Clique Bait - Ann Valett Page 0,93

jaw, the piece within me so desperate for revenge coiling around my stomach, begging me to attack. But I felt numb. Now I had the weight of William on my back too. I had to choose between him and my revenge.

My thoughts were bouncing around so fast in my mind that I almost felt like screaming. The weight on my shoulders felt enormous. I was literally playing with people’s livelihoods—their reputations.

“I need to think,” I said quietly. “I need to be alone.”

Lola hesitated. “Are—are you sure?”

I saw her fidget from the corner of my eye. There it was. She was scared.

“Above all, you should know this won’t fix it,” she said. “It’s a cycle. This whole thing. Before us there was some other clique and after us there will be a new one. Fresh meat. People always want someone to adore, to idolize, to feast on when it comes to gossip. It’s just another part of human nature.”

The Level Twos were part of the problem, after all. The rest of the school who fed the drama, fed the insanity.

“Do the right thing, Chloe,” she said. She unlinked her legs from under the pole and straightened, looking down at me where I still sat with my legs dangling.

“Don’t you even care what I have to use?” I asked. Did she even know about Monica and Francis? Of Sophie and Francis’s arguments over her? Of Sophie and Mr. Hammond’s affair?

“I was forced to pretend Monica never happened, but you’ve brought it all to the surface. Maybe one of the others will slip. It’s inevitable. I’m tired of maintaining this after everything that happened. I want to be human.”

I blinked, feeling both frustrated and relieved. Frustrated because the fact that Lola didn’t care meant that she didn’t have anything left to hide, and relieved because, somehow, something in my universe had become balanced. Of course, I was more stressed than ever now that I had William to consider in all of this. But still, I felt like . . . like some of the blame that plagued me had dissipated.

“Oh, and I think this belongs to you.” Lola paused to drop the hairpin into my lap.

I stayed there looking over the courtyard for a little longer after she left, turning the pin over and over in my hands. What would I do if they came after William, furious at me taking them down, for ruining their reputations? Would they even go that far, or was Lola planting the idea in my head, using my own feelings against me?

And the most confusing thing of all: for the first time in my life, Lola Davenport seemed human. Even with all her messed-up relationships, she still seemed traumatized by what happened to Monica. In some ways, she was like me. Was she more than just the worst thing she had done?

And God, would this do anything, or was it just a cycle like she said? Would revenge fix this, or just cover the surface of the chunk of me missing ever since Monica died?

I wanted to confide in William, to hear his voice of reason. Maybe prepare counterattacks to protect him. I even wanted to talk to my mom.

I was dreading what would be waiting for me at lunch, especially with my mind undecided. Maybe I should have done it while I had the chance, back when my choice seemed simple.

My thoughts were far away when my phone vibrated, bringing me back to reality. I was confused when I saw it was from the school-wide group chat Lola and Sophie had created to share the picture of Maddy.

Only now it was being used to expose them. The video file uploaded to the chat was instantly familiar.

It didn’t matter how I felt anymore. My revenge had been unleashed.

Stage Eight

Collateral

Thirty-Three

Chloe,

I believed your promise. I trusted you, in fact.

But then I saw your car outside Will’s house last night. Yes, you’re not the only one who can do surveillance. And then I saw you and Lola heading to the fire escape and I knew it was game over. If she had the chance to get to you, then they won.

And they won’t win. I want them to pay. I want Sophie Rutherford to pay.

Don’t forget, I’m doing this for us. For Monica.

Jack

“NO WAY.”

I stared at Jack’s profile picture for a long time, the severity of what he had done sinking in. The group chat had gone silent, nobody knowing quite how to react to the bombshell.

The lunch bell broke