Chapter 70

The room was unnervingly still, the kind of silence that presses down on you, suffocating. Ashleigh lay stiffly in the hospital bed, her body motionless but her mind racing. The IV drip attached to her arm was slowly delivering something meant to make her sleep, but sleep had become a foreign concept. Her thoughts kept pulling her back to the past twenty-four hours, playing on repeat like a nightmare she couldn't escape. Through the thin walls, she could hear Arthur talking in the hallway, his voice sharp, clearly dismissing whoever had come to visit her. He was keeping them away, and she was grateful for it. The whole school had seen the video—everyone was talking about it. But nobody was saying anything good. Ashleigh felt dirty. Filthy. Her skin crawled as if it had absorbed the shame of the entire incident. Damien's cold indifference hadn't helped. The memory of him walking out as soon as she woke up, ignoring her calls, was a fresh wound. She understood why he didn't want to see her. He had warned her, hadn't he? He'd told her not to go, not to put herself in that situation. And yet, she'd walked straight into the trap, an easy target for a cruel prank that had spiraled out of control—at her expense. As the door creaked open and she heard Arthur's footsteps re-entering the room, Ashleigh instinctively shut her eyes, forcing her breathing into the slow rhythm of sleep. But Arthur wasn't so easily fooled. He stopped beside her bed, his shadow stretching across her still form. 'Ashleigh, come on. You're not asleep," Arthur said gently, but firmly. 'You've been pretending for hours." Ashleigh remained motionless, her eyes squeezed shut, as though by ignoring him, she could make everything disappear. She didn't want to face him, didn't want to face any of it. 'I don't want to get up," she mumbled finally, her voice trembling, but she kept her eyes closed. Arthur sighed deeply, his hand settling on her shoulder in a gesture meant to comfort, but it only made her feel more fragile. 'Babes, you're going to have to deal with this eventually. Hiding away like this... it's just proving everyone right." The words hit her like a punch to the gut. 'What are they saying about me?" she whispered, already dreading the answer. Arthur hesitated, his silence confirming her worst fears. When she couldn't take it anymore, she reached for her phone, ignoring Arthur's quick attempt to stop her. As soon as the screen lit up, her heart sank. Notifications flooded in, an endless stream of texts and messages, all centered around one thing: the video. It was the first thing she saw, plastered across the school's social feed in giant, shouting letters: 'SHOCKING! NEW STUDENT FOUND IN A COMPROMISING POSITION AT THE ROBINETTE BASH!! CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO." Her stomach twisted. Her fingers trembled as she scrolled past the video, refusing to watch it, but the comments were impossible to ignore. One after another, they lashed out at her, cruel and relentless. Words like "wh**e" flashed before her eyes, accusations that she had wanted it, that she'd put herself in that position for "fun." The bile rose in her throat as she read each comment, her vision blurring with tears she could no longer hold back. She felt like she was drowning, each hateful word pulling her deeper under. Arthur's voice became a distant hum as he ripped the phone from her hands, but it was too late. The damage was done. 'Hey, hey, don't look at that," Arthur urged, pulling her into his arms as she broke down, her body shaking with sobs. 'It's okay. You're going to be okay, I promise." But Ashleigh wasn't listening. 'No, it's not okay! None of this is okay!" she cried, her voice raw, cracking under the weight of her pain. 'I worked so hard to get here, Arthur. I gave everything to be a student at Robin College, and now it's all gone. Because I was stupid. So, so stupid." Arthur held her tighter, his own heart hammering in his chest as he searched for the right words. 'We can fix this, Ashleigh. It's obvious to anyone with a brain that you were assaulted. Damien knows it. Oliver knows it. Hell, I know it." 'But that's not what they're saying, Arthur!" she shot back, her eyes wild with despair. 'Public opinion matters. And right now, everyone believes I deserved this. What am I supposed to do? My life... it's over." She slumped against him, her body going limp, her voice trailing off into another round of sobs. Arthur didn't know what else to say. He stood there, holding her, letting the moment stretch into an eternity until her cries eventually subsided. 'Do you think... they'll take down the video?" Ashleigh asked weakly, her voice barely more than a whisper as she stared blankly at the ceiling, her eyes red and swollen. 'Damien and Oliver are trying," Arthur answered with a tired sigh. 'But the site won't remove it unless they get a formal notice from the school authorities. It's the weekend though, so..." His voice trailed off, and Ashleigh nodded, already understanding what he was leaving unsaid. By the time Monday came around, the damage would be irreversible. The video would still be up, her reputation would be in tatters, and even if they managed to get it taken down, the school would probably issue a suspension. Her future felt like a crumbling wall, each brick falling away with every passing moment. And in that growing void, she felt herself slipping into darkness. Her mind drifted to Megan, the girl she had scolded just weeks ago for being reckless with those same guys at a party. Now, here she was, in an even worse situation, and she couldn't escape the irony. 'Ashleigh, you need to eat something," Arthur suggested softly, trying to pull her back to the present. 'It's past noon. You've barely had anything. Please, just try." 'I'm not hungry," she responded flatly, not bothering to look at him. Arthur frowned. 'You need to eat, whether you feel like it or not. You've got medication to take, and the nurse will be in soon." 'I said I'm not hungry!" Ashleigh snapped, her voice rising, frustration bubbling to the surface. She pushed herself up on the bed, glaring at him. 'Arthur, if you were in my position, would you want to eat? I just need you to leave me alone. Go away." Arthur recoiled, hurt flashing in his eyes. He had been trying so hard to help, to be there for her, but her words struck him like a slap. For a moment, the room was filled with a thick, uncomfortable silence. Ashleigh turned her head toward the window, refusing to meet his gaze. 'I'll check on you later," Arthur muttered, his voice thick with suppressed emotion as he started toward the door. 'You don't need to," Ashleigh said suddenly, her voice barely above a whisper, but it was enough to stop him in his tracks. He turned slowly, confusion and hurt etched into his face. 'What did you say?" Ashleigh gripped the bed linens tightly, her knuckles turning white. Her chest ached, but she forced herself to say it again. 'You don't need to come back. I think... I think we need to take a break. I need time. Time to think." Arthur stood there, frozen. The shock on his face was clear, as though her words hadn't fully registered. His mind raced, remembering everything from the past week—the effort he'd put into looking after her, fighting to keep her in Damien's and Oliver's good graces, and defending her last night when everyone else was ready to walk away. And now, she was pushing him out too? 'I'll go," Arthur said, his voice low, thick with hurt. He paused at the door, his hand resting on the handle. 'But just so you know, Ashleigh—you're especially selfish. Stubborn and foolish. And that's why you're in this mess." Without another word, he left, the door closing behind him with a heavy thud that echoed in the empty room. Ashleigh lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling as Arthur's parting words settled over her, as suffocating as the silence that followed. Hours passed, or maybe it was minutes—time had lost all meaning. The nurses came and went, asking if she'd eaten, but she barely heard them. Their voices were like distant echoes. Eventually, they injected something into her IV, something that made her veins burn, but even the pain was a dull throb, a faint reminder that she was still here, still alive, despite everything. As darkness fell outside, Ashleigh's eyes grew heavy, the medication finally taking hold. In the quiet, her mind drifted to home—to her aunts, her friends, and then, to Adrian. A pang of guilt shot through her chest. 'Adrian," she whispered, the name feeling foreign on her tongue after so long. 'You were right. I really am a fool... you'd probably love to hear me admit that, wouldn't you?" She allowed the words to float into the void, not expecting an answer. But then, through the fog of her exhaustion, she heard the soft creak of the door opening again. Footsteps. 'I'm the only one who's allowed to call you foolish, Ashleigh."