Gage
+25 Points
I climbed the stairs slowly, every step feeling like it echoed with the steel hardening inside me. My chest was tight, my fists itching to clench, but my resolve was set. This needed to happen. I had no choice but to face it head–on. I didn’t care what excuse she tried to throw at me or what flimsy reason she gave. None of it mattered. What she had done was inexcusable, and deep down, she knew it.
I was going to show Bree that nothing–not my teammates, not Oliver, not even my own sister–could come between us. Nothing. I didn’t give a damn if it meant putting my family in the line of fire. Sure, I loved them, but we were never particularly close. I didn’t run home every holiday, I didn’t call every week, and I didn’t rely on them the way Bree had once relied on her family. If cutting ties with them was the price of keeping Bree, then I’d pay it gladly.
Right after practice, I had called my uncle. My voice was clipped, firm, leaving no room for hesitation. I told him we needed to pursue legal action against Oliver. Uncle had been quick to agree, his tone laced with the same fire I felt, more than willing to watch the bastard squirm. But he was blunt too–told me it wouldn’t go anywhere unless Bree wanted to pursue it herself. The choice couldn’t be mine alone. She had to be the one to put everything into motion. Not just me trying to fix the damage, but her standing in it and demanding justice.
That reality didn’t slow me down–it just made the plan sharper. Step one: confront Jenna. I’d hear her out, but only long enough to make it clear she was done. She was to stay the hell away from Bree and just as far from me. Step two: go to the Dean and tell her everything- how Oliver and Jenna had orchestrated it all, how neither of them deserved a place at this school. And step three, the one that mattered most–go to Bree, look her in the eye, and prove to her there was nothing standing between us. That I was hers, no matter what, and that everything could be rebuilt if she wanted it.
The hallway stretched long before me, dorm doors lined on either side. From behind them came bursts of laughter, the high–pitched giggling of girls, the muffled bass of someone’s speaker thumping out Shawn Mendes or Benson Boone, the echo of a movie playing too loud. Normal life, oblivious to the storm churning inside me.
When I reached Jenna’s door, I didn’t hesitate. My hand curled into a fist, and I knocked hard, sharp, each thud carrying the weight of the confrontation I had been replaying in my head since practice. My pulse pounded in my ears, the urge to get this over with gnawing at me. Of course, part of me wanted this to be false. I wanted Oliver to have been lying through his teeth, wanted the whole thing to be some elaborate attempt to get under my skin. But denial wasn’t going to change the truth. If it had only been his word, I might not have believed it. But
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Bree… Bree had already confirmed it, even before she knew who it was.
+25 Points
Her voice haunted me still–the way she had told everyone at the bonfire that the guy hadn’t acted alone. That his girlfriend was in on it. That they were hooking up behind her back, united in humiliating her, breaking her apart piece by piece.
And I trusted Bree with everything, even this. There wasn’t a single chance she could be lying -not a chance that she would twist the truth or hold back the reality of what had happened. Bree wasn’t like that. She would never spin a story to make herself more of a victim, never exaggerate to win pity. She didn’t need to. Every word she spoke carried the weight of honesty, and I believed her with every part of me.
The door creaked open, and one of Jenna’s roommates stood there, her face bright and eager, practically glowing as she looked up at me. The way her eyes lit up, wide and soft with little stars in them, told me everything–she had a crush. She was beaming like I was her favorite fantasy come to life, her fake lashes fluttering so fast it was a wonder they didn’t take flight.
“Where’s Jenna?” I asked, cutting through the moment with a clipped tone. I didn’t have the patience to entertain her expression, her starry–eyed admiration.
“She’s just using the restroom,” she said quickly, still smiling, still blinking up at me like she was desperate for me to notice her. “Why don’t you come in for a second and wait for her?”
“No thanks,” I replied, taking a deliberate step back. My shoulder pressed against the wall opposite their door, a clear sign I wasn’t moving. “I need to speak with her.”
Her smile faltered for a moment, confusion flashing across her face as if she couldn’t understand why I’d refuse her. But my attention wasn’t on her–it was locked on a different door, just a little further down the hallway. The door that belonged to Bree.
The thought of her made my chest ache in a way that nearly doubled me over. All I wanted- no, all I needed–was to knock that door down, scoop her into my arms, and never let her go again. It had been too damn long. Too long since I’d felt her soft weight tucked against me. Too long since I’d tasted her lips or heard her laugh up close. Too long since she’d curled into me like she belonged there. Every day without her had stretched like an eternity, and right now, standing this close, the temptation to break the distance nearly drowned me.
“Okay then,” the roommate finally muttered, her voice tinged with offense. It was almost laughable–like my lack of interest was the deepest wound she’d ever suffered. With a huff, she turned her head and called over her shoulder, “Jenna! Your brother is here!”
Then she left, her perfume lingering in the doorway as she drifted off, leaving me alone with my thoughts. My arms crossed over my chest, jaw tight enough to crack, but I couldn’t look
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away from Bree’s door. Not even for a second.
“Gage?” Jenna’s voice broke the tension, softer and more uncertain than I’d heard in years. ” What are you doing here?”
I didn’t move my eyes to her. Not yet. “Is it true?” My voice was hard, sharper than steel, each
my demand. word clipped with the weight of
There was a pause, a shifting sound that told me she was fidgeting. I could picture it even without looking–her sneakers scuffing against the floor, her hands nervously brushing her sides. “Can we go somewhere else and talk?” she asked, her tone fragile, almost pleading.
“No.” I straightened then, unfolding my arms, finally turning my eyes on my little sister. My voice came out like a growl, low and unyielding. “We’re gonna talk right here, Jenna. And you better start talking right now.”
Her throat worked as she swallowed, her eyes dropping to the floor. She folded her hands in front of her body like a child caught red–handed. I knew that stance–it was the same one she’d take whenever she was in trouble, whether it was sneaking out past curfew or wrecking the house after one of her parties. But this wasn’t about curfew or messes. This was about Bree. And this time, she wasn’t getting away with silence.
“I’m guessing Oliver said something?” Jenna whispered, her voice barely audible as she kept her eyes on the floor. She wouldn’t look at me, and that only fueled my anger.
“I forced him to say it,” I bit out. My jaw clenched as the memory flashed back–me pushing Oliver until the truth finally spilled. “And then he mentioned you as well, which honestly, probably shouldn’t have surprised me.”
Dragging both hands over my face, I tried to piece together how the hell everything had gone so wrong. My life had unraveled like a bad joke, a cruel twist of fate after the best summer of my life. I’d been so damn sure everything would fall into place once I had Bree. I thought she would be my anchor, my clarity, the one thing that would make sense of it all. But instead? Instead, everything just spiraled further out of control. My world grew messier, more complicated–though only in the best ways when it came to her. Loving Bree wasn’t the problem. No, the problem was the people who had tried to destroy her. People like my own
sister.
“Gage…” Jenna’s voice broke through my thoughts, soft and trembling as she stepped forward, tears shining in her eyes. “You have to believe me, I didn’t-”
“You didn’t what?” I snapped, my brow arching sharply as my glare locked on her. “You didn’t help Oliver cheat on Bree? You didn’t make sure that f*******: group existed? You didn’t post those pictures? You didn’t help humiliate her?”
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Her lips pressed together, quivering as her chest rose and fell unevenly. The tears clung to her lashes before spilling down her cheeks, but I didn’t budge. I couldn’t. The guilt in her eyes was plain, the fear undeniable–but none of it excused what she had done.
“Oliver made me do-”
“Don’t f*****g go there!” I roared, my voice echoing down the hallway like a gunshot. I watched her flinch, her body curling inward as if I’d struck her. Even the usual dorm noise- the music, the laughter, the footsteps–went dead silent. Everyone had heard me. Good. Let them hear. Let them know what she had done.
“Don’t you dare put this on him, Jenna!” My words cut sharper than any blade. “You need to f*****g own what you did!”
Her tears flowed freely now, dripping off her chin as she buried her eyes in the floor. She looked so small, so breakable, but I couldn’t let it sway me. Not this time.
“How could you do this?” My voice cracked with the force of my frustration, my chest tight with rage and heartbreak. “How could you do this to another person? How little f*****g compassion do you have?” I stepped closer, towering over her, forcing her to hear me. “Don’t you remember coming to me, Jenna? Huh? Don’t you remember how broken you were when someone shared pictures of you?”
The memory hit hard, a punch straight to the gut. She’d only been sixteen. Just a kid. She’d trusted someone enough to send a nude picture on Snapchat, and that bastard had used it against her. She’d come to me sobbing, begging me to make it stop, terrified her whole life would be ruined. And I had fixed it. I had tracked down every single asshole involved and made sure they regretted ever breathing her name. None of them had dared to speak up after I was done with them. I had protected her.
And now? She’d turned around and done the same thing to Bree.
“I know,” she sobbed, her voice muffled behind her hands as she crumbled. “I know what we did was wrong, okay? But I got swept up in it, Gage. I didn’t think–I just… I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry!”
I scoffed, shaking my head and taking a step back from her. Doors down the hall were opening now, voices hushed, people nosing out to see what was happening. The dorm had gone quiet, like everyone was holding their breath for the verdict.
“It’s not me you need to apologize to, Jenna,” I said, my voice almost frighteningly calm. The cold in it made the words land harder than any shout could have.
She looked up at me, mascara streaking down her cheeks in dark rivers. Her face was wet and raw, and for a second I saw the kid she used to be–messy hair, scraped knees, the one
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I’d once protected. That memory hit like a knife, but it didn’t make me change course.
“I’m done with you. Utterly, completely done,” I said, straightening my shoulders until I could feel the weight of the decision in my spine. “You’re not my sister anymore. You don’t talk to me. You don’t hang around me. And you most certainly don’t call me.”
“Gage, no!” she cried, lunging forward, reaching for me like she could claw her way back into my life. I gripped her hands, holding them away in a vice–too tight to be gentle, too controlled to be kind.
“I’m choosing her over you, Jenna,” I said, each word deliberate, cold as iron. My jaw was clenched so hard the muscles ached.
She shook her head, sobs wracking her small frame. “You can’t do that, you can’t—”
“Watch me,” I said, and the finality in my tone made her slump like a puppet with its strings cut. “I can do whatever I want, Jenna. I would rather spend my time with someone who loves so fiercely she loses herself in it than someone who lives to tear others down.”
She crumpled to her knees, the sound of her collapse echoing off the lockers. Her hands covered her face as if she could hide away and make it all untrue. “Gage, please–you can’t just leave me, you can’t-” she begged, voice small and shattered.
“Good luck, Jenna,” I said, stepping away and turning down the hallway. Those two words felt like a verdict and a release all at once. She would need luck now–real luck–because she wasn’t under my protection anymore. So many people wanted revenge; so many wanted to see her burned for what she’d done. I had just left her exposed.
I walked through the crowd without meeting anyone’s eyes. The heat of a dozen stares prickled my skin, but I kept moving until I reached Bree’s door. She stood just inside the threshold, frozen–gobsmacked–like the rest of the world had finally narrowed to this single
heartbeat.
I stopped in front of her and reached into my back pocket. My fingers closed around the folded paper I carried with me at all times–the scrap that reminded me why all this mattered. I handed it to her without hesitation.
“I’m coming for you, gorgeous,” I murmured, low enough for her only to hear. Her fingers closed around the paper, and the way she squeezed it back told me she understood–the plan, the promise, the fight.
Her eyes went wide and bright, blue and wet and full of shock. She licked her lips, a tiny, human gesture, and nodded once–just a small tilt of her head–but it was everything. It made my chest feel like it could burst with something fierce and fragile at the same time.
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+25 Points
Then, because I needed air and distance and a second to let the pieces settle, I started walking again. Each step was heavy with what I’d done, what I’d left behind, and what I intended to build. The hallway stretched long and ordinary but nothing about me felt ordinary anymore. The fight wasn’t over—it was just beginning.
