Secrets In The Garden / l.h ✔️

46

~Ophelia's POV~

"I wonder who spread that picture." Luke said as he led me down the hallway, making me look up at him. It'd been only about a week since the picture of him and I in my bedroom had been spread around, but I still had no idea who'd taken it or spread it.

He and I had both gone to the principal, however, and demanded that they find whoever was responsible. Obviously it had to be a student here, and someone who knew where Luke and I lived. It was probably one of Luke's exes, looking to get revenge. But the principal, Mr. Johnson, had told us that he was unsure who had done it because it was hard to tell who it was on the school cameras. And because they couldn't say for sure who it was, they couldn't do anything. Mr. Johnson promised, though, that the person would be expelled if there ever was proof on who'd done it.

Oh, yeah—whoever it was had been caught doing it on the school's cameras. However, they'd been wearing a hood up and kept their face down, so it was hard to say who it was. I could say that it was a girl, though, because there was no way it was a guy with how small the frame was.

"I'm not sure." I sighed, frowning as I turned down the hall with him and headed towards the school doors. "Do you think Stella would do something like that? I mean, she's pissed at you and she basically hates me since you guys broke up because of me..." I said awkwardly, glancing over at him to see his reaction. He pushed open the door and held it open for me, snorting in amusement as I walked out first. "Stella?" He chuckled. "Fuck no. She might be a clingy bitch but she's not an idiot. She knows she'd get in some serious shit, I'm sure. I don't think she'd do it, anyways. She's mean sometimes, but she's all talk." He said, dismissively waving the suggestion off.

Pouting, I let my shoulders slump in defeat and whined softly. "Dang it. I really thought it was her." I admitted, trailing beside him as we made our way over to his car. Ever since the picture had started being spread, he had insisted on driving me to and from school. I didn't mind, so I took him up on the offer. It was nice being around him. "Don't sweat it too much. We'll figure it out, gorgeous." He assured me, slinging his arm around my shoulder. My cheeks warmed and I resisted the urge to cuddle into his side, subtly glancing at him through my peripheral view.

"Your bruise hasn't gone away yet." I noticed, peering at the faint colored bruise on his cheek. He looked down at me and grinned, winking flirtatiously. "You seem to talk about it a lot. Does it turn you on?" He teased, making my cheeks flame brightly. "No!" I huffed, rolling my eyes at him.

Blade had been absent for a few days, so when the picture of Luke and I got spread around, Blade had been the only one who wasn't here to see it. But when he got back to school and saw one that had been plastered up on the wall again, he completely lost his mind. He ended up getting into an argument with Luke before he punched him in the face. I wasn't mad at Blade, but I did think it was a little much to punch Luke. It wasn't like I'd been forced into doing anything with him or that it was his fault that the picture had been taken. Thankfully, Blade had apologized after I spoke with him, but he'd left behind quite a stubborn bruise on Luke's cheek.

"You sure?" Luke teased, a playful grin on his lips as he gently pushed me against the side of his car. I felt my heart race as his arms caged me in and my face became hot. "Yes." I whispered, staring up at him. He hummed and kissed me, his hands gripping my hips as he pressed himself close to me. All the thoughts in my head practically evaporated and I relaxed into him, loving the warmth of his body and the gentle way he kissed me.

Not thinking it through, I lifted my hands and gently grasped the sides of his face, causing him to hiss softly and then pull away. I opened my eyes and saw that I was touching his bruise, making me gasp and immediately move my hand away. "Sorry." I apologized, brushing a strand of his soft hair back. He let out a breath and sent me a little smile. "It's fine, I promise. It's just a little bit sore still. Lover boy can certainly pack a punch, I'll give him that." He muttered, the nickname he'd given Blade lately making me roll my eyes.

"Oh, leave him alone. He was just being protective of me." I scolded, playing with the fabric of his shirt. He huffed and rolled his eyes, gently pushing my hands off as he stepped away. "Maybe you should go be with him, then, if you want someone to be protective of you. I'm sure he'd jump at the chance." He grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. I blinked in surprise and stared at him, confused. "Huh?" I asked, lost. I'd never said anything about wanting someone to be protective of me. His eyes met mine and he frowned at me. "What? You're the one taking his side even though he punched me." He said grumpily, an upset furrow in his brows. I wasn't sure what had sparked his sudden bad mood, but I didn't want him getting the wrong idea.

"I'm not taking his side. If I was, I wouldn't have made him apologize and I wouldn't have defended you when he was calling you names." I retorted, staring up at him with my brows raised. He looked at me and frowned softly, a breeze ruffling his hair. "I didn't know you did that." He admitted softly. "I'm sorry." He murmured, glancing down at the ground.

I smiled and stepped closer. "It's okay." I assured, reaching up to brush my fingers gently over the bruise. "But don't talk to me like that when all I was doing was worrying about you."

**

Sighing, I sat down in calculus, right next to Stella. Even though I wasn't looking at her, I could still feel her glare directly on the side of my face, like she was trying to burn a hole through me.

Her glaring got to the point where she was still looking at me even ten minutes after the bell had rang and class had already begun, while I and everyone else in class was trying to take notes from the textbook. And instead of doing the notes as well, Stella was just glaring at me instead. I wondered if maybe Luke was wrong, and she actually had been the one who had taken the picture of him and I in my bedroom. After all, their relationship didn't seem to be one filled with much but sex and lack of conversation. So how well did he really know her?

Now full of doubt, I turned my head and met her glare, a frown on my lips. I wasn't going to waste any time beating around the bush, not about this. "Did you take that picture of Luke and I?" I asked simply, looking her in the eye. It was a legitimate question, but I knew it caught her off guard because her glare dropped and her eyes widened.

"No!" She scowled, looking at me like I was an idiot. I gave her a doubtful look, unsure if I believed that, and she stuck her nose up with a roll of her eyes. "Look, just because I hate you both doesn't mean I'm petty enough to waste my time with that. I am the one who broke up with him. Just because I don't like you doesn't mean I like him, or that I want him back. He's just an asshole. So no, I didn't take that picture." She said, huffing with annoyance as she faced the front of the class again.

And the weirdest thing was, I truly believed her this time.