Page 44 of Phantom Flower

I had noticed that much about him. He shrank from it. Tried to disappear into corners and shadows. This was going to rattle the shit out of him. He was going to see this and break. Or worse, he was going to think I let it happen. That I allowed someone to film him like that.

I grabbed my shirt off the bench and yanked it on.

“Find out who the fuck filmed that,” I said. “I want a name.”

Ilya raised both eyebrows but did not argue. “And what are you going to do?”

I did not answer him.

I needed to find Rei.

Before he saw that video.

Chapter 13

Rei Kurosaki

I stepped through the main doors of Bloodburn Academy and immediately knew something was wrong. The stares were not new. Ever since Dimitri had decided I was his personal project, people had been watching me. But this was different. It felt like they were all in on some sick joke I had not been told yet.

I kept my head down and walked faster, clutching the strap of my bag until my knuckles turned white. My flower was clipped behind my ear like always. It felt stupidly important that day.

Someone shouldered into me hard from the left.

“Watch it, whore.”

I stumbled, nearly dropping my bag, and looked up to see some senior I did not even know smirking at me before disappearing into the crowd.

My stomach dropped.

Another person bumped me from the right, harder this time. A girl. She did not even pretend it was an accident.

“Slut.”

What the fuck was happening?

I tried to keep walking, tried to pretend I did not hear them, but the hallway felt narrower than usual. People were staring openly now. Some were laughing. Some were filming with their phones held low like they thought I would not notice.

Then a hand shot out from the crowd and ripped the flower straight out of my hair.

I gasped, my hand flying up to the empty space behind my ear as the red petals scattered across the floor.

“Fucking faggot,” the guy sneered. I did not even recognize him. Some football player type with a grin. “Heard you like getting your throat fucked in the woods like a cheap whore. Is that true? You let anyone stick their dick down your throat?”

I could not breathe.

My vision tunneled. My ears started ringing. I took a shaky step back, but someone else shoved me from behind.

“Rei!”

Marco pushed through the crowd and planted himself right in front of me even though he barely came up to most people’s chests.

“Back off!” he shouted. His voice was shaking. He never yelled at people. “Leave him alone!”

The football guy laughed. “Look at this. The little scholarship bitch is defending his boyfriend. How cute.”

Marco did not back down. He looked scared, but he stood his ground.

“Rei, I’m sorry,” he said quickly, turning to me. “I’m so sorry. I tried to find you before you got here. I didn’t know how fast it was spreading—”