Chapter 3
"My precious girl, you're absolutely gorgeous," Zander said.
"Be a good girl, and when I get back, I've got something special for you," he added.
Once I'd finally calmed down, I couldn't help but ask, still nervous, "Zander, you didn't… did you?"
He caught on right away.
Before I could say anything else, he handed me an app so I could check his phone myself, even letting me look through his photo album.
I looked through it.
No screenshots, just like he said.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have doubted you, Zander," I said, guilt washing over me.
Zander couldn't help but chuckle.
"Sweetheart, it's good you're watching out for scams," he said, his voice warm.
Then he sent me 500 dollars.
"Alright, I've got to work overtime. Go have some fun with your friends," he said.
It was the same as always.
After nine, Zander would be stuck working late.
After that, he barely ever replied to my messages.
That 500 dollars from Zander let me really flex in front of my roommates.
They used to call me broke all the time.
But ever since they found out I was dating a guy like Zander, they started looking at me in a whole new light.
"Emersyn, how did you even score a guy like that? I wish I had a boyfriend who'd buy me Cartier and just make it rain cash," one of them gushed.
"Seriously, I'm so jealous, Emersyn. Your boyfriend's got a killer education, he's loaded, and he's not even a flirt. He's always busy, but he still keeps you in the loop every day," another chimed in.
All their praise made me feel like I was floating.
I was even prouder to have Zander as my boyfriend.
After that, whenever Zander wanted to know what I wanted, I'd just go along with whatever he asked, no hesitation at all.
Lauren was quick on the draw, catching the cup just in time.
She saved me from getting spilled on.
Panicked, I fumbled with a napkin to clean up the mess, tears welling up in my eyes.
"He only didn't save your photos that one time," Lauren said, her voice steady.
"But after that, he saved every single one," she added.
"Looks like you got tricked, Emersyn," Lauren said.
Lauren stated the facts calmly, not sugarcoating anything.
I clamped a hand over my mouth, desperate not to let the sobs burst out.
I didn't even dare to think about it.
What was Zander really doing with those pictures when I wasn't looking?
And even scarier, did he ever send those photos to someone else?
"Don't worry, it's all taken care of now," Lauren said gently.
Lauren deleted all the photos from her phone and made sure to empty the trash too.
"I deleted all the photos from his phone, just like I did with mine," she explained.
"I even checked his USB drive at home and his cloud storage. Pretty sure there aren't any backups left," Lauren added.
"Thank you..." I whispered.
My mind was a mess, and it felt like all the strength had been drained out of me.
I just couldn't figure out why Zander would do something like this to me.
My phone started ringing.
It was Zander calling.
He'd sent me tons of messages, but I hadn't replied to a single one.
I looked over at Lauren.
She motioned for me to answer the call.
"Hey, babe, what are you up to right now? I just got off work. Have you headed out to the theater yet? Do you need me to drive over and pick you up?" Zander asked.
As I listened to Zander's voice, I felt completely disconnected from reality.
It was like I was living in a different world now.
Just this morning, I still thought his voice sounded so nice.
Now, all I felt was a cold shiver running through me.
I choked back my tears, doing everything I could to not let my voice break.
Pretending nothing was wrong, I tried to sound as normal as possible.
"No, it's fine. I'm suddenly not feeling well. Let's go to the movies another day," I said.
"Is it serious? Want me to take you to the hospital?" Zander asked, his voice so gentle. It almost made me believe he really loved me.
I felt dazed for a second.
Out of nowhere, I remembered that time I had a bad case of the flu.
I tried to get permission to take a day off and see a doctor.
But my counselor said I couldn't unless my parents called in first.
They never really cared about how I was doing.
They always complained hospitals were a rip-off and way too expensive.
They said I was young, that I'd get better on my own if I just toughed it out, and that not taking medicine would make me stronger in the long run.
I told Zander about it.
He dropped everything at work, rushed over to my school, and pretended to be my uncle to get me out of there.
I just couldn't stop myself from crying.
Before the sobs could escape, I scrambled to hang up the phone.
Zander didn't call again.
Then Lauren's phone buzzed again.
His name was just "Zander" in her contacts.
She picked up and put it on speaker.
Zander's voice had lost all its warmth.
He questioned, his tone icy, "Did you reach out to her?"
Lauren idly swirled her lemonade, not even bothering to look up.
"Who?" she said flatly.
"Stop pretending, Lauren. I know you're in on all of this," Zander said, his voice icy.
"If you have an issue, take it up with me. Leave Emersyn out of this. She's just a kid; she doesn't know any better," he added.