Aggro - CoraLee June Page 0,95

breath as a battery symbol lit up the phone. We watched a red lightning bolt flash across the screen until the phone had enough power to start up. Finally, a picture of Violet and Kai appeared, replacing the battery symbol. I had seen the photograph numerous times, but seeing it now took on a different connotation. He had his arms wrapped around her slender body, and she was looking up at him with a half smile. They looked cute together, but Kai’s stoic face was what drew me in. I searched for traces of happiness in his gaze and found none. The phone prompted us for her password. Kai typed it in without hesitating and a barrage of notifications flooded the screen. There were texts, Instagram notifications, and missed calls.

A chill went up my spine, causing my entire body to tremble. A bad feeling came over me. Something in the back of my mind was screaming that I didn’t want to see what was on Violet’s phone. But I had to. We all did.

Chase took the phone back from Kai, careful not to disrupt the power cord. We were all so quiet I wondered if the guys could hear my heart about to beat out of my chest. Chase went to Violet’s missed calls first, and there were all of the calls from us, from other friends, her parents, and unknown numbers that I assumed belonged to detectives.

Chase pushed the icon to bring up her text messages next. It was more of the same. My breath caught as I read my own name and part of the last message I ever sent her on the screen. Chase scrolled past our names quickly. “There’s nothing really here.”

“Look at the other apps. Instagram? Snapchat?” I offered.

Chase closed out the others, then frowned. “What’s this app?” The icon was a chat bubble looking thing. He clicked it, and a passcode request popped up.

“Try four-two-eight-seven,” Kai offered. Chase typed it in, but it was denied. I thought back to Violet, and her locker combination hit me.

“Try one-nine-eight-six-three.”

Chase typed it in and sure enough, the app opened. “It’s a secret messaging app,” he murmured. All of our eyes found my dad’s name at the same time. It wasn’t unusual that my dad’s name would show up in her recent texts, but why was she using a secret app to talk to him? My eyes focused on the thing that grabbed our attention in the first place, something that didn’t belong. A little red heart emoji that appeared after the name Brian Shirley.

“What the fuck?” Chase gritted. He clicked on the messages, and my heart sank.

Violet: Baby, I’m in the woods. Can you come get me please? Cops broke up our party.

Violet: Brian? I need you. Please.

Violet: I know we were fighting about the baby, but I made an appointment. We can go back to normal. I won’t push you anymore. I promise. Please.

Brian: I’m coming to get you. Stay put.

Violet: Thank you. I love you so much.

“What does this mean?” I asked, though I already knew the answer. Dad was there the night Violet died. Dad and Violet were...were...were what? Chase kept scrolling.

Violet: I’m sorry your wife almost caught us. We’ll be more careful next time.

Brian: You know the rules.

Bile rose up my throat. I shook violently while reading the messages. Kai wrapped his arms around me as anger took over my body. My father? Violet was having an affair with my father.

Brian: I can’t wait to see you. Wear that dress I like. No panties.

“Stop!” I screamed before scrambling away from the phone. “I can’t read this. I can’t even…” Sobs wrecked my body. There was so much about this I couldn’t even begin to process. Dad was cheating on Mom. Dad was cheating on Mom with my fucking best friend. I looked over at the bed in Dad’s office and vomit traveled up my throat. I grabbed a nearby trashcan and started purging my birthday breakfast. Regurgitated cake coated my tongue as I heaved over, and over, and over again. Kai held up my hair as Chase continued to stoically look through her phone.

I puked until there was nothing left in my stomach. I wiped at my mouth with the back of my hand and collapsed on the floor. “Oh my God,” I cried out while clutching my stomach. “Oh my God.”

“Chase,” I cried out while staring at him. How could we ever be friends? How could he ever look at me and