Page 65 of Caged in Flames

We were supposed to be pretending, lure her in and then toss her away, but not me.

I was enamored with Diana's light, and when we were together, we were in a castle of false security. Then I let my best friend tear it all down.

“Dude, I hope it was worth it. I already have a text from my dickhead dad regarding an email from the headmaster.”

Fuck, Sawyer’s dad plays golf with the old bastard, and soon all our parents are going to know. We certainly didn’t try to separate ourselves from the spectacle we created.

“Fuck it. Another donation from Richard, and I am sure it’ll be under the rug by next week.” Charlie’s stepdad probably wouldn’t even blink before signing the check. Even though it was his biological daughter at the center of the mess. Prick.

A door slams downstairs and heavy footsteps sound up the stairs. Charlie looks worried, but before he can say anything else, Richard busts the door to his room wide open. His face is red with anger and his eyes are wild.

"What have you done?" He moves until the two of them are face to face.

“Richard, it was just a prank, damn.” Charlie tries to wave it off. Sure, it was a prank, but it was also social assassination. He knows that. It was his goal.

“A prank, Charlie? You call that a prank?" His hands are moving up and down manically and every word drips with more than frustration. "Diana is in the fucking hospital. I got a call at work from her mother telling me to get there as soon as possible. A woman I haven’t spoken to in years had to call me to tell me that…” He chokes on his words, unable to finish the sentence.

“Dude, woah, we didn’t fucking touch her.” Sawyer calling this man "dude" would be hilarious any other time. He wasn't exactly telling the truth either, but I am too fucking nervous to speak up.

Something is off.

Richard's voice is filled with grief and longing when he speaks. “Your idea of a prank led to my daughter slashing her wrists in the fucking tub. Her mom barely found her in time."

Every word is another dagger into my chest.

"She’s in the hospital. Diana almost died. She wanted to. Whatever you did was not a prank. You almost fucking took her away from me.”

By the time he finishes, there's no more sound in the room except his heavy breathing. As if saying that news aloud took every bit of his strength.

I look at Charlie and Sawyer. The latter crumbles before my eyes, his playboy exterior melting away into the most human expression I've ever seen on him.

Charlie’s face is blank, but his clenched fists give away that he isn't completely unaffected by this news.

The room was still so quiet that I was able to hear the sound of my own heart breaking.

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