THE BOY I WAS SENT TO DESTROY

11.

Chapter 11: Video

Zara POV

The video hit the school group chat right before lunch on Friday. I was walking out of English when my phone started buzzing nonstop. I pulled it out in the hallway and opened the first message. My stomach dropped.

It was me.

Someone had filmed me in the locker room after gym class two days ago. I had been changing alone in the corner stall because the main area always felt too exposed. The angle was from above the door, clear enough to show everything. My bra coming off. The way my breasts sat heavy and full. The soft roll of my stomach when I bent to pull up my skirt. Then the worst part. Someone had edited it. Red circles around my thighs and belly with text flashing: “Charity whale on display. Hartwell’s new pet project?”

The clip looped for twelve seconds and ended with laughter in the background. It already had over two hundred views.

I locked my phone and kept walking. My face burned but I kept my steps steady. People stared as I passed. Phones came out. Whispers turned into giggles. I felt every eye crawl over my body like they owned it now. Celeste stood near the water fountain with two of her friends. She did not even try to hide her smile.

I made it to the cafeteria and sat at my usual empty table in the corner. My hands shook when I unwrapped my sandwich but I forced myself to eat. One bite. Then another. If I broke here they would win. So I kept chewing and stared at the table until the bell rang.

The afternoon was worse. In history someone played the video on speaker from the back row. The teacher told them to put it away but the damage was done. Zane was not in that class. I did not know if he had seen it yet. Part of me hoped he had not. The other part wondered what he would do when he did.

Tutoring was scheduled for right after last period. I walked to the library with my head up even though my chest felt tight. When I pushed through the doors Zane was already there. He stood at the table with his phone in his hand. His face looked pale under the anger. His knuckles were white around the edge of the device.

He looked up when I walked in. “You saw it.”

“Yeah.”

He crossed the room fast and stopped in front of me. “Celeste did this. I already know. She admitted it when I asked her in the hall. Said you needed to learn your place.”

I shrugged like it did not matter. “It is just a video.”

“It is not just a video.” His voice cracked on the last word. He reached out and touched my arm. The contact felt different from the heat in the library last night. This was careful. Almost gentle. “She had no right.”

I swallowed hard. The composure I had held all day started to slip. “People have seen worse.”

“Not you.” He stepped closer. His hand slid up to my shoulder and stayed there. “Not like this.”

The library was empty again. No one else had shown up for after-school study. Zane backed me toward the shelves the same way he had before but there was no teasing this time. His body pressed against mine and I let him. My hands came up and gripped his blazer. He smelled like sweat and the soap from his morning shower. I buried my face in his chest for a second and just breathed.

His arms wrapped around me. One hand rubbed slow circles on my back. The other held the back of my head. “I am sorry,” he said against my hair. “I started this. I should have stopped it sooner.”

“You did not film me.”

“No. But I made it easy for her.” He pulled back just enough to look at me. His eyes were dark and raw. “I am ending it. Right now.”

He kissed me then. Not the hungry kiss from last night. This one was slower. Deeper. Like he was trying to take the hurt away with his mouth. I kissed him back because I needed it. My body still remembered his hand between my legs and the way he had told me about his mom. The mission felt far away in that moment. All I felt was him.

We broke apart when the lights flickered. The librarian was closing up. Zane grabbed my bag and his own. “Come on. I am driving you home.”

We walked out together. Heads turned in the hallway but Zane stared everyone down until they looked away. His hand stayed on my lower back the whole way to the parking lot. The black town car waited at the curb. We climbed in and he told the driver my address without asking. I gave him a look but he just shook his head.

The ride was quiet. His thigh pressed against mine again but this time it felt like comfort. When we pulled up in front of my building he walked me to the door. The hallway inside smelled like old carpet and dinner cooking somewhere. He did not seem to notice.

At my apartment door I turned to face him. “You do not have to do this. The video. The protection. None of it.”

“I know.” He cupped my face with both hands. His thumbs brushed my cheeks. “But I am doing it anyway.”

He kissed me again. Soft at first. Then harder. I opened for him and let his tongue slide against mine. My back hit the door and he pressed closer. One of his hands dropped to my waist and pulled me against him. I felt how hard he was through his pants. My hips rolled once without thinking. He groaned into my mouth.

We stayed like that until my neighbor’s door opened down the hall. Zane pulled back breathing fast. His forehead rested against mine.

“Tomorrow. My house. Priya wants to see you. But after she goes to bed…” His voice dropped. “I am not stopping at your thigh this time.”

I looked up at him. My body still hummed from the kiss and the feel of him against me. The video still played in the back of my mind but right now all I could see was the boy in front of me. The one who had lost his mom and carried it alone. The one who was looking at me like I was the only real thing in his world.

I reached up and touched his jaw. “You better not.”

He smiled. Small and real. Then he stepped back toward the stairs.

Before he turned the corner he looked back at me one last time.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t burn this whole f*****g school down for you right now.”