Chapter 20

Scarlet's POV~~

I sat there gawking at Ann across the table, making an effort to put myself under control in other to give them a response.

“Is something wrong?” Ann asked, concerned when she cited my indecision. The query she asked me was not the only thing that had stunned me, but also the fact that she knew I attended middle school in this exact school.

“ How did you know this is where I attended middle school?” I implored with a suspicious look on my face. I whirled my head to Lucas and noticed he was lost and just kept watching us. She glared at me with a “DUH” look.

“Are you seriously asking me that? When everything almost everyone talks about is how you, Selena and Eva used to be besties in middle school right here in this school.”

I sighed “Yeah, you are right, what was I even thinking!”

“So back to my original question...” she reminisced.

I rolled my eyes “Yeah, I guess it's okay attending both middle and high school in the same institution, I mean, you get to see familiar faces instead of being around strangers and trying to make friends all over again...”

Ann shrugged. “ Well you are right about that”

“Hey I have something to show you after school, so I'm gonna pick you up.” Lucas suddenly came into the conversation.

I hoisted my brow up at him cheekily. “Is it a date?”

“Yup,” he said, and I leaned in to kiss him.

“Cut it out, I think I'm done eating, Ann said rolling her eyes as she got up.

*******

Britney's POV~~~~

I unlocked my locker for my third period books, I was kinda in haste since the class was almost beginning. Suddenly my phone dinged. I groaned in frustration when I heard it and ignored it. It dinged again and I rolled my eyes.

“Ughhh!!” I groaned yet again, jerking my phone out of my picket. It was a video dispatched through my message box by a foreign number. I opened the message and furrowed my brow wondering what it could be. I pressed the play button and the video commenced. I gasped for breath, there my mom was, kissing a man who was not my dad in the back seat of a familiar car, I have seen this car several times and even received occasional rides from it. I was so horrified, I didn't know what to make of the video or what to feel. I placed the books back in my locker and sprinted in the direction of the lot. I unlocked my car and hopped inside still shaking with rage and confusion. I roared the engine to life and sped off. My eyes were too ruddy to even shed a tear. A few cars blew their buzzers at me, but I didn't pay any attention to them and just drove off. Almost close to my mom's workplace, I heard the siren from a police car behind me signalling me to halt, it made me boost my speed rate. I silenced my engine and romped out of the car when I made it safely to mom's workplace. I could still hear the sirens as they drew closer to me. I run into the enormous company and headed straight to my mom's office. I caught a glimpse of her from afar in her office talking to some colleagues. I barged in, leaving the door vast open.

“How could you!” I yelled with so much anger within me. They all turned in my direction startled, my mom especially.

“Excuse us, gentlemen,” my mom asked them for privacy. They left the office, peering at me with so much curiosity in their eyes.

“Young lady you better have a reasonable explanation for this outrageous behavior” mom exclaimed as soon as the men shut the door behind them, folding her arms together. I scoffed. I knew the kind of person she was, always putting on the perfect family image for the world but our family was messed up. It's like the future of my younger brother and I have already been prepped by our parent, mostly by my mom, and we just had to come and live through it. My dad was more of the calm, lazzerfaire type, leaving everything to my mom to handle.

The more I thought about it, the madder I was getting.” Some nerve you have to scold me” I exclaimed with hate.

“Mind your words” she warned.

I rolled my eyes, took out my phone and opened the message box. She looked down at the phone in my hand and her face loosened up a bit into one of tchotchke. I glanced at the phone and handed it to her. She flinched a little before taking the phone from my stretched out hands. She looked at it a few seconds before pressing it play. Her face turned into a terrified one the moment the video played. My tears decided to flow out at that moment and my heart ached with pain. Mom raised her head from the phone and looked at me, her expression mixed with guilt, shame and remorse, but it was too late, and she knew it.

“Who sent you this” she muttered slowly making me grit my teeth in anger.

“You open your mouth and that's the first thing you ask? Well, you know what, it doesn't matter” I said with bitterness. Pain and disappointment written all over my face.

“I'm so sorry honey, it was an accident, I can explain...”

“No, you are not! You are only sorry you got caught...!” I exclaimed, choking on my tears.

“And not just with anyone, but my best friends dad! How could you...”

“Calm down, I can explain...”

“Don't fucken tell me to calm down” I cried out, letting out the “F” word to her for the first time.

“Don't you dare talk to me like that, I'm still your mother for heaven’s sake!” She cried out.

I sniffled. “ You have ruined your family, the perfect family image you have always wanted to showcase to the world.”

I snatched my phone from her and barged out of her damn office slumming it behind me. I felt curious eyes burning through me as I walked past cubicle after cubicle.

The instant I entered my entered burst out crying. I felt so bad for my dad. He already felt horrible about losing his career and now this. I knew, to avoid hurting him, I would have to keep this to myself. I cried my eyes out more just thinking of it. How I'm I gonna face him knowing all this and not saying anything about it. I looked down at my phone which I had thrown on the passenger's seat when I entered the car with puffed eyes. I grabbed it to look at the video again for some unknown reason and noticed a message below the video, it was sent just about the same time the video was sent. I didn't even notice it since my whole focus was on the disgusting video. I read the message...

I HATE THE FACT THAT I HAD TO BE THE ONE TO BREAK THIS TO YOU, BUT NO SECRET HIDES IN THE CLOSET FOREVER

Love,

Heather.

I threw the phone, and it fell somewhere behind the car. I slammed my head on the wheels and the car hooked.

“Knock...knock...” I heard a sound from the window and raised my teary puffed eyes. “What!!” I yelled.

The two police officers looked at me confused. I rolled the mirror down with my eyes fixated on them. “Are you under the influence of alcohol?” The fat one among the two asked. I shook my head slowly.

“Do you have any idea how many meters per second you drove here?” The second officer quizzed. I just looked at them deadpan.

“This should be a warning, next time you won’t be left off the hook easily.” the fat officer chipped in. I knew I was being pardoned because of my current situation. I mean, looking at me, who would be too insensitive to charge me with anything.