Paper Flowers (Pretty Plastic People) ★

033. Until Nothing's Left

033. Until Nothing's Left

At Aquino High, you never know the difference between your best friend and your biggest enemy.

I'm late to lunch because I have to double back to Mrs. Rutledge's room and get my homework assignment from the morning, but I almost don't mind.  The more I think about Liam sitting in the hospital bed, the more I think about how little I can trust any of my friends.  My blackmailer's threats run over and over through my head, twisting and filtering through every other thought.  The deeper I get into this mess, the more I realize that this is not the work of a stranger.  It has to be someone close to us, someone who watches our every move.

It's like clockwork.  As I pull open the door to the cafeteria, my nerves shot because of my recent revelation, my phone starts buzzing in my back pocket.  The contact name is a single letter: B for "blackmailer."

"Hello?" I ask, hating myself for the shake in my voice as I answer.

Unlike me, the girl on the other line is confident.  "I'm still waiting," she says, hissing her words so that they shoot out like a toxin.  "I know you've discovered more."

"Leave me alone."

"Excuse me?"

I step out of the main crowd, ducking back outside where I can focus on the biting winter air instead of the sting in my blackmailer's voice.  "You heard me.  I'm sick of your games.  You can't manipulate me anymore."

I don't know what made me decide to take a stand now.  All I know is that I can't do this anymore.  I'm living every second paralyzed, trapped by my fear and the understanding that I could lose everything that means anything to me.  And I refuse to be turned into the person who tells her friends' secrets just to save herself.

There's a long, stretching silence, so that I can only hear muted breathing on the other end of the line.  Then there's a chuckle, as if the girl is grinning so widely and wickedly that goosebumps crawl up and down my arms.  "You remember what's at stake, don't you?" she asks.

"My pride?  Take it.  I don't care anymore."

"There's not just that." 

Someone knocks my shoulder to get into the cafeteria line, and I look up to see Sophie Rinaldi, the girl Brynn and Luke were talking about and who I found in the yearbook.  It's the first time I've seen her in person, but instantly I know that it's her.

"Erika?"

My blackmailer's voice sounds faint, but a second later I've lost Sophie in the crowd and snapped back to the conversation at hand.  "What?" I demand, raking my fingers through my hair in an effort to compose myself.

She clears her throat.  "Maybe you've forgotten, but if you don't tell me these secrets then I'll tell everyone.  So either you spill or I do."

There's another long pause as she lets that sink in, lets the reality of my situation melt completely into my conscience.  Then she adds, "Let's get started now.  You know anything about Taylor?"

"Taylor Cunningham?"

"Obviously."  

Suddenly I hear the voice in echo—one through the ear that's pressed against my phone and the other through the opposite ear.  My heart starts pounding as I realize that my blackmailer is nearby.  All I need to do now is keep her talking.

"What about Taylor?" I ask absentmindedly, rotating in a circle to see if I spot anybody on their phones.

"What do you know about him?"  Her voice is loud and obnoxious, and it comes from the hallway that snakes around the cafeteria.  Gingerly I start walking down it, holding my breath as if it'll give me away.  When I don't reply to her immediately, she presses, "I'm running out of time for your games.  Are you in a relationship with him or not?"