“Not gone, but like… not in the bed with me. Come to find out, he was downstairs with Heston, who said all this shit about Sydney—and was a complete dick, by the way—and also Sebastian kept introducing me as his ‘friend’, so what the fuck is that all about, right?”
It all comes out in a rush. The more I tell her, the more it feels like some of the weight lifts. I explain how he got so cold and distant, and how I knew he was on edge, and given how my stepfather is such a dick, there was no way Bass wouldn’t get into it with him.
“To be honest,” I confess, remembering Sebastian’s words from earlier, “I think maybe a part of me wanted him to get into it with Doug, you know? To show him that there’s someone out there who’ll stick up for me. Someone that’s scarier than him.” I drop back on my bed, feeling embarrassed to admit it.
But it’s true.
“They got into a fight?” Georgia says, jaw dropped. “And they really kicked you out? For good?”
I nod, not telling Georgia just how deep the problems with Doug go. It might not be fair to Sebastian, letting her think the fight was over something superficial, but I don’t have it in me to give another part of myself away. “On the way home, we had this huge fight. It was like he just flipped.” I cover my face with my hands, feeling frustrated. “God, everything is fucked.”
“Where is he now?”
I sniff, dragging my palms down my face. “I think he’s gone.”
“What do you mean he’s gone?”
I finally look at her, hoping my eyes look drier than they feel. “Like, I asked him if he was just using me for sex and he didn’t deny it, at all, and I told him to let me out at the Nerd, and he left. He just left.”
Georgia’s face goes through a series of expressions—disbelief, worry, concern, anger—but when she speaks, her voice is carefully neutral. “That sounds absolutely nothing like Bass. But at the same time, it sounds exactly like Bass.”
I snort, shifting my eyes to the ceiling. “Whirling dervish. I know.”
“Huh?” she asks, but I just roll onto my side and grab my extra pillow, cradling it against my body.
“Did he have sex with Sydney?” I ask. “Is there something there I don’t know about?”
Her mouth forms a thin line. “I don’t know if he had sex with her or not, but if he did, it was a while ago. Syd’s been pretty much persona non grata around here since the stuff with Vandy and Reyn went down. Sebastian wouldn’t cross that line.”
Yesterday, I would have believed that, but now this constant insistence that Bass is so loyal is beginning to seem like bullshit. “I know you hooked up with him,” I say, pushing the words past the lump in my throat. “Did he, like, use you?”
“No,” she says, head jerking back in surprise. Firmly, she repeats, “No. Not at all.”
“He didn’t just get what he wanted from you and move on?”
“It wasn’t like that with us,” she insists, pitching forward to catch my eyes. “It wouldn’t be the same, anyway. I’ve seen Bass with other girls—hell, I’ve been one of them—and he’s never gotten close to anyone like he has with you. I don’t know what’s going on with you two, but something about this feels majorly off.” Her eyebrows scrunch together as she watches me. “You said Heston was there? What did they talk about?”
I take a deep breath. “Other than making it super clear Sebastian didn’t want to acknowledge me to his brother or mother? Heston was mostly bragging about boning Sydney. Bass did say something about him flirting with jail. And something about a video.”
Her expression flattens, face paling. “A video?”
“Yeah, something like ‘I bet you didn’t even delete the video of you fucking.’”
“That son of a bitch,” she mutters, eyes flashing. Suddenly, she’s shooting to her feet. “That son of a motherfucking bitch!”
I sit up. “Who? Sebastian?”
“No,” she shakes her head like she’s in disbelief. “Heston. I can’t believe he’s still doing it. I mean, he’s not even at Preston anymore!”
“Doing what?” I ask, head fuzzy and slow.
She takes a deep breath, eyes slamming closed. “If I tell you something, do you promise to keep it a secret?”
“Sure.”
She gives me a hard look. “I mean for real. No one can ever know.”
I point out, “I just blubbered on the bed like a raving lunatic over Sebastian Wilcox. If you won’t tell anyone about that, I won’t tell anyone your secret.”
She sinks back onto her bed, restless fingers twisting at her comforter. “Remember when I was having a hard week and Emory and Aubrey came around? And then Sebastian threatened those guys in your class?”
I nod, well aware of what she’s talking about. I never got the full story, but it was pretty clear Georgia had been involved in some kind of sex tape or something when she was younger. The pieces add up and I bolt upright, gawking at her. “Oh my god, that video was of you and…fuck. Holy shit!”
She looks down at her fidgeting hands. “Yeah, it’s me and Heston. Which, for the record, was technically consensual. He was older and popular, and… well, you’ve seen the way he looks. He was really nice at first, actually.” A ghost of a smile touches her lips, but it’s not a happy one. “So it’s not like I wasn’t into it. But when he got me back to his room, I didn’t expect it to be so…” she swallows, looking a little green, “…so aggressive. I’d never done it that way before and it hurt. There were a few times I couldn’t even breathe.”
Her cheeks and nose redden, and when she looks up from her hands, a fat tear runs down her cheek. “The sex I could handle. I’d asked for it, and I liked him. You know how it is, right? I just wanted him to like me.” She swats the tear away, eyes sparking in anger. “But that video. Oh my god, it fucked me up so bad. He shared it around like it was nothing. Like it was all just a big joke. It didn’t matter that people couldn’t tell it was us, because I figured it was just a matter of time before he told someone, and then everyone would know. It’s almost been two years, and he still has that over me.”
She sniffs and rubs her nose. “I took a semester off, you know. I told everyone I went on a study abroad, but really I was being treated for depression.”
“Jesus, G,” I breathe, my problems with Sebastian suddenly seeming so minor and petty. “I had no idea.”
“I’m better now,” she says, nodding, some of that fire returning to her eyes. “I’ve got a lot of really good friends who have my back—friends who know the truth and don’t judge me for it.” She wipes away the rest of her tears, gathering herself up. “I just didn’t know he was doing it to other girls. I don’t like Sydney very much, but I don’t wish that on anyone.”
“Do you think that has something to do with Bass’s being such a dick today? I thought it was just about us having sex, but maybe…” It wouldn’t be the first temper tantrum I’ve seen him have about his brother. “Maybe I’m wrong.”