Chapters (93)
- Cover
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Books by Kelly Yang
- Back Ad
- About the Publisher
“I’m just saying, if you’d just been . . . violated . . . wouldn’t you want to get out of there as fast as possible?” Mr. Francis looks around the room and the student rep, Jordan, nods.
“I did get out of there,” I say.
“Yes, eventually. You went home,” Mr. Francis says, glancing down at his notes. He looks up at me. “Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“I . . . I . . .” I feel my throat go dry.
“She just didn’t, okay?” Zach jumps in.
“I have text messages,” I say, pulling out my phone. I show them all of Jay’s texts to me after the rape.
“That was over something else!” Jay insists.
Mrs. Mandalay tells me to put my phone away. “Zach, let’s hear from you. You and Claire are . . . friends?” she asks, looking down at our hands, touching on the table.
“Yeah,” Zach says.
“Excuse me,” Jay interjects. “They’re more than friends, they’re sleeping together. Claire was cheating on me with him.”
“That’s not true!” I interject.
“Oh, please, I saw you two at the park,” Jay mutters under his breath.
I turn to him. He saw me? I think back to that day at the park when we heard someone coming. “OMG, was that you?” I cover my mouth. “You’ve been following me?”
All this time I thought it was Dani who told him about me and Zach but it wasn’t Dani. I think back to that night at the karaoke bar. At the country park. This week when he came over to my house. He’s been following me all along. But how?
And I remember he installed Find My Friends on my phone that day when we went to Fashion Island. Mr. Francis says something, but I can barely hear it above the loud thudding in my ear. I feel like taking my phone and hurling it at Jay.
“Claire, is this true?” Mr. Francis asks again. “Were you cheating on Jay with Zach?”
I swallow hard. “Jay and I’s relationship was already over.”
Jay snorts. “Yeah, right. That’s why you were over at my house, eating my food and drinking my wine when my dad came,” he says.
“Excuse me,” Jess jumps in. “Homegirl can afford her own booze, thank you very much.”
Mr. Matthews clears his throat. “I think we’re getting a little off track. Let’s get back to the night. Jay, you’re saying Claire came over to your house around seven p.m. and had consensual sexual relations with you.”
Jay nods.
“Why would she do that if she was also sleeping with Zach?” he asks.
“Because she felt bad for cheating on me,” he says. He looks directly at me. “For leading me on for so long.”
Mr. Francis raises an eyebrow. “Leading you on?” he asks, sitting up with renewed interest. He looks up from his notebook at me and Jay. “How so?”