Dirty Little Secrets

CHAPTER 23.

SUMMER'S POV

The students in the hall were all closing in on me.

Dira was still on her knees, sobbing dramatically, her cheek bright red from the slaps she’d given herself. Phones were everywhere now—pointed at us like weapons. The livestream counter on her propped-up phone kept climbing. 800… 1,200… 1,900 viewers. My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I could barely breathe.

“I’m not doing this!” I shouted, voice cracking as I faced the growing crowd. “I didn’t force her to do anything! This is a setup—someone is playing both of us!”

But my words drowned in the sea of murmurs and gasps. A girl in the front row whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear, “She’s threatening her right now. Look at her face.”

Dira looked up at me with wide, tear-filled eyes, perfectly playing the broken victim. “Summer, please… I said I was sorry. Don’t make this worse for me. I’ll delete the video, I swear.”

“Stop it!” I snapped, panic clawing up my throat. The livestream numbers were exploding. This was going viral in real time. My scholarship. My future. Clyde. Everything was slipping away.

I lunged forward and grabbed for her phone on the edge of the stage. “Turn it off! Now!”

Dira shrieked as my fingers closed around the device. “Help! She’s attacking me again!”

The crowd erupted.

“She’s snatching her phone!”

“Look—she’s violent!”

I yanked harder, desperate to end the stream, but Dira held on, turning the struggle into something ugly. To them, I wasn’t trying to stop a trap. I was the aggressor. Again.

Horror slammed into me. I let go and stumbled backward, hands raised. “No—no, that’s not what this is! You don’t understand!”

But it was too late. The damage was done. The livestream kept rolling.

That’s when the main doors burst open.

Kingsley and George pushed through the crowd, eyes scanning the chaos. For one desperate second, my heart leaped. They will save me. They always try to save me.

George’s face twisted in shock. Kingsley’s… Kingsley’s expression was worse. Cold detached, and disappointed. The same look he’d given me in the computer lab when I refused help. His words from the club echoed brutally in my head:

“You enjoy destroying yourself.”

He didn’t step forward. He didn’t speak. He just stared at me like I had finally proven him right.

“Kingsley…” I whispered, voice breaking. But he looked away.

“Enough!” Dean Finerty’s voice boomed from the entrance, cutting through the noise like a whip. Security guards poured in behind him, pushing students back. “Everyone out! Now! This assembly is over.”

The crowd groaned but obeyed, phones still recording as they were herded out. Dira was helped to her feet by one of the guards, still sniffling theatrically. I stood frozen, arms wrapped around myself.

“Miss Walker, Miss Dira, both of you to my office, immediately,” the Dean ordered, his voice ice-cold.

---

In the administration building, the silence outside Dean Finerty’s office was suffocating. Dira sat across from me, dabbing her eyes with a tissue one of the secretaries had given her. She looked small, fragile, and completely innocent.

I couldn’t sit still. My leg bounced uncontrollably.

The door opened. “Both of you, can go inside, now

”

We entered. Dean Finerty was already behind his desk, face stern. He didn’t offer us seats.

“Explain,” he said flatly.

Dira spoke first, voice trembling beautifully. “I… I just wanted to apologize to Summer for the fight yesterday, publicly. I really felt terrible about what I did to her and for posting the video to tarnish her image. But she came in angry and started threatening me again. When I didn’t agree fast enough, she tried to rip my phone away so no one would see. She’s been bullying me since the beginning, sir. I’m very scared.” She shivered like a child who has just been assaulted.

I shot to my feet. “That’s a lie! She was the one on her knees slapping herself! It was staged” I tried to defend myself, almost screaming at the same time.

“Miss Walker,” the Dean cut me off sharply. “Sit down. I’ve seen the livestream, from multiple angles. You were clearly aggressive toward Miss Dira, again.”

“But sir, someone is blackmailing me! The video, the fight—none of this is random!” I cried out, but no one cared to listen. Everyone believed Dira, that b*tch

Dira sniffled. “She’s twisting everything. I was only trying to make peace.”

Dean Finerty rubbed his temples. “Miss Walker, your probation was already precarious. This new incident, captured live… I have no choice but to recommend immediate suspension pending a full disciplinary hearing. Your scholarship is officially revoked until further notice.”

The words hit like a physical blow. I felt the floor tilt beneath me. “No… please sir. I can’t—”

“You should have thought of that before escalating this into a public spectacle,” he said coldly. “Both of you are dismissed for now. Miss Dira, you may go. Miss Walker… expect a formal letter by end of day.”

Dira gave me one last pitying look before slipping out. I remained standing, numb.

Outside the office, I sank onto the hard wooden bench, burying my face in my hands. Everything was crumbling. The scholarship. My place at NYU. How was I supposed to protect Clyde now?

My phone buzzed.

It was yet and message for an unknown number.

I opened it with shaking fingers.

“Come to the club tonight , alone. Don’t be late, Dark Bird.”

I stared at the blank screen, tears burning my eyes. The trap wasn’t just tightening anymore. It had me by the throat.

And the worst part? Kingsley had looked at me like he was done trying to pull me out.