Cruel Intentions

As soon as they'd stepped foot back on East Highland their bubble had seemingly bursted. When Bee walked into the cafeteria she shot a glance at the table where Nate was sitting with his football friends. He had a black hoodie draped over his head and sat with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes shot up to Bee's immediately before she turned to make the line for lunch.


"How was New York?" Jules asked standing right beside her after taking a tray.


"Good." She answered shortly. "Where's Rue?"


Jules shook her head briefly. Her hair was in a bun and the roots looked greasy. She was wearing a grey jacket and jeans, which was by far the most plain outfit she'd ever worn to school.


"She just got out of hospital yesterday."


"Did she relapse?" Bee asked stopping dead in her tracks.


"No." Jules said. "She had a kidney infection on the weekend."


"Oh."


"Move the fuck over." She heard someone scream behind her.


Bee continued walking to the cashier as she absently grabbed a coke.


"Why didn't you tell me?"


"I just found out yesterday." Jules said. "She doesn't want anyone to know."


"How did she even get that?"


Jules shook her head. They both paid and walked over to an empty table.


"And what happened to you?" Bee asked. "I feel like I missed out on a lot last week."


Jules pressed her lips together just staring at her food.


"Yeah." She said shortly. "I guess I just—" she swallowed hard. "Do you remember when I told you about Tyler?"


"The guy from St. Marys?"


"Well, he disappeared again last week. Right on the day we were supposed to meet." Jules said. "He just didn't ever answer again. He's gone."


"I didn't know you were still talking to him."


"He's been like on and off." She said. "But I really thought—" Jules looked down and Bee wrapped her arm around her shoulder. Her friend leaned her head against her shoulder. "I thought we had something special."


"Maybe he got scared. Maybe he's not who he says he is."


Jules shook her head. "That's impossible." She pulled away from her friend. "I mean his name, maybe, but not the things we talked about."


"But Jules, this is literally a person you've never met before, I mean—"


"I don't have to. I've gotten to know him, like, really well. Like, better than anyone else."


"Except he could be lying."


"Bee, anyone could be lying. Trust me. It's not in my head." Bee pressed her lips together, unconvinced. "I fell in love with him. And I just don't know what I'm gonna do if I never talk to him again."


"Does Rue know about this?"


Jules shook her head drying out her tears before they came out of her eyes. "No, because I can't pretend I'm okay and I can't tell her about this either. And—" Jules breathed out rubbing the sleeves of her sweater over her eyes. "I just , I feel, like, this weight. Like, this massive weight on my shoulders—Like, what if she got that kidney infection because I wasn't there? Like, what if she relapses, you know?"


Before Bee had a chance to answer Maddy and Cassie approached their table.


"What the fuck is going on with you?" Maddy asked as she took a seat in front of them. Cassie sat by her side as well.


"We were just talking." Bee said shortly. Her phone buzzed against the table and she looked at it briefly. She looked at the screen and saw Nate's name on it before opening the text.


ride after school?


"I feel sick." Jules lied. "My stomach hurts really bad."


"Why don't you just go home?" Cassie asked. "You really look terrible."


"Yeah, I think I will."


i can't
im gonna see rue
can i see you later?


Bee typed on her phone absently before saying. "Do you girls know anyone named Tyler from St. Mary's?" Jules elbowed her under the table. "Random question."


"Why?" Maddy asked.


Bee shrugged. "I just heard something about him."


"The guy I didn't fuck at McKay's party is named Tyler. But he's in college now. Talking about that he went completely MIA from Instagram. Like he deleted his profile and everything."


"Weird." Cassie said.


fine. i ll pick you up after physio


Bee scrunched her eyebrows together. "Really weird." She had a horrible feeling in her gut.



Later that night Nate picked her up at her place as he promised. He was still wearing the same clothes from before. His lips pulled back slightly as she got in.


"Hey." She said shortly closing the door behind her.


"What's up?" He started driving back to his place immediately.


"How was physio?"


"A fucking waste of time." Nate said.


Bee's phone buzzed against her leg. She picked it up and watched Jules name on the screen. She didn't open the message but turned to Nate instead.


"Do you know a guy named Tyler from St. Mary's by any chance?"


"No." Nate said shortly. His eyes were set on the road.


"Really? He's supposed to be on the football team." Bee said. Nate shrugged.


"Not that I remember."


"I thought you knew everyone on their team."


"Yeah and like I said, I don't know anyone named Tyler." He said a little harder than she expected.


"Fuck, okay." She said.


They remained silent for the rest of the ride until they got to Nate's place and he parked in front of his house. As soon as he parked his truck he pulled out his phone and stayed on it for a while. Bee's eyes focused on the yellow lights outside of his house as she waited. She hugged one of her knees while her other foot shook anxiously against the carpet.


Her eyes shifted to the boy beside her. His features dimly lit by his phone. The one who'd asked her to please stand by his side two days ago. The one who'd woken up the day before to go running with her brother. But also the one who'd driven his car into a traffic barrier with her by his side. And the one who'd nearly beaten a boy to death for having sex with his ex.


The day before they'd agreed she'd tell her friends about them, and he'd tell his parents about his change in plans over the week. Things were supposed to be okay but she felt a crippling uncertainty after Maddy's comment that morning that she just knew wouldn't leave her alone.


"Sorry," Nate said absently as he typed. "I was just asking McKay about some shit he has to give me back." His eyes raised to hers and he brought his palm to her ankle, the same way he had the night of the accident. He went closer and kissed her lips shortly. "Is everything okay?"


"Yeah." She said. "And with you?"


He nodded but she could tell in his eyes that it wasn't.


They went up to his room and Nate started stripping before her eyes, leaving his clothes on the floor until he was only wearing boxers. She took a seat on the bed and crossed her legs.


"Did you tell your friends already?" He asked casually.


"No. It wasn't really a good day." She said.


"What happened to Rue?"


"Nothing, she was feeling sick."


"She relapsed." Nate stated before getting in the bathroom.


"No." She said emphatically. "Why do people spread lies like that?"


"Because she's an addict." Nate said before he started brushing his teeth.


"She's clean, Nate."


"It's the same." He said with his toothbrush on his mouth.


"Do you really think that?"


He spit out on the sink. "What?"


"That people can't change."


She watched his reflection on the mirror as he dried his face and straightened up his back.


"Some people can't." He held her eyes for a few seconds. "I'll be a minute."


He shut the door and she laid back in his bed while he showered. Her heart was beating faster than usual and the feeling in her stomach had only gotten worse. She sat back on the bed leaning her back against the headboard.


Her eyes drifted to Nate's phone on his desk. She couldn't know. But she also couldn't not know. She wouldn't be able to do anything that week if she didn't proof to herself the idea in her mind wasn't true.


Before thinking it twice she reached out for his phone and made a few attempts before getting the password right. He'd said it to her a few weeks back when she'd asked to play a song while he was driving. Once it unlocked she felt a rush of adrenaline in her veins.


Bee scrolled down the tens of messages on his chats and even looked through his Instagram before moving on to the apps folder. She was about to leave the phone back on the nightstand when she saw the Grindr icon in a folder. She opened it and her heart felt as if it had dropped to the floor. She looked through a few conversations only to find the one she feared finding the most. The one with Jules.


It took her brain a few seconds to understand her worst fear was true.


Nate was Tyler.


She scrolled up a few messages back and read until she couldn't handle it anymore. She stood up feeling like she'd be sick. She left his phone over the night stand and grabbed her backpack from the floor. Her legs were shaking and her eyes felt like they were burning. The shower was still running as she made her way out of the room and then out of the house.


Once she was out on the street she started running, her vision was blurry and she wasn't really sure where she was going. Her house was too far away to get there by feet but she didn't think about it. She passed house after house thinking if she didn't stop she'd never have to think about what she just saw.


She kept going until time stopped. Until all she could feel was the blood pumping in her veins.


Author's note: updating at 15 votes again. we're nearing the end of the story. let me know your thoughts/predictions. love 🤍

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