Brazen Girl by Ali Dean Page 0,3
to Riptide.”
Beck doesn’t say a word for so long that I finally turn to face him. His nostrils are flaring. “Jordan.” He sounds like he’s in physical pain. “What happened up there? When you fell today.”
“No one did anything to make me fall, if that’s what you’re thinking,” I explain. “I mean, they did, I guess. But it was all in my head. I think I had an anxiety attack mid-air? I just snapped to a different place, lost focus as the messages I read earlier bombarded my head. And then it was too late.” One second of lost focus on the Riptide half pipe is enough to send anyone, even Beck or Griff, to the ER.
Beck’s eyes drift closed for a second. “You shouldn’t have gone up there in that state, Jordan. Why did you do it?”
“You really think now’s the time to scold me?” I snap. Beck’s eyes widen at my reaction and I shake my head. “Look, the doctor was right. I’m irritable. I’m not myself. But before we go in there, I wanted to tell you about this. Whoever took that picture could be watching right this second.”
Beck’s eyes scan the area, and I turn to look too, but the street appears empty.
“We can drive to the police station right now, Jordan. Are you up for that?”
Normally, I’d put it off. Nothing’s going to happen tonight, when I’m with Beck holed up in his apartment. But I don’t even want to get out of the car right now. I feel violated just at the possibility of some creep spying on me. So, I nod. “Yeah, let’s do it.”
Beck seems surprised by my answer, but he gets in the driver’s seat while I Google the local station and put it into the GPS map on my phone.
While we’re waiting at the station to make a report, Beck insists on reading through everything on my phone. He looks furious, but doesn’t say a word. It’s hard not to feel like some of that fury is directed at me, for not telling him sooner maybe, or for ignoring it this long.
A deputy takes my information and listens to my report, but doesn’t provide much feedback. He tells me I could try to get a restraining order, but given I could just block the accounts who are harassing me, that would be much easier.
“I’ll bring it to the cyber section tomorrow. There might be enough for a cyberbullying case but without any harm occurring outside the threats, there probably isn’t enough here. I’ve heard the social media platforms don’t even make it easy for homicide detectives to get information on their users, so I can’t make any promises.”
At least I feel like I’ve tried my best when I hand over my phone, and it’s freeing to return to Beck’s apartment without one. I know I’ve got to tell my parents and my friends what happened, but I’m too damn tired. Beck tells me to lie on the couch while he makes us dinner, and as soon I’m horizontal, I fall asleep.
Beck
She barely stirs when I move her to my bed later that night. I want to crawl in next to her but I’ve got about a dozen people to call. Griffin and Taylor are waiting for me when I get back to the kitchen.
I told them everything while Jordan was passed out on the couch.
“The crash just went viral,” Taylor informs me.
“Great,” I mutter, rubbing a hand over my face.
“This feels like my fucking fault,” Griffin says. “How do I fix it?”
“Your fault? For what, bringing her on at Brazen? Having some chick obsessed with you?” I don’t know why I’m lashing out at Griff for taking this on himself, but I hate seeing my best friend torn up too over something that’s out of our control. I’m just angry right now, everything’s making me angry.
Taylor surprises both of us when he says, “It’s all of our faults.” He lets out a long sigh. “And none of our faults. She didn’t want any attention, let alone this kind. Each of us played our part in bringing her from obscurity to this mess. But it was her decision too, to sign with Brazen, to compete, to be with Beck and to not respond to the wedding photos when they came out. She shouldn’t have hit the half pipe after reading all those messages, after learning she had a stalker. But she did.”
“People crash like she did all the time,” Griffin says.