Chapter 160 The Scandal

• Zane calls the local sheriff's office for help with dispersing the maddening crowd of reporters pounding at his front door, disturbing the otherwise tranquil environment with their unexpected loud intrusion. I go to the bedroom, stunned and feeling like I am in a dream. A simulation where everything that could go wrong has gone wrong and I wasn't even aware. I wasn't prepared. I have a rough idea of what is supposed to be going on, but then it is all so disjointed in my head that I don't trust it. I need to find out what all the ruckus is about. As I walk to the bedroom, I hear Zane's agitated angry voice demanding the cops arrive immediately. I have never heard him sound so angry, so violently bothered. It is like being in a house with a stranger.
• My hands shake as I grab my phone. Maggie was the one calling. I decide to call her back, it would be better to get the full picture of what is supposed to be going on from my best friend, than strangers online or classmates who don't give a shit about me beyond my roles as the class rep and assistant to the class's supervisor, Zane Orion.
• "H-hello?" My voice trembles when Maggie picks up on the very first ring, it is like she was waiting with the phone in her hand. My eyes well up with tears, frightened and dreadful ones. This is a nightmare. I sit on the bed, in the dark, with my phone to my ear and my best friend of the other side of the line about to confirm that my worst fear has just come to pass.