"Expelled?" The word comes out with clear surprise. "Isn't that extreme?"
"What she did went against everything our sisterhood believes in," Mia says firmly. "We don't put up with that kind of behaviour. And honestly, this wasn't her first offence. It was just the worst one."
Drew steps forward, extending his hand. "We appreciate you coming to tell us this in person."
Mia shakes his hand, looking relieved. "I was afraid you'd think we were all like her. We're not." She turns to me. "I hope you and Ethan can work things out. What Cher did was inexcusable."
After she leaves, there's a moment of stunned silence.
"Didn't see that coming," Gavin finally says.
"Me neither," I admit. "But it's good to know not everyone was on board with Cher's crap."
Caleb looks thoughtful. "So the sorority kicked her out? That's a big deal."
"It means the campus community isn't going to rally behind her," James observes. "Which is good for us when we take this to the dean."
"It's good for Ethan, too," I add. "Less chance of backlash when the truth comes out." I check my watch. "Speaking of Ethan, I need to find him. We have everything we need now to prove what happened."
"Let's go," Gavin says, already getting to his feet. "I'll drive."
Ethan lives with Sylas in a tiny two-bedroom apartment in a building complex about a mile from school. I've only visited a few times. Ethan liked coming to my room at the frat house instead, but I still remember how to get there.
Gavin parks his oversized pickup truck in a visitor space, and we head up to the second-floor unit. I knock confidently at first, then more hesitantly when there's no answer.
"Maybe they're not home," Gavin suggests after my third attempt.
"Or they're ignoring us," the possibility sends a chill down my spine. "Let me try calling again."
Dialing Ethan's number, but like all my other attempts, it goes straight to voicemail. The same is true for Sylas's number.
"They've either turned off their phones or blocked our numbers," I say, pocketing my phone in frustration.
"Let's check the nursing building," Gavin suggests. "Ethan might be in class."
We spend the next two hours searching every place I can think of: the nursing building, the library, the student center, even Beans & Books—no sign of Ethan or Sylas anywhere.
"Where else could they be?" Gavin asks as we stand outside the Health Sciences Building, my last hope exhausted.
"I don't know," I admit, defeat settling over me. "Maybe they went home for the weekend? Ethan's family lives about three hours away."
"On a Tuesday?"
"I don't know, Gavin!" it snaps out, then I immediately regret it. "Shit, I'm sorry. I'm just... I need to talk to him."
"We'll find him," Gavin promises. "He has to come back for classes eventually."
But that's the problem. "Eventually" feels too far away. Every hour that passes is another hour Ethan believes I betrayed him, another hour for the hurt to harden into something permanent.
"Let's head back to the house," I suggest, my energy flagging. "Maybe someone else has had an idea."
When we get back to the frat house, the mood is weirdly cheerful. A bunch of the guys are hanging out in the living room, talking about some plans with way more excitement than usual.
"What's going on?" I ask, dropping onto the couch.
"Final planning for Saturday's car wash," Ian explains. "It's the last one of the year, and we need to make it count."
I'd completely forgotten about the charity car wash. With everything that's happened, fundraising for the vet clinic had slipped my mind.
"Count me out," is said with zero enthusiasm. "I'm not in the mood for shirtless fraternity bonding right now."
Drew gives me a disapproving look. "This isn't about bonding. It's about finishing what we started. We promised the clinic a certain amount, and we're not going to let them down because of personal drama."
"Besides," Gavin adds with his unbreakable cheerfulness, "you and Ethan will have worked everything out by Saturday. You can bring him along!"
The optimism in his voice only makes me feel worse. "We couldn't find him, Gavin. He's nowhere on campus. His phone goes straight to voicemail."
"He'll turn up," Cam says confidently. "No one can avoid an entire fraternity forever."
"And when he does," James adds, "we have everything we need to prove you were set up. He'll have to listen."
Their certainty should be comforting, but all I feel is a deepening despair. What if Ethan doesn't want the proof? What if he's decided he's better off without me, regardless of whether I cheated or not?
"Tyler," Drew says, his voice gentler now, "I know you're hurting. But sitting here spiralling isn't helping. The car wash is in two days. Focus on that for now. By then, I guarantee things with Ethan will be clearer."
Nodding requires less effort than debate, especially when exhaustion has settled into every cell. "Fine. I'll be there."
"Good," Drew says, satisfied. "Now, let's talk assignments. Tyler, you and Gavin will handle the sign-up table..."
As he continues outlining the plan, my thoughts drift to Ethan. Where is he right now? Is he as miserable as I am? Does he miss me at all, or has he already started the process of erasing me from his life?
Saturday suddenly feels a million miles away, and any hope of making up with Ethan seems even more impossible.