I barely had time to process Tanya’s words when I felt a sharp sting across my cheek. The sudden slap took me completely by surprise. My head snapped to the side, and I raised a hand to my face, the pain spreading like wildfire.
I turned, my eyes wide in shock, and there stood Madison, her eyes blazing with fury. “You,” she hissed through gritted teeth, her whole body trembling with rage. “You stole him from me!”
“Madison, what the hell are you talking about?” I stammered, still reeling from the slap. My cheek throbbed, and I could feel the heat rising to my face, not just from the slap but from the growing tension all around me.
She stepped closer, her chest rising and falling quickly. “Don’t play dumb, Audrey. You know exactly what I’m talking about!” Her voice
e quivered with rage, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. The crowd of students surrounding us grew thicker, drawn by the escalating tension. I could feel their eyes burning into me, whispers rippling through the air.
“You knew Logan and I had something,” she continued, her voice dripping with venom. “Everyone knew! And you-” she jabbed a finger in my direction, her face twisted with anger, “-you went behind my back and stole him!”
I blinked, trying to gather my thoughts. “Madison, that’s not true! I didn’t steal anyone. Logan isn’t-”
“Oh, don’t even try to deny it!” she cut me off, her voice rising to a sharp pitch. “And what disgusts me the most is that he’s your stepbrother!” Her words hung in the air, dripping with contempt.
The crowd gasped, whispers quickly morphing into louder murmurs, and I felt the weight of their judgment closing in on me. My heart pounded painfully in my chest. It wasn’t just the slap that stung now-it was the shame creeping into every inch of my body.
Madison shook her head, her lips curling into a sneer. “Do you even realize how messed up this is? He’s practically your brother, Audrey! You two share a house, a family, and you think it’s okay to-” she trailed off, disgust clear in her eyes. “It’s sick.”
I took a deep breath, my mind racing to find the right words. “Madison, no,” I said, my voice shaky but firm. “You’ve got it all wrong. Logan and I-it’s not what you think.”
rrowed, her expression hard and unforgiving. “Don’t lie to me, Audrey. I’ve seen the way you look at him. You’ve been all over him since the beginning.”
“That’s not true!” I protested, the knot in my stomach tightening.
Her face twisted in anger, and she took another step toward me, the tension between us thickening. “Don’t you dare say that!” she shouted, her voice trembling with rage. “We had something-before you came along and ruined everything!”
The crowd around us seemed to close in even more, the whispers growing louder, feeding off the drama. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, judging me, waiting for my response.
omething snapped inside me. I wasn’t going to stand there and let Madison humiliate me in front of the entire school. My hands clenched into fists at my sides as I glared at her, feeling the anger bubble up from deep within.
“You know what, Madison? “You walk around here like you own everyone, like people are just prizes for you to collect. But guess what? Logan isn’t some trophy you get to claim just because you’ve decided you want him!”
Madison’s eyes widened in shock, clearly not expecting me to push back. “How dare you-” she started, but I didn’t let her finish.
“No, how dare you?” I cut her off, my voice shaking with fury. “You act like Logan owes you something, like I stole him, but he’s not yours. He’s his own person, and maybe you can’t stand that he chose someone else, but that’s not my problem. And let’s be real-he never wanted you, to begin with. News flash he is cheating on you with Taylor. So sad of you to think a playboy like Logan will settle for you.”
Madison’s face drained of color, and for a moment, she just stood there, frozen in shock. The words hit harder than I had expected, and the crowd was now buzzing with a mix of gasps and murmurs. I could see some people exchanging glances, clearly entertained by the sudden twist.
“You… you’re lying,” Madison stammered, her voice shaky now, but the fire in her eyes had dimmed. She took a step back, her confidence visibly wavering.
“I’m not lying,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest, my gaze never leaving hers. “You think you know everything about Logan, but clearly, you don’t. He’s been playing you-and Taylor-and God knows who else this whole time. But of course, you wouldn’t see that because you’re too busy blaming me.”
Madison’s eyes darted from side to side, searching for something to hold on to. The crowd had turned against her now, the whispers growing louder, and I could see the cracks forming in her armor.
“You’re pathetic,” I added coldly, feeling the weight of the tension beginning to shift. “Instead of coming after me, maybe you should have figured out who Logan really is. But no, it’s easier to blame the girl, isn’t it?”
Madison opened her mouth, but no words came out. She was completely unraveling in front of everyone, and there was no stopping it now. The confidence that had fueled her anger just moments ago was gone, leaving only the hurt and embarrassment she’d been so desperate to hide.
“Face it, Madison,” I continued, my voice steady. “You were never in control. You just thought you were.”
With that, I turned and walked away, the crowd parting as I moved through them. The tension that had weighed on me moments ago lifted with each step, leaving Madison standing there in stunned silence.
I didn’t need to turn around to know that I had won this round.
As I walked away from the crowd, my heart was still pounding, but now for a different reason. The anger that had been fueling me moments ago was quickly turning into something else-panic. My mind raced as Madison’s words replayed in my head, “What disgusts me the most is that he’s your stepbrother!”
How had that gotten out? My skin prickled with anxiety, and a cold sweat broke out along the back of my neck. The fact that people knew Logan and I were step-siblings was bad enough, but if this gossip spread even further… What was next? The secret of me being a werewolf?