setting for him.
So... What could she say that would cause him to admit he was the one who’d put that video on the internet? To tell her how things had transpired when KQLA hired him back? Was there a chance he’d let it slip that Heidi knew he was guilty of sabotaging his coanchor’s career? That upper management had turned a blind eye to his toxic behavior? Allowed him to submarine a fellow employee without any reaction—except to give him his job back even though he was as guilty of breaking the “no romance” rule as she was?
It was a long shot. Ethan wasn’t stupid. He was just feeling comfortably in command at the moment. But she had to try.
She pictured his big white teeth and wide smile, the care he took styling his hair and choosing the right clothes, as she mulled over various responses. Would riling him up or placating him work better?
She hadn’t quite decided when she received a message from Aiyana.
We’re having lunch in the cafeteria. The food isn’t bad. Come over and eat with us, if you feel like getting out.
Thanks to Ethan, she doubted she’d ever feel like going out again. The question was whether she could drag herself from the house for any type of public interaction, let those around her whisper and murmur and shoot her curious, if not damning, glances.
Would she have the resilience to weather that?
She still felt so raw. But Aiyana had said “we.” Since Dallas wasn’t home, that “we” likely included him. He’d protected her yesterday, made it possible for her to not only leave the house but to relax and have fun, even after she bumped into Sidney.
She bit her lip as she texted Aiyana back. She had to put herself out there and at least try to heal. Dallas had said it was all in her attitude, that she could determine how others reacted to her by shrugging off what’d happened as though it wasn’t any big deal. They would take their lead from her.
She’d seen proof of that yesterday. But it required more strength and determination than she’d ever had to muster to tell Aiyana she’d come when she didn’t have him or anyone else to walk over with.
Once she got there, maybe Dallas could help her decide how to respond to Ethan. Because he wasn’t emotionally embroiled in this nightmare, he could be more objective...
After pulling her hair into a messy bun, she changed into some jeans and a blouse, dabbed on some blush, lipstick and mascara, and rushed out of the house without giving herself time to reconsider. She could do this. What were the chances that any of the students had heard about her or seen that video?
The possibility couldn’t be too great. They were young and busy with school and sports. Who would point out a news clip like that to them—especially here, at a correctional school? While going to New Horizons, where most of them boarded, they were somewhat isolated.
That meant she likely only had to worry about the teachers.
Once she stepped inside the cafeteria, however, and all eyes turned her way, Emery felt she was being skewered by a thousand tiny daggers. There weren’t any girls on the boys’ side of campus, and only about half the staff were female. Of that half, most were quite a bit older. She told herself that was the reason she was drawing so much attention, that it had nothing to do with the intimate video making the rounds online.
Dallas stood and waved her over, and instead of turning and rushing back to the house, as she was dying to do, she let her eyes latch onto his tanned face, with his blue eyes and sandy-blond hair, and smiled confidently, as though she were her old self.
“Hi,” she said, still smiling as she drew close enough to speak. But she could feel her lips tremble. She hoped no one would notice.
He studied her as though he wanted to say something encouraging. But he didn’t. Maybe he thought it would be too patronizing or would embarrass her in front of the others. Instead he said, “Have a seat. I’ll grab you a tray.”
As he walked over to where the food was, she sank down next to his brother Eli and Eli’s wife, Cora, a teacher at the school, both of whom she’d seen at the house several times. Gavin sat across from her, by Aiyana. She’d met him, too, but only once since he