The Sinners - Ruby Vincent Page 0,74
politely or strained or in amusement. But a smile that reflected her strength more powerfully than she knew. Camila swore she would see Leonardo Tremaine held accountable for what he’d done, and she made it happen with nothing but a laptop.
“Leo is going to lose his mind,” I said.
She shrugged. “Let him. He can’t hurt me anymore.”
Inside the cafeteria, the stares she received were revealing. Some students looked curious. Some shocked. A few angry. And, it could have been wishful thinking, but I swore a more than decent number of kids were approving. Perhaps proud.
We picked up our trays and went up the stairs. Cresting the landing, I spotted Cassius, Clay, Gabriel, and Brandon seated at our table.
“There she is! Lying bitch!”
I twisted around, nearly tripping on the step.
Leo streaked up the stairs. The hate warping his face struck real fright in me—for Camila. I grabbed her arm, knocking the trays from both our hands and sending it and our food tumbling down the steps. Leo jumped over a tray and stumbled, falling hard. His roar ripped through the chatter in the cafeteria.
I yanked Camila the rest of the way, running for the boys as they ran for me. “Ember, no.” Her wrist was abruptly gone from my grasp. “I’m not running from him. Cas! Clay! Stop!”
Her brothers skidded to a halt. Camila faced Leo as he charged at her.
“Somerset revoked my acceptance pending a review!” He crumpled up a paper and threw it in her face. It was me who grabbed her brothers and held them back. “You made your last mistake, slum trash. My father is on the phone with our lawyers right now.”
Camila stood tall, resolve squaring her shoulders and stiffening her spine. “What do you think they’re going to do, Leo? I put the truth in those letters. Somerset revoked your acceptance because of what you did, not me.”
What Camila did deserved a ton more credit. Those long nights on her computer were spent emailing the admissions board of every prestigious, mid-class, and local college a letter detailing what happened the night of the party. She didn’t embellish. She didn’t even call him all the names he deserved. She simply stated what the video and witnesses supported. She was drugged, Leo brought her to her room, and they were found with his pants down and Camila unconscious with her dress around her waist. She shared the details of the investigation that went nowhere and Leo’s return to school. She ended the letter with a simple signoff:
There wasn’t enough evidence for the police. Is there enough for you?
Camila didn’t know which worker in which admission’s office decided to put the letter online, but it was trending on every social network I didn’t have.
“I didn’t touch you,” Leo snarled. “You think you won something? I got accepted to five other colleges. I’ll be out of this fuck town in six months, and you, those thugs, and your drunk daddy will be sued out of your shithole. I give you a year until you’re hiding your track marks and selling your pussy—”
Clay got free of me. He rushed Leo but someone got there first.
Brynn shoved through the crowd, marched up to Leo, and smashed her fist in his face. He staggered into the arms of the nosy onlookers who saved him from falling down the stairs.
Face flushed and jaw clenched tight, Brynn turned on Camila. Shocking everyone watching, she took Camila’s hand, parted the crowd and walked her to our table. She left the loft, stares, and her shouting ex-boyfriend and escaped outside.
“I WISH I COULD EXPLAIN, but I was as surprised as everyone.” Camila spoke to me from the bathroom. She combed her hair in the mirror, preparing for bed. “Brynn didn’t say a word to me about Leo before or after.”
“She acted like she believed him,” I said. “I saw her nodding along when people called me a liar.”
Pajama-clad and tucked into my sheets, I considered my day over. Between Leo’s confrontation, Brynn’s punch, a flurry of gossip, and another visit from the police, I welcomed the peace sleep would bring.
“Maybe she wanted to believe him,” Camila replied. “Only Brynn knows what was behind that punch, I hope she talks about it one day.”
I nodded. “How’d it go with Ramadi?”
“Good.” Camila shut off the light and climbed into her bed. “The station has gotten calls since the letter went viral. One of them from Leo’s parents. She came by to reassure me they don’t have grounds to