One Night With Her Destroyed Their Perfect Futures Chapter 05
At My Door
The news about our honors class goes viral within hours.
Every guy in the AP class, HIV positive. It’s all over local news, Twitter, Reddit. The school’s name is trending.
None of that has anything to do with me anymore.
Or so I think.
That same night, I’m home reviewing my Harvard acceptance letter when the doorbell rings. Then again. Then pounding.
I open the door and my stomach drops.
Every single parent from our class is standing on my front lawn. Behind them, Ethan and the rest of the guys lean against their cars, arms crossed, watching.
A bad feeling crawls up my spine. I immediately pull out my phone and dial 911.
Mrs. Cross shoves past my dad and slaps me across the face before I can even speak.
“You shameless little bitch! You knew that girl had AIDS and you deliberately let Ethan go! You ruined my son’s life!”
The force sends me stumbling backward. My spine hits the wall hard.
Dad rushes forward to shield me, but three other fathers block him immediately.
“We’ll destroy your whole family today! You destroyed our sons, and nobody gets to walk away clean!”
I press my hand to my burning cheek. I can’t believe it. They’re actually pinning the blame on me.
With Mrs. Cross leading the charge, the other parents pour their rage onto us.
They can’t accept it. Eighteen years of sacrifice, savings, second jobs, all so their golden boys could get into Harvard and Yale. And now their sons have an incurable disease.
They need someone to blame. And Vivian is already in custody.
So they choose me.
They rush us all at once. Fists and feet rain down on me and Dad from every direction.
Blood clouds my vision, but I still hear every word clearly.
“She deserves it! Beat this little pest to death!” Someone screams from the crowd.
“Rotten parents raise rotten kids!” A woman in designer glasses shrieks. “This little slut will grow up to ruin more lives!”
“Film it and post it online!”
Phones come out, and camera flashes blind me.
Through the blur of blood and tears, I spot Ethan and the guys standing at the very edge of the crowd. That poisonous smile curling at the corner of Ethan’s mouth is exactly the same as the one I saw in my last life, standing on that hospital rooftop, watching me fall.
I will not let them destroy me twice.
I will not let my family be hurt again.
Sirens cut through chaos.
Two squad cars screech to a stop at the curb. Officers jump out and force their way into the mob, pulling me and Dad free.
“What the hell is going on here? This is assault! All of you, back up NOW!”
The sight of dozens of people beating up a father and his daughter clearly pisses the officers off. This kind of violent mob attack happening in their jurisdiction is going to cause them serious problems.
Mrs. Cross whips around, spit flying. “This little bitch knew that Vivian girl had AIDS and deliberately didn’t stop our sons! She let it happen! We’re doing the community a favor by beating her!”
The officer’s face hardens. “Ma’am, do you have any evidence to support that accusation? If you can’t produce proof, every single one of you is getting arrested for aggravated assault.”
Evidence? They don’t have any.
“My son’s word IS the evidence! Ethan told me himself! She forced him to sleep with Vivian!”
The lies roll off her tongue as if they mean nothing.
“That’s right, it’s true! I’m the victim here, and I’m also a witness!” Ethan steps forward.
“Me too!”
“I’ll testify! Scarlett forced us!”
One by one, the guys step up, as if I’d held a gun to their heads and marched them into that hotel room.
The officer stares at them, visibly disgusted. How shameless can these people be, spouting lies this ridiculous with a straight face?
“Witness testimony alone is far from sufficient. You all claim Scarlett forced you. Then show me the physical evidence of how she did it. Texts, recordings, anything.”
Silence fills the street.
If they had evidence, they wouldn’t need to frame me.
They can’t produce proof, but I can.