Little Do We Know(69)

His voice filled the air. “Hi. My name is Luke. To be honest, I’m not really sure why I’m doing this.”

The color drained from his face, and despite that fact that I’d been yelling at him seconds earlier, I threaded my arm through his.

“Where did you get this?” he asked.

“Someone posted the link on Twitter.”

“Twitter?” Luke asked.

“I just had to tell you how amazing this was.” She rested her hand on her chest and stared at Luke with her big brown doe eyes. “I…we…” She glanced around at her friends, and they all shot him sympathetic smiles, like he needed their pity or something. “No one had any idea what you’d been through. That was just…wow.” She hugged him. “I’m glad you’re okay. If you ever want to talk…” She trailed off.

She didn’t glance at me once. It was as if I’d become invisible.

When Courtney walked away, Luke turned to me. He looked like he was going to be sick. “I don’t…”

My whole body was on fire and my mind was racing. I was beyond furious, ready to fight for him.

“You were right,” Luke said. “I shouldn’t have trusted her.”

I couldn’t believe Hannah would do that to him, and yet somehow, against all proof otherwise, I wasn’t entirely sure she had.

Luke dug his fingertips into his scalp and walked in small circles. Then he stepped back and kicked a bottom locker so hard that he made a dent in the door.

I pulled him away. “Stop! You’re going to rip your internal stitches.”

He twisted away from me, but then he stepped forward again and pulled me into his arms. I could feel him breathing hard and fast, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him as tight as I could. I kissed his neck and told him it would be okay, that we’d figure out what happened together.

“Do you have your keys on you?” I asked, sliding my hand into his front pocket where he always kept them. I answered my own question when I pulled them out and spun them around my finger. “Let’s go. I’m driving.”





I barreled out of the office and ran straight into Luke. Emory was right behind him. He didn’t say a word, he just stared at me, looking disheveled and betrayed.

“I didn’t do this,” I said. “I swear.”

Luke didn’t speak. I wished he would. Or that Emory would. Their collective silence was worse than anything they could have said.

“You have to believe me. I just found out.”

His expression softened. I probably should have felt relieved, but I still couldn’t get past the guilt. Even if I hadn’t shared the video, it was my fault it existed it in the first place. The whole thing was my fault.

“She’s telling the truth.” Dad rested his hand on my shoulder, but I pulled away from him. “Come in. I’ll explain everything.”

Dad leaned on his desk and Aaron sat in the leather chair. Luke and Emory sat next to each other on the couch, but I was too pumped with adrenaline to sit. I stayed in the back of the room, leaning against the wall with my arms folded across my chest, trying not to scream.

Luke was fuming. “Why have a bunch of people at my school—people I barely know—seen a video I made and didn’t share with anyone?” He inhaled sharply. I could hear his voice shaking.

“It’s my fault,” Aaron said. “I thought your video was incredible. I shared it with a local pastor I trusted, but I guess I wasn’t clear enough that it wasn’t supposed to be public. I never told him to share it, I promise.” He held up one hand. “And then it was out there and…I never thought it would go this far this fast.”

“I made this for myself!” He slammed his hand on the desk. “It was for me!”

No one said anything. It was all I could do to stand silently at the back of the room. I wanted to grab Luke’s hand and pull him away from Dad and Aaron and the horrible thing they’d done, not only to protect him, but also to show Emory that I was no longer my dad’s sheep. That I’d changed. But maybe I hadn’t, because I stood frozen in place anyway, unsure how to make the first move.

“I told you I would come speak at your admissions thing as a favor,” Luke said. “I figured I owed you one. Was this your plan all along?”

I glanced over at Emory, but she wouldn’t look at me. She was too busy glaring at my dad.

“No,” Dad said in a calm, even voice. “I swear.”

I stared at him. There was something about the look on his face that made me wonder if he was telling Luke everything.

“That video wasn’t yours, Dad.” My voice was quiet and tentative, but I was relieved to have found it. “It wasn’t Aaron’s or mine either. It was Luke’s.” I spoke a little louder. “You had no right to share it. That was Luke’s story. It was his decision to share it.”

“I know,” Dad whispered. “I’m sorry. I truly am.” He curled his finger toward his chest. “But look…you need to see something.”

Dad stood from his chair, swiveling it around so Luke could take it. He pointed at his computer monitor. “Open any one of these emails. They’ve been coming in since yesterday. They’re all for you.”

Luke started reading. When he finished one message, he closed it and opened another one. And then another one.