After The Prom Betrayal, I Left Him Behind

Right after the SATs, I went to our senior prom.

At the party, I took a single drink and blacked out completely.

When I woke up, I was lying naked in Ethan's bed.

And Chloe, our school's resident mean girl, was holding a camera right in my face, snapping photos.

You have no idea how pathetic and desperate you looked last night! she sneered.

The other classmates gathered in the hotel room burst into a chorus of nasty laughter.

Then Ethan, my childhood best friend whom I grew up with, tossed a giant T-shirt at me.

"Are you stupid? Didn't you know that drink was spiked with a roofie?"

Tears streamed down my face. I didn't even dare to ask what had actually happened last night.

Ethan looked at me with pure disgust.

"Forget it. Chloe was just playing a joke. Don't look so victimized. With you looking like a fat pig, what guy would actually want to touch you?"

At that exact moment, my ten-year-old crush on Ethan died a brutal death.

Ethan's shirt was huge, fitting me like a baggy dress.

Chloe held the camera, lightly kicking a husky lying on the floor with her sneaker.

"Look at how she was hugging this dog last night. Kissing it and rubbing all over it. It was hilarious. I've never seen anyone get horny over a dog before."

A few people laughed along, but their voices quickly quieted down.

Some classmates stole glances at me, looking a bit uneasy but saying nothing.

Ethan poured a glass of warm water and walked over.

I reached out to take it, but he bypassed my hand and handed it directly to Chloe.

"Rinse your mouth. You've laughed your throat hoarse."

Chloe took the glass and winked at me maliciously.

"My bad, April. Maybe the joke went a little too far."

"But seriously, I didn't think you'd actually drink it. The cup literally had a sticky note that said 'Don't drink.'"

I kept my mouth shut.

There was indeed a cup on the table, and the sticky note on it was now soggy and illegible.

But last night, that cup had been handed to me by Ethan.

He had grabbed it from the table and shoved it into my hands.

"Drink up, your face is super red."

Only after I took two big gulps did he lazily add, "Oh, actually, I think I grabbed the wrong one."

Chloe had led the applause then, and everyone cheered.

I hadn't realized what was happening in my hazy state.

And after that, my memory went completely blank.

The next morning, my photos spread like wildfire across our school's Snapchat groups.

Me, hugging a husky, clothes disheveled, face twisted in tears.

The caption read: "One night for 0-000. Best deal in town."

There were over three hundred people in that group chat.

Ethan was one of them.

He didn't leave the group. He didn't say a single word to stop them.

He only sent me one private message.

"Don't take it too seriously."

I stared at those five words all night.

I never replied.

On the day we had to go back to school to sign our final college enrollment forms, I wore an oversized black T-shirt.

I tried my best to blend into the shadows.

But the moment I walked into the classroom, someone let out a loud whistle.

"Hey look, the dog-girl is here."

Whispers and giggles erupted, elbows digging into ribs.

I walked to my desk. Carved deeply into the wooden surface were four words:

"FAT PIG FOR SLAUGHTER."

I didn't know when they had carved it, but the gashes were deep.

I covered it up with a piece of scrap paper.

Chloe sat diagonally in front of me. She turned around with a sweet smile.

"April, which college are you committing to?"

"Ethan and I are both going to Harvard. Why don't you come with us?"

She wrapped her arm around Ethan's, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Once we're in college, we can still look out for you."

Ethan kept his head down, flipping through his college paperwork, not looking at me once.

A guy sitting nearby scoffed. "Why would she go to Harvard? Does the dining hall need someone to clear out the trash cans?"

The classroom burst into laughter.

Ethan finally looked up and said quietly, "That's enough."

His voice wasn't loud, but the laughter died down instantly.

Chloe pouted. "It was just a joke, Ethan. You're always so protective of her."

Ethan didn't reply. Instead, he turned around to look at me.

"What happened to your leg?"

I froze.

His eyes fell on my knees.

I had tripped on the stairs yesterday, scraping off a patch of skin and leaving a massive, ugly purple bruise.

My cropped pants couldn't hide it.

"It's nothing," I said flatly.

"Did you put ointment on it?"

"Yes."

He dug a fresh tube of ointment out of his backpack and tossed it onto my desk.

"This is new. Put it on twice a day."

Seeing this, Chloe snatched at it.

"I want some too! I scraped my knee yesterday too."

Ethan pinned her hand down. "Like hell you did. Who was the one whining for me to carry them up the stairs last night?"

Chloe giggled, her voice dripping with honey.

"Then you should carry April too. Her leg is actually hurt."

Ethan stayed silent.

Chloe chuckled nastily. "Oh, right. You can't carry her. She's too heavy. Haha."

Her laughter was shrill, sounding like nails on a chalkboard.

I ripped open the packaging of the ointment, squeezed a bit out, and slowly dabbed it onto my knee.

It felt cold, then it began to sting.

Ethan turned to me again. "Seriously, which school are you choosing?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Stop overthinking. Harvard. Have you signed the acceptance form?"

"Yes."

"Which choice is it?"

"My top choice."

He nodded, looking visibly relieved.

"Good."

"Your GPA is just enough to get in. Don't waste your potential on some local community college."

Chloe chipped in, "Going to community college is fine too. At least she'd be close to home to cook for her mom."

I remained silent.

Ethan shot Chloe a warning look, and Chloe stuck her tongue out.

"What? Did I say something wrong? Her mom literally runs a cheap little diner."

"Though, honestly, her pork stew is actually pretty good."

The bell rang.

Mrs. Gable walked in to distribute the official, triplicated enrollment confirmation forms.

Once we signed the bottom of these printed sheets, our college decisions were legally locked in and unchangeable.

The classroom went dead quiet, filled only with the scratching of pens.

My fingers gripped my pen so tightly they turned white.

Ethan leaned over and whispered, "Let me check yours before you sign. Don't make a mistake."

I didn't acknowledge him.

He began writing his own name in his signature, messy cursive.

Chloe copied his choices, writing slowly, a step behind him.

Just then, Chloe's phone buzzed loudly.

She picked it up, her loud voice echoing through the quiet room. "Hey, Mom! Yeah, I'm signing my college forms right now."

"What? Oh, you mean April's photos?"

"That wasn't me! I don't know who leaked them to the group chat."

She chuckled into the receiver.

"Oh my god, seriously, it has nothing to do with me. I just filmed the video; I didn't post it."

"I only showed it to Ethan. He was the one laughing his head off at it."

Several classmates turned their heads to look at me, then quickly looked back down.

Some were shaking their shoulders, trying desperately to hold in their giggles.

Ethan's hand froze mid-stroke.

He shot Chloe a frustrated look, then turned to soothe me. "I need to go to the office for a second. Just ignore her. She's just acting like a dumb girl. The drama will blow over in a couple of days."

I stopped writing.

I stared at the back of Chloe's head.

She was still on the phone, her voice getting louder and more arrogant.

"Seriously, Mom, you should have heard her. She was moaning so loud while hugging that husky."

"No guy would ever touch her. No one would take her even if she paid them 0-000."

"Alright, alright, I'll stop. I'll show you the video when I get home tonight. It's comedy gold."

I stood up.

My chair legs scraped against the floor, making a sharp, screeching sound.

The classroom fell dead silent.

Chloe turned around, her phone still pressed to her ear.

"What?"

I walked over to her.

I stopped right in front of her desk.

Then, I raised my hand and slapped her across the face.

The loud, crisp crack echoed off the walls.

Chloe was completely stunned. Her phone flew out of her hand, the screen shattering as it hit the floor.

She clutched her cheek, her eyes wide with shock, her mouth open but unable to make a sound.

Everyone was staring.

The air in the room froze solid.

My voice sounded incredibly calm, even to my own ears.

"That first slap is for your parents, since they clearly failed to raise you."

"A mouth is meant for speaking human words, not spewing trash."

Chloe finally snapped out of her shock. She bolted up, knocking her chair backward.

She was half a head taller than me, and she shoved me hard.

"You slapped me? You bitch, you dare slap me?!"

The shove sent me stumbling back, my back slamming painfully into the edge of a desk.

A sharp ache flared up, but I took a step forward anyway.

I raised my hand again and delivered a second slap.

This time she tried to dodge, but my palm caught her hard across the ear, sending her stumbling sideways.

Pens and papers on her desk went flying everywhere.

"This second slap is for myself."

"You filmed me, posted my photos, and humiliated me for three straight days."

"Did you think it was funny?"

I glared at her, my eyes burning, but I refused to let a single tear fall.

"Is it still funny now?"

Chloe clutched both sides of her face, her eyes welling with tears as she screamed at the top of her lungs: "Ethan!"

The classroom door was pushed open.

Ethan walked back in, holding some papers he had just printed from the main office.

The moment he saw the chaos, his face darkened completely.

"What the hell is going on?"

Chloe lunged at him, grabbing his arm desperately.

"She hit me! She's completely insane, Ethan! She hit me!"

Ethan looked at the red handprints blooming on her cheeks, then turned his gaze to me.

"You slapped her?"

I looked him straight in the eyes. "She deserved it."

His expression shifted from disbelief to cold anger.

"I told you, Chloe was just joking."

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this? Nothing actually happened to you that night anyway."

Ethan had beautiful eyes and a perfectly straight nose.

When he spoke, his Adam's apple bobbed.

I used to think every single part of him was designed perfectly to fit my heart.

Now, all I felt was a dull, heavy ache.

"A joke? She called me a fat pig for three days, and I ignored it."

"She set me up, and I let it slide."

"She filmed me and put it online, and did you say a single word?"

Ethan frowned.

"Chloe filmed the video, yes, but she wasn't the one who posted it to the group chat."

"It was her mom who accidentally forwarded it."

I let out a cold, cynical laugh.

"She literally just said on the phone that she only showed it to you."

Ethan's face went rigid.

Chloe gripped his arm even tighter.

"Ethan, I didn't say that! She's lying..."

Ethan glanced at her, then back at me.

His lips parted, but all he said was, "Even if she did, you shouldn't have resorted to violence."

I nodded slowly.

"Right. I shouldn't have hit her."

"I should have kept quiet, kept being your little punching bag and your favorite joke."

"For three years in high school, you guys gave me cruel nicknames, hid my homework, and stuffed trash into my locker."

"On my birthday, she gifted me weight-loss pills while you stood there laughing."

"When I gave my speech on stage, she led the crowd in booing me off, and you stood by doing absolutely nothing."

"Ethan, I used to think you were just bad at expressing yourself."

"I actually believed that deep down, you cared about me."

My voice began to tremble.

"When you handed me that drink last night... did you know what was in it?"

Ethan didn't say a word.

His silence was my answer.

I inhaled deeply and nodded.

"I see."

I turned around and walked back to my desk.

I picked up the enrollment confirmation form.

"Are you finished signing?" Ethan's voice called out from behind me.

I ignored him.

He spoke again, his tone carrying that usual, arrogant sense of authority. "Don't throw a tantrum. Your college choice affects your entire life. If you aren't with me at Harvard, I worry you won't..."

He sounded so casual, as if the conflict we just had was nothing but a minor lover's spat.

I folded the paper and slipped it into my pocket.

Just then, my phone rang. It was my mom.

I picked it up and walked to the very end of the hallway to answer.

"Hey, Mom."

"April, sweetie, have you signed the form? You're going to Harvard, right?"

My mom's voice sounded exhausted from her long shift at the diner, but it was incredibly warm.

"Don't worry about the money. I'll take on extra shifts. We can afford the tuition."

"Ethan is going to Harvard too, right? Since you two grew up together, you can look out for each other."

I leaned against the wall, staring up at the ceiling.

Tears fell, hot and heavy, onto the floor.

I couldn't bring myself to answer because I didn't want her to hear me crying. I quickly hung up.

I walked back into the classroom.

Ethan was standing right by my desk, holding his signed enrollment sheet.

"Here," he said, handing it to me.

I took it and glanced at it.

First choice: Harvard University. Major: Computer Science.

The second choice line was left blank.

He had only filled out one option.

"Fill yours out the exact same way. Don't overthink it. Your GPA is a guaranteed lock for Harvard."

I stared at his handwriting. The ink was barely dry.

Chloe was back in her seat, pressing a wet paper towel to her cheek.

She glared at me, muttering under her breath, "Psycho. Like a rabid dog."

Ethan turned to her. "Shut up, Chloe."

Chloe went quiet, but rolled her eyes dramatically.

Mrs. Gable walked back into the room.

"Alright class, listen up. Once you sign this form, it's final. It cannot be changed."

"We have twenty minutes before the portal closes. Get them to my desk."

She stood at the podium and began collecting the sheets.

I walked straight up to the front, grabbed a pen from the teacher's desk, and laid my paper down flat.

The system would lock in five minutes.

I raised the pen and drew a heavy, brutal line right through "Harvard University."

I scribbled over it so hard that the paper made a sharp scratching sound.

"What are you doing?!"

Ethan lunged forward, grabbing my wrist in a tight grip.

"Are you insane?!"

I ripped my hand away from his grasp.

Mrs. Gable stood up immediately. "Ethan, do not interfere with other students' enrollment forms."

Ethan ignored her, his eyes locked onto mine.

"April, where are you committing?!"

I didn't say a word. I kept writing.

He reached out to snatch the paper away from me.

I dodged, my wrist slamming hard against the sharp corner of the podium. A jolt of pain shot up my arm.

"Where the hell are you going?!" he roared.

The entire classroom stared at us in shock.

Chloe stood up, her face filled with confusion.

I finished writing.

I slapped the paper down onto Mrs. Gable's desk.

I signed my name.

And pressed my thumbprint on the seal.

Mrs. Gable looked at the paper, then looked up at me in shock.

"Are you sure about this, April?"

"Yes."

"Alright. It's submitted."

The computer let out a soft beep.

The enrollment portal was officially closed.

Ethan stood by the podium, his face a mask of absolute disbelief.

I walked down the steps, trying to pass him.

He grabbed my arm roughly.

"April! You..."

I looked down at his hand, then up at his face.

"Let go of me."

He didn't budge.

I forced his fingers off my arm, one by one.

"Is all of this really necessary? Just over a stupid joke?!" he snapped.

I slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked toward the exit.

Chloe's mocking voice rang out from behind.

"Oh, look at her playing hard to get. Does she seriously think this is going to make you chase her, Ethan?"

"Just let her go. She'll come crawling back in a couple of days anyway..."

Before I could even cross the threshold of the door, Ethan took two giant strides, caught up to me, and yanked my wrist back.

The force of his pull spun me halfway around.

"Where did you commit?!"

"April! Answer me!"

His eyes were bloodshot, his face contorted in a rage I had never seen before.

Chloe swaggered over, standing right behind him with her arms crossed.

"Forget it, Ethan. Where else could she possibly go? Probably that cheap state school down south. She's just putting on a show to scare you."

She laughed nastily.

"Look at her legs. She walks like a penguin."

I struggled to free my wrist, but I couldn't.

Ethan's hand was like an iron shackle.

I stopped fighting and stared directly into his eyes.

"Ethan, what makes you think I would ever want to go to the same university as you?"

He froze.

"Because I tutored you?"

"Because I vouched for you to the teachers?"

"Or because I used to love you?"

His entire face went rigid.

As I spoke those last words, I felt something that had been built over ten long years finally shatter into pieces.

Someone called Ethan's name from the end of the hallwayit sounded like one of his friends from the other class.

Chloe pushed past me, grabbing Ethan's hand.

"Ethan, leave her. Let's go."

Ethan stood frozen, letting her pull him back a step, his eyes still glued to me.

Seeing his hesitation, Chloe decided to twist the knife.

"Oh, by the way, her mom just posted a screenshot in the community group chat, asking what those photos were about."

"Want to see? Her mom seems pretty furious."

She held up her phone, showing a Snapchat chat window with my mother's username.

My mom had forwarded the photo Chloe leaked, followed by three question marks.

Below it was our home address pinned on the map.

My blood ran cold instantly.

"You promised you wouldn't send it to my mom," I whispered, my voice trembling.

Chloe shrugged. "I didn't send it to her. She saw it in the public group chat herself."

"My mom was the one who posted it there, and I couldn't stop her."

"Not my fault."

I looked at her face.

The left side of her cheek was swollen, but her lips were curled into a smug, victorious grin.

She was thoroughly enjoying my terror.

It was all just a show to her.

Ethan stood right next to her, completely silent.

My mouth opened, but no words came out.

I turned and walked away.

One step at a time, I headed down the concrete stairs.

This was the hallway I had walked for three years, yet it had never felt this long.

Behind me, Ethan's voice boomed.

"April!"

I didn't stop.

Heavy, panicked footsteps chased after me.

"Stop right there!"

A hand grabbed my shoulder from behind, yanking me backward.

I lost my balance. My foot slipped off the edge of the step.

The sharp edge of the concrete step slammed hard into my shin bone.

An agonizing pain shot up my leg. I let out a choked gasp as my body fell backward.

Ethan's grip on my shoulder vanished.

I didn't know if he had let go out of shock, or if I had simply slipped out of his grasp.

All I knew was that I was falling.

My head slammed violently against the concrete step with a sickening thud.

Then my shoulders, my back, and my hips battered against the stairs, step by step.

My body rolled down like a heavy sack of sand, completely out of control.

Finally, I came to a stop on the landing of the first floor.

The world went dead silent for a few seconds.

Then, the screaming started.

Someone upstairs screamed at the top of their lungs, "Oh my god! She fell down the stairs!"