Vicious Boys by Nora Cobb
Chapter Thirteen
Vicki
Fuck. With my mouth open, I stare at an image of Luna stretched across my computer screen, topless. It’s a pixelated screenshot, and her face isn’t entirely in the frame. But if you know her, you know it’s her. Fuck.
“Well, it’s obvious she’s been drugged,” comments Troy over the phone.
“We fucked up their equipment before we left,” I reply. “Dom smashed the camera on the ground.” I’m in Dad’s study while Luna sleeps upstairs in my old bedroom.
“Once something hits the internet, it’s out there,” Troy explains patiently, “Someone probably downloaded it while it was streaming. They probably got a shot of you freaking out on them.”
Troy and I have been on the phone all morning, trying to figure out the best plan in addition to sending the obvious cease-and-desist letter. It’s clear from the candid photos that Luna has been drugged, and we can also argue, unwillingly. I rub my eyes against my palms of my hands, wishing we could rewind our lives back to yesterday. Luna is the sweetest person I know, and she didn’t deserve this crap happening to her. But I guess being a decent person doesn’t make a person immune to shitty people.
“How good is her lawyer?” asks Troy. “Do they need a recommendation?”
I slouch back into Dad’s leather chair, my body sinking until my head rests against the padded back. “Her parents found a lawyer in LA through a business contact. They don’t want anything to do with Redwood or us, though Dad offered to help.”
“Well,” sighs Troy, “we’re helping whether they want it or not.”
“I agree,” I tell him, “I know I’m not responsible, but in a way, I feel responsible. Luna can be really naïve, but I’ve been around shady people, and I should have known. And Dom should have to. Like, his dad is a major predator and ought to be locked up. You think Dom would’ve seen the signs…”
My voice trails off as Luna walks into the study. My terry robe is wrapped tightly around her body, the collar pulled up around her neck. Her hair is a tangled mess, and puffy red eyes stare back at me. There’s a cold sore starting on her lip. I’ve never seen Luna looking so devastated, and I get it 100 percent. God, she has a legit reason to be this way. Sighing, she slumps down into the chair in front of my dad’s desk.
“Hey, I gotta go.” I hang up with Troy quickly and hope Luna didn’t hear everything I said. “How are you doing, champ?” I ask her cautiously.
Straight away, the tears start. Heavy drops balance on Luna’s eyelashes until they stream down her cheeks. Luna lowers her head, covering her face with her hands. Her shoulders shake in unsettling jerks as she inhales sharply. I jump up, and in one stride, I’m by her side and hugging her as she lets out a gut-twisting sob.
“Don’t cry, Luna.” My heart starts pounding as I try my best to soothe her. “They won’t get away with it. It’s okay. We’ll fix it.”
She whips her head around and glares at me as if I’m the one responsible for her downfall. “It’s so not okay.” Tears leave streaks on her red face. “The whole school saw it. I know they did. They saw me strung out and naked.”
“You don’t know that,” I insist. My lame lie sounds weak because I know Luna’s right.
“I do know,” she says, “That bitch Talia posted a link on her private thread.”
I cringe as my body shudders, recalling how raw those pictures looked. “Did you see them?”
Luna pushes me away from her. “Yes, I saw them—all of them. The pictures were posted until the moderator took them down.” Her voice falters. “I checked my phone. I know I shouldn’t have. But I needed to know.”
I stand helpless because I don’t know what to say to a friend who always knows what to say to me. I’ve got to try harder. “Okay, so from personal experience, I know it’s bad, but you’ll get through it.”
I cringe at my own words that sound as generic as a message written in a birthday card for a distant relative. Luna slides down into the chair in front of Dad’s desk. It’s a tall leather wingback chair, and though Luna is tall, it dwarfs her as she sits with her shoulders rounded. She looks like a lost girl, forlorn and broken.
“My parents are demanding that I return home,” she whispers.
My eyes widen. “To Australia?”
Luna nods and wipes her eyes. “They’re very strict. You don’t know how strict they can be. I won’t get another chance,” she chokes on a hard sob. “My mother called my aunt. She won’t speak to me. My auntie’s to put me on a plane headed home. My parents controlled my life when I was living with them. Everything was dictated—my clothes, my friends, even my hobbies. I had to beg to come to Redwood. This was the first time I’ve ever been free, and they warned me. They knew I’d fuck it up.”
I take a timid step forward. “But you’re almost finished with school,” I speak softly, as if it will hurt less.
“They don’t care. My parents want me home now.” Luna pulls her phone out of the pocket, and her nails quickly tap the screen. She holds it up so I can see the zero balance in her bank account. “They emptied it and stopped my allowance.” The tears start again as her bottom lip quivers. “I’m broke. Nada. Not a cent to my name. I don’t even have enough money to buy a coffee.”
Fuck it. Luna will always be my best friend, and though sentimentality doesn’t come easy to me, I have to let Luna know how much I care. I hold her in a tight hug and wait to feel her arms around me. “Don’t worry, Luna. You’ve looked after me. And I’m here for you. I’ll give you money. Whatever you need to stay here.”
She shakes her head. “My family is strict. I can’t go against them.” She pulls my arms off her shoulders. “I have to go lie down now before I fall down.”
