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“Harper hid in the closet as Zach threatened to rape her. Zach only left when he heard Caden approaching.” I take a breath. “Sidney was a bitch. I don’t know if she knew what Zach intended to do at that point or just didn’t care as long as Harper disappeared back into the woodwork. But after that she was told what Zach’s intentions were and continued to date him and encourage him.”

I take a moment, remembering being trapped with Harper in the office with them trying to get to us. The look in Sidney’s eyes still haunts me at night.

“Excuse me?” Some freshman from the color guard raises her hand tentatively.

“Yeah?” I arch an eyebrow.

“Who trapped her?” The freshman plays with her fingers in her lap.

“Excellent question. That brings me to my next task.” I look pointedly at Rachel and Heather. Autumn is already crying. She filled in the blanks for us, knowing she’d probably lose her friends, but fuck that shit. “Heather Parson, Rachel Hayes, and Autumn Cook trapped Harper in the laundry room. There were loads of towels going that someone would have come by and checked on. So she wouldn’t be trapped all night, but for a while.”

Rachel narrows her eyes on me. But we don’t need any more bitches in this school.

I meet her glare. “Here’s the deal. Sidney was a bitch. We can all agree on that. But this shit ends now. No more disloyal bitches are allowed in this locker room.”

Heather stands. “What?”

I smirk and cross my arms. “You can change somewhere else. Autumn was kind enough to fill in the blanks. Rachel, we’ve spoken with your coach tonight, and she agrees that the conduct you showed by letting Zach into the girls’ locker room and telling him where Harper was will be handled by the administration. Heather, if you want to return to the locker room at any point, you’ll need to personally apologize to Harper for trapping her that day. Autumn already has apologized.”

Everyone stares at the girls, who sit there in shock. But I need to be clear about this.

“I’m not going to be like Sidney and make some horseman do my dirty work.” I straighten and look at each of the girls in this room. “We needed a change, and I plan to make sure it stays that way. You do something wrong, it will go on your permanent fucking record. We need to work together instead of tearing each other down. So fucking straighten up. And Rachel, get the fuck out of here before I turn these girls on you. You helped a rapist and now everyone will know it.”

Rachel glares but grabs her bag and leaves. Heather follows after her. Someone comforts Autumn, which is good. She came forward and let us know what the fuck happened that night. Ava told Eli about overhearing Rachel and those two talking about trapping Harper. It didn’t take much to figure out who was the weakest link in their group. Who felt guilty after the shit that went down this past weekend.

I take a breath and look around again. This is my job for the year. To keep order, and I’m going to do it the best way I know how—by being the bigger bitch.

“That’s it. Let’s get through the rest of this year without another riot, okay?” I walk back to the cheerleaders, and we head out to the field to get ready for the second half.

When the guys come out of their locker room, Eli catches my attention. I nod to let him know it’s done. The girls are under new management. And Rachel and Heather are taken care of.

CHAPTER 51

Friday Night Lights

Harper

Back on the sidelines, I stand with my clipboard, focusing on the game. I’ve got on Eli’s jersey because obviously, I had to wear one of their jerseys. Apparently, he won at something and earned the privilege. I’m beginning to wonder if the rest of my life will be a competition to claim me between the five men who love me.

That actually doesn’t sound bad.

“What’s that smile for?” Nico stands next to me in jeans and his jersey without his crutches. He does have his brace on.

“You aren’t supposed to stand for very long without your crutches.” I want to shoo him away to the bench, but I also like having him close. We still don’t know which guy on the football team besides Ethan was on Zach’s side. Or rather Tanner’s side? It makes sense since he was on the football team until last year. Even though he’s a dick, he might have had friends.

Ethan doesn’t even come close to me, staying on the other end of the bench with his head down. It feels like the whole school is holding their breaths waiting for the next thing to happen.

I can only hope this bullshit is done. That no one else really thinks they can take my guys down. Nico can’t afford to get hurt more. We’re lucky that everyone got out mostly unscathed in that house of horrors. I need them all to be whole and healthy again. And Nico needs time to heal.

“It’s fine. I can shift my balance like my PT told me to.” Nico smirks at me. “What do you want to do for our date?”

The guys are all out on the field since we’re on offense.

“We should talk about it later. I do have to keep track of the game.” Or there wouldn’t be a reason for me to be down here with them. Honestly, I could probably go back up to the stands with Kenz and Penny and the others, but I like being down here in the middle of the action.

The smell of grass and dirt and man, especially my men. And it feels safer. Even though no one’s made a move in our direction, I can’t help the anxiety that trickles through my veins on a regular basis.

Nico smiles. “We have multiple dates to plan since we still need to go out on the one I won for being your best boyfriend.”