Hailee’s POV
"Hailee!"
Callum rushed over and caught before I could fall all the way down. I dropped to my knees anyway, my hands shaking. His face was pale, his eyes wide with worry and fear.
"I didn’t know soone was watching," I whispered. "Callum... this is bad. What if they post it? What if people see everything?"
He knelt next to and held my shoulders gently.
"We’ll fix it," he said. "I promise. I’ll protect you."
I wanted to believe him. But deep down, I was scared too. Because we didn’t know who saw us... or why they were recording. And that made everything worse.
I forced myself to my feet, brushing off my knees, even though I was still shaking. "I need to go ho," I said quickly, my words tumbling out in a rush.
Callum nodded. "Let take you ho," he suggested, but I frantically shook my head.
"I’d like to go on my own, please," I said.
I could tell Callum wanted to press more, but he held back his words and nodded. He walked to the door. "Don’t worry. I’ll find whoever that was," he said, his voice low but sure. It was all he could give . And all I could do was nod.
As soon as I stepped outside, the cold air hit my skin, but it didn’t stop the heat of panic burning inside . I kept my head down, walking fast down the street. I didn’t even wait to look back. I couldn’t. If I did, I might fall apart again.
My chest felt tight. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
Who was it? What did they see? Did they record everything?
The questions kept spinning in my head, each one worse than the last.
I finally got ho and shut the door behind , leaning my back against it. I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath.
This wasn’t just a small mistake anymore. Soone had proof. Proof that could ruin everything—, Callum, even Nathan if people started talking.
I walked straight to my bathroom. I turned on the tap, splashing cold water on my face, trying to calm down. But it didn’t help. Nothing did.
I stared at myself in the mirror. Tears welled in my eyes, but I blinked them away. I couldn’t afford to cry now. Not yet. I needed to think. I needed to figure out who might want to hurt like this.
My phone buzzed.
It was a ssage from an unknown number.
"Nice show. The whole school’s going to love this."
My heart dropped. My fingers went numb.
Soone really had recorded it. And now they were threatening .
I quickly called Lila. The phone rang a few tis before Lila finally picked up.
"Hailee?" Her voice was laced with concern. "What’s wrong?"
"Please... can you co over?" I said quickly, barely able to keep my voice steady. "I need you."
She didn’t even ask more questions. "I’m on my way."
Fifteen minutes later, she was standing in my room, hair ssy from rushing, worry clear in her eyes.
I didn’t waste ti. I told her everything. From what happened with Callum... to the person recording us... to the ssage I just got.
Lila’s mouth dropped open slightly. "Wait... you’re serious?"
I nodded, my hands twisting in my lap.
"Do you know if it was a guy or a girl?" she asked.
"No," I whispered. "We ran after them, but they got away. I didn’t see their face."
She let out a breath and sat beside . "Hailee... they could post it. You know that, right?"
"I know," I said, my throat dry.
She was quiet for a mont, then looked at seriously. "You know who you need to call."
I shook my head imdiately. "No. I don’t want to call him. I don’t want to have anything to do with him."
"But Callum might not be able to fix this," she said carefully. "This person... is different. He’s more powerful. He can find out who it was. He can stop it."
I bit my lip, tears stinging my eyes again. "I just... I thought Callum could fix it."
Lila reached for my hand. "Maybe he can try. But this... this is bigger than Callum."
I didn’t answer for a long ti. I just sat there, staring at the ssage on my phone.
Finally, after more silence... and more pleading from Lila, I picked up my phone and dialed the number I never thought I would again.
It rang once. Then twice. Then he picked up.
"Hailee?" A deep, calm voice said. "Wow. You’re actually calling ?"
I swallowed. "Peter... I need your help."
There was a pause on the line.
"What happened?" he asked, suddenly serious.
My heart pounded in sha. I closed my eyes and forced the words out. "I was... I was making out with soone... and soone recorded it. They sent a ssage. They’re threatening to post it."
His tone changed instantly.
"What the hell, Hailee?" he snapped. "Why were you even doing that in the first place?"
I frowned. This is why I never wanted to reach out to him.
"Are you going to help or not..." I murmured.
I heard him groan in frustration. "Fine. I’ll help. But whoever that bastard is you were making out with, he should—"
I didn’t wait for him to finish. I hung up.
Lila stared at after I dropped the phone onto the bed. "What did he say?"
I let out a tired breath. "He said he’ll help."
She nodded slowly, but I could still see the worry in her eyes.
I sat back on the bed, my hands in my lap, my heart pounding painfully in my chest. "What if he’s too late? What if they post it before he even finds them?"
"Don’t think like that," Lila said gently, trying to sound calm even though I knew she was scared too.
I swallowed hard, staring blankly at the floor. My mind was racing. My body still felt cold. What if my mother saw it? What if the whole school turned on ? What if I couldn’t show my face anywhere anymore?
Then—Lila’s phone buzzed.
She picked it up slowly, expecting a normal ssage. But the second she looked at the screen, her expression changed.
Her face paled. Her eyes widened.
"What?" I asked imdiately, sitting up straight. "What is it?"
She didn’t answer.
"Lila—what is it?!"
I reached over and snatched the phone from her hand.
And the second my eyes landed on the screen... my breath caught.
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