Chapter 36

ANYA

The frightening knock on my door pulls me out of my dreamless sleep. I wake up with a streak of drool gluing my cheek to my pillow, catching my reflection in the mirror opposite my bed. My makeup is a mess, and I am still dressed in last night’s costume.

After Dimitri fucked me bare, I had no energy left. He fucked me too good.

Wincing as I move, I stand from the bed, grab my robe from my chair, and throw it over me as I head for the door. The annoying bangs and the repeated ringing of my bell are making my head pound.

I already know who it is without having to check. There is only one person courageous enough to disturb me this early. It is barely 7 a.m.

“Anya! Anya! Open the door!” Vanessa’s screeching stops as I grant her wish. She, like me, looks like she has just woken up. However, she looks more put together in her nightclothes, whereas I am dressed like a downtown stripper.

“Nessa.” I drop her name through gritted teeth. “It’s seven in the morning.” I rub my eyes, then remember how I left her last night. “Wait, how did you get home? And when? Was everything okay last night?”

Vanessa shakes her head and waves her hands. “There’s no time to talk about that.” She pushes past me into the apartment, slamming the door shut and grabbing me by my shoulders. “Did you check your socials?”

Her serious expression drives away my sleepiness and frustration. Nervousness and fear then awaken the rest of my senses. “No, why?” I ask quietly, already expecting the worst.

Vanessa drops her hands, her expression falling more. “You didn’t?”

I shake my head. “I haven’t touched my phone since last night. What happened?”

She shuts her eyes, exhaling a deep sigh, then opens them. “Okay, you need to brace yourself.”

“Why, Nessa? Tell me what’s going on. You’re scaring me.”

She opens her phone and holds it tight to her chest. “Before you see this, just let me tell you that I’m always here for you,” she explains, spiking my nerves even more with her cryptic words. “Promise me you won’t spiral out of control.”

“Stop it! Just show me!” I try to snatch the phone from her, but she runs from me, circling the couch.

When the couch is between us, she says, “No, promise me first.”

After running two laps around my sitting area, she and I both stop.

I place my hands on my hips, heaving in defeat. “Fine, I promise,” I say, not sure how much I mean it. It solely depends on whatever shit she has to show me.

Vanessa takes slow steps closer, her voice lowering as she says, “Okay, this was uploaded last night. I’m guessing after you left the party with Dimitri.” She turns the phone screen, showing me my worst nightmare.

It is a photo of Dimitri and me kissing behind the privacy curtain when his mask was up, clearly showing us locking lips. The photo was posted on social media—in our college’s private group—sometime after two a.m. The caption reads: ~Caught these two being scandalous, xoxo~.

After I yank the phone out of Vanessa’s hand, my jaw drops as I scroll through the comments.

jenny2020: ~knew these two had something fishy going on! Anya is so cheap. I won’t be surprised if she’s fucking the entire staff.~

harryinwasteland: ~is that Blake’s whore? Oops…I mean Prof. Rossi’s whore~?

wylanhearts: ~c’mon guys, stop pretending you didn’t know the slut would do something like this~

handsome@233: ~I’d wanna kiss those boobs too~

cammie: ~you guys shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Mr. Rossi could have been using her too~

wylanhearts: ~the way they are kissing doesn’t look like he forced her into anything~

My throat burns with bile as I slap a hand over my mouth. “Oh my god!” I say. “Who took this, and who the fuck uploaded it?”

The comments are endless, and each one is nastier than the previous. I collapse on the couch, disgust and shame washing over me.

I was so stupid. Why did I force Dimitri to go when I knew he didn’t want to be there? Why did I think our secret would be safe in that club with so many people around? Why didn’t I just quit when he asked me to? How could I be so selfish?

“It’s a new account,” Vanessa says, hugging me sideways to give me some comfort. “Whoever did this didn’t want to be tracked.”

After dropping the phone on the coffee table, I place my head in my hands as the comments keep scrolling in front of me even after the screen has been shut off. This is the worst thing I could have imagined happening.

But then actually, there is something even worse. My stomach twists when I think about it.

~Dimitri.~

“No, no, no,” I groan in agitation. “This is bad! Is there a way to delete it? If the dean finds out about this…”

Vanessa sucks in a breath through her teeth. “That’s not the whole story.”

Jerking my head up, I snap my eyes to hers, finding her with a pitiful look on her face. “What? What’s the whole story?”

“Dimitri was just called in,” she reveals, gulping. “I think he’s getting fired.”