3

Rosie's POV

Christmas Day Evening

I took the communal bus back to Silverwestern, dreading what I would face when I got back.

God, I wasn't ready. I wasn't prepared for any confrontation.

I rubbed my face as the bus passed familiar roads, and I could feel my heart picking up at what was to come. I wanted to turn and run away, but I couldn't do that. I had a life here.

But even if I ran away, where would I go? Nowhere.

Then amber eyes flashed in my mind, and I felt a warm feeling sink into me and I wondered what that was. I'd stared at Jude's peaceful face this morning and felt something pulling at me not to leave him, but I couldn't do that.

That was why I left him a note : Thank you for everything last night. I'm sorry I can't stay-I need to figure things out. You're a good person, Jude Winters. I hope you have a Merry Christmas. - Rosie

I couldn't be more shameless in overstaying his kindness.

As the bus pulled up to my apartment building, I breathed deeply. If anyone had told me I'd be here alone when I'd traveled to enjoy a vacation with my twin sister and boyfriend...

I carried my duffel bag inside with a grunt as I entered the shared apartment. Sophia's room door was closed-either she wasn't back or she was keeping to herself. I unlocked my door and entered my room, dropped the bag down, then collapsed onto my crumpled bed and sighed.

God, what could I do now?

I rubbed my hands over my face and pulled out my dead phone. I grabbed my charger and plugged it in to see what was happening. When the phone lit up showing it was charging, I switched it on.

As soon as wifi connected, thousands of notifications bombarded my screen. My throat tightened. One message stood out.

A text from Josh.

My hands trembled, my throat bobbing at seeing his name. In one swift motion, I opened the message, and my heart plummeted. My phone shook in my hands.

Josh:

How's it feel to be famous overnight?

I read and reread the message before my phone rang out. I saw Kira's name flash on the screen. I wiped my sweaty hands and swiped to answer.

"Hello, Rosie, are you there?" Kira's frantic voice filled the phone, and I had to pull it away from my ear.

"Hi," I managed.

"Thank fuck!" she breathed out. "I've been trying to get to you since last night. Your number was unreachable."

"Oh, my phone was off. I'm just charging it now. I'm in my room."

"Good... Rosie," she called softly. "Have you seen it? It's everywhere."

My chest constricted. I could feel myself hyperventilating.

It was everywhere?

"Don't look at the comments. Please don't look," Kira's worried voice came through, but it didn't help. My brain went foggy as I rushed to the school forum.

It was everywhere.

Silverwestern subreddit, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter. Every platform had it-my face, my name, my shame.

My hands shook as I clicked the video.

There I was. Face flushed, eyes half-closed, mouth open. The sounds-my sounds-echoed from my phone speaker. Moans. Gasps.

The humiliation was unbearable, but what broke my heart apart was that Josh's face was blurred.

The betrayal cut deeper. I was the only one visible, fully exposed. I watched myself be violated all over again, as tears stung my eyes, my lips trembling.

When I scrolled down, my eyes caught the comments. With every word I read, blood drained from my face.

"Isn't that Josh Carter's girlfriend?? What a SLUT"

"She's cheating on Josh??? He's too good for her"

"Fat bitch doesn't deserve him anyway"

"Hope Josh dumps her disgusting ass"

"She really thought someone like Josh would stay with HER. "

"Yo if she needs another man I'm available."

"Fat girls are the freakiest"

"Hit me up I got time"

"She desperate enough, I'll volunteer"

"Know your place"

"Attention whore"

"Desperate fatty"

My stomach twisted. The room spun as I read those comments, and bile crawled up my throat. My stomach churned, and through hazy vision, I rushed out of the room to the shared bathroom. I barely reached the toilet before I vomited.

I sat on the cold floor, the disgusting taste of vomit in my mouth. The humiliation and betrayal overwhelmed me as I started crying, my body shaking.

At that moment, the front door opened. Sophia strode in, her face scrunched in disgust when she saw me on the bathroom floor surrounded by my own vomit.

My face burned with humiliation.

Sophia walked closer, her nose wrinkling as she chewed her gum nonchalantly, eyeing me with contempt.

"Oh, you're still here?" Sophia's voice dripped with mock surprise. "Thought you'd have run home by now." She examined her nails casually, as if this were the most normal thing in the world.

"Josh is mine now, by the way." she said casually, "and has been for a while."

My breath hitched, and she took in my shocked expression.

"Oh, you didn't know?" She laughed mockingly. "The whole thing? The bet? It was my idea."

Fresh tears threatened to spill from my eyes.

"Lasted three months. God, it was exhausting watching you make a fool of yourself." She laughed, waving her hand dismissively. "But so worth it."

"Why?" The word fell out. "You're my sister-"

"Sister?" She scoffed. "Please. We might share DNA but that doesn't make us the same. I'm the pretty twin, remember? The one Mom and Dad are actually proud of."

She blew on her nails, bored. "You're always so proud, Rosie. Walking around with your good grades like that makes up for how you look." She mocked in a high voice. "So pure. So innocent. So sweet." She leaned closer. "Well, look at you now. Not so pure anymore, are you?"

"Why?!" I screamed, body trembling. She was my twin sister. We'd shared a womb. We grew up together.

"I wanted to see all that innocence destroyed. You know what's funny? I hate you because you are always there to share mom and dad's attention but we both know that's a lie. They always loved me more. And now everyone else can see why." She flicked my forehead. "This is exactly where you belong-on the floor. Fat pig." she popped her gum, "It's so humiliating and embarrassing if people know you are my twin."

Sophia stood up with a disgusted expression and spat on the floor. "Clean up before you go. You're disgusting."

She slammed the door in my face, and the click of her heels receded down the hall.

Something inside me shattered-not just heartbreak, but everything. Even though the bond between me and Sophia was broken since childhood, I still held her close because she was my other half, even though I was always self conscious and hid behind her shadow and wished her good, I didn't think I would be planning to destroy my life. Used the revelation about my crush on Josh to break me.

The person who was supposed to understand me better than anyone had betrayed me in the cruelest way possible.

A sob tore through my throat. My ribcage squeezed my lungs, and I couldn't breathe. It was getting hard to breathe as I wheezed, my brain getting fuzzy, my chest heaving.

I didn't know how many minutes or hours passed while I sat in the bathroom, wallowing in self-pity, before Kira showed up and helped me up.

"Rosie?" Kira's frantic voice. "Rosie, where are you?" She appeared in the doorway, and her face shifted from shock to horror.

"Oh my God." She dropped beside me, not caring about the vomit. "Rosie. I've got you."

Her hands were gentle as she helped me up, half-carrying me past Sophia's closed door where cheerful music played. Into my room. She sat me on the bed.

"I'm going to clean you up, okay?"

I didn't respond. I couldn't, it was like my brain stopped functioning.

Kira wiped my face with a damp towel, helped me clean my pajamas and I barely registered it happening. She disappeared maybe to clean the bathroom and when she came back, she pressed a glass of warm water into my hands.

"Drink it. It'll help the queasy feeling."

I stared at the glass, but I didn't comprehend her words. The ringing of my phone pulled me out of the fog. With weak hands, I picked it up.

"Come home. We have something to discuss." My mother's voice was ice cold before she hung up.

And I smiled. No, I laughed maniacally without humor, tears streaming from the corners of my eyes, because I knew why they wanted me home.

They'd seen it.

4

Rosie

I stared at the door of my parents' house and took a deep breath. Christmas Day was supposed to be a joyous day of people laughing, exchanging gifts, and pleasantries, but for me, since yesterday, it has been a nightmare.

I could still hear those comments in my head, still see that video playing on loop every time I closed my eyes.

I looked at the snow falling to the ground, uncaring of what the humans were feeling, whether they were happy about the snow or not. The chiming sound from the bells and the Christmas lights from the neighborhood lit up. Everything looked so normal, so festive, like my world hadn't just ended.

With a deep breath, I pressed the doorbell. My mother opened the door, and upon seeing me, her mood immediately soured. She scoffed and left the door open, turning her back like I was a stranger.

As I entered, the house never felt so small and constricted. Home was supposed to be comfortable and warm, but now it felt so distant and suffocating. Everything felt different. The familiar scent of cinnamon from Mom's Christmas candles made my stomach turn.

The family photo on the wall mocked me-the perfect twin daughters, side by side, both smiling. Except only one of us was truly wanted.

I reached the living room and my dad was seated on the couch, he was reading a newspaper and my mother beside him. The Christmas tree stood in the corner, still beautiful, still lit up.

"Sit down," my mom said, her voice sounding so distant. And I sat on the edge of the armchair across from them, my hands clasped in my lap

A long silence passed-before my dad folded the paper and removed his reading glasses, then faced me. His expression morphed into controlled anger as he spoke in a cold voice.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" I flinched from how his voice came out.

I rubbed my hands together again as I opened my mouth to talk, but nothing came out. My mother glared at me, and I could see the disgust written all over her face.

"How could you do this to us?" my mother asked. "Everyone has seen it. Everyone," she added, her voice rising. "The neighbors, people from church, your dad's colleagues." She listed them, and I wanted the ground to swallow me.

"Because of you, we became a laughing stock when we went to church today. Everyone was talking about it. Do you know how humiliated I was?" Her voice cracked on the last word, and for a second, I thought she might cry.

"We can't show our faces anywhere," my mother said. "How could you be so stupid? So careless?"

"It wasn't like that." I managed to whisper.

"And how is it?" my father's voice boomed out and I nearly jumped from my seat.

"I didn't know he was recording-" I said.

My dad stared at me in disbelief as he cut me off. " You expect us to believe that?"

"Yes-"

Mom whispered, "Even if it's true, you still chose to-" She shook her head in disappointment. "You gave yourself to him like a cheap whore. On camera."

Did my mom just call me a slut?

"I didn't know about the camera!"

"You should have been smarter."

"I was lied to! I was used! I'm the victim here!"

Mom stood, face twisted with rage. Before I knew it, she slapped me hard across the face.

Silence. My cheek burned. Tears stung my eyes. I touched my face in shock. They'd never hit me before. Maybe they'd been saving their anger, comparing me silently to Sophia all these years

"We raised you better than this."

Dad stood, staring with disgust. "We raised both of you the same and look how differently you turned out." He shook his head. "Your sister would never do something like this. Sophia has always known how to conduct herself with dignity."

My mouth hung open but it was Sophia that planned everything but the words won't come out.

"We held both of you up as examples," Mom said bitterly. "Our beautiful twin daughters. Everyone knows about your scholarships, your grades. And Sophia's achievements, her beauty, her grace. And now? Now you're the joke of the town while your sister has to live with the shame of being associated with you."

Dad clasped his hands behind his back. "We can't have you here."

"What?"

"You need to leave."

"You're kicking me out?"

"Don't come to church. Don't come to family events. Sophia will represent the family from now on. You've lost that privilege. Until we figure out how to handle this, you're not welcome here."

"I'm your daughter-"

"Right now, we have one daughter. The one who didn't humiliate us."

Dad looked at me coldly. "We're ashamed of you. Sophia is everything we hoped for in a daughter. You... you're a mistake."

I ran to him, knelt, and grabbed his legs. "Please don't do this to me."

"You should have thought of that before."

He walked out. Each step felt like a nail in my heart.

Mom pointed to the door. "Leave. Now."

I stumbled toward the door, crying. My mom threw my bag at me, and it hit my chest before falling on the ground.

"I don't even want to see you. I don't have a whore as a daughter. From today on, you are dead to me." she sneered, "Sophia is my only daughter."

The door closed behind me with finality and I stood on the porch, shaking, the snow coming down heavily, like it was mocking me too.

I had nowhere to go. The sky was darkened. Even the moon wasn't out to shine light. The night was as dark as my world right now.

My world was crushed like the snow under my feet.

I didn't know how many hours passed as I stood outside in the pouring snow, staring at my parents' house as the light of the room went out. One by one, the windows went dark

Kira came. "Rosie? How did it go? You're freezing," she said the obvious, because I was already covered with snow. My face was white and pale. My lips were trembling and my nose was blocked. Frostbite.

My legs gave out as she wrapped her arms around my cold body and crouched down to my level. My body trembled as I cried harder than ever.

Not crying. Sobbing. The kind of sobs that tore through my chest, that made my whole body shake, that felt like they'd rip me apart from the inside out.

"They kicked me out," I gasped between sobs, my words barely coherent. "They didn't-they didn't believe me-"

"Everything will be okay," but I didn't believe her. How could anything be okay ever again?

After seeing I'd calmed down, Kira pulled me to her car, ushered me inside and turned up the heater, removed my soaked gloves, and handed me a coat as I shivered.

As Kira drove in silence, I just stared out of the window. I felt completely empty. Tears had dried on my face. My chest felt heavy, like there was a blockage. I just felt numb.

5

Rosie

The New Year went by in the blink of an eye and I didn't know how it went. I've been cooped up in bed after being saved by Kira from dying of hypothermia after standing in the snow for hours. I fell ill for days and Kira nursed me back to life.

What was the essence of living again?

Why am I still alive?

I thought and looked at the mirror again to look at myself, and I hated what I saw-My cheeks were puffy, my eyes sunken and tired, my lips cracked from the fever I'd had for days. My nose looked wrong. My hair was a tangled mess of waves that had given up on life, and my freckles stood out against my pale skin like little reminders of everything I hated about myself not perfect like my gorgeous twin sister.

I never hated myself more than this. I quickly glanced away from it. I didn't want those thoughts creeping into my head now. The dark thoughts that had been lurking at the edges of my mind for days, whispering that maybe it would be easier to just disappear. I would need to be clear-headed for today's class. I couldn't afford to fall apart now.

School resumed. Spring semester started today. Six months to finish my program. I couldn't let this disrupt my perfect GPA.

Six months remained to finish my program and I couldn't wait to finish it and run away from this hellhole called Silverwestern. Six more months and I could leave this place behind, start over somewhere new where nobody knew me.

Kira walked out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her chest as she stared at me, her gaze softening as she moved to me. "We can skip today if you want," Kira offered, and I shook my head. I couldn't do that to her. Make her miss school on the first day. She has done enough for me these days.

"I just can't hide forever," I mumbled. "I need to face it now," I said, though I didn't know if I could really face it or if I was putting on a front. I put some books in my bag and did my best not to look at the mirror again. I'd had enough of crying, wallowing in anguish.

After Kira was done dressing up, she drove me to campus in perfect silence, which I appreciated.

School looked different. Although the Christmas lights and tree designs were still up, the school looked different as students got out of their cars and walked to their respective places. Everyone seemed so normal, so carefree, friends grinning at one another.

I came out of the car, breathed in deeply as my bag slung behind me while I held the handle tightly for dear life. I dropped my head down and walked through the campus, but something felt off and different. I could feel eyes on me, students staring at me like I had a stigma at the top of my head. Well, I really had a stigma on my head. The scarlet letter of the digital age-exposed, judged, and humiliated.

Whispers started flying around the hallway and I gripped the handle tighter so hard that my knuckles ached, still walking to my class. Some people were really openly staring at me, not even hiding it.

I could catch some words floating around.

"That's her."

"The video girl."

"Can you believe..."

My skin crawled with every step. I wanted to run away and kept my head down, wishing to reach my class quicker. It felt like the hallway looked longer than I remembered.

As I entered my class, students were already there and I gulped. God, the eyes are too much! I wanted to go back to the comfort of Kira's house.

A guy from the back seat said, "Yo, you looking for another guy to film with?" and all the students erupted in laughter.

"I got a camera, just saying."

More laughter filled the room as I found my way to my seat, my face burned with humiliation. My hands shook as I clutched my bag, trying to make myself invisible.

"Slut!"

"Homewrecker. Josh deserves better."

As I wanted to sit down, something hit me on my shoulder. I looked down to see that it was crumpled paper that had been thrown.

"Hey, yo available for one night? Asking for a friend."

"Nah man, she's probably expensive after going viral."

I quickly sat down in my seat, my eyes burned with tears as I stared at the desk like it was the most favorite thing on earth. I traced the scratches in the wood with my finger, focusing on anything but the voices around me, the laughter, the cruel comments that kept coming.

When I couldn't take the stares and whispers anymore, I ran out of the class as the professor wanted to enter. I collided with him and fell on my ass. But that didn't stop the students from snickering. I quickly stood up and ran away with my bag clutched to my chest, ignoring the professor calling after me.

As I rounded the corner, I froze. There they were-Josh and Sophia, Mila, Tyler, and Brad with them. They were laughing at something on their phone and my stomach dropped.

Probably me.

Probably that video.

Sophia looked up, grinned, pulled Josh down. They kissed-long, sensual. My own twin sister kissing my ex-boyfriend, making sure I saw. She smirked directly at me-a cruel smile that said she'd won, that she'd always been the better twin.

And I swiftly turned around, my stomach turning as their mocking laughter followed me. Bile rose in my throat. I thought I might throw up right there in the hallway.

And show them an epic show of humiliation.

Then I heard Tyler jeer, "Damn, she actually showed up."

Why did I come here? What was I thinking? Would that things ever be normal again?

Humans were cruel.

I couldn't breathe, I could feel my heart constrict within the confinement of my ribcage. I needed air.

I ran to the little spot I had here in school, my only solace in this school, but I was stopped in my tracks, my breath hitched when I saw graffiti.

"Slut"

"Cheater"

"Whore"

There were even some crude images drawn on the wall. My hands shook as I stared at it, tears running down my face. The only person who knew this place was Sophia. My eyes stayed on the image, then my phone buzzed, pulling me out of my mental breakdown.

A message. "Please report to Dean Waterson's office immediately." My stomach twisted from the message, my throat bobbed with dread. I walked to the administration building. Every step felt like I was walking to my execution, my heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst from my chest.

As I reached the secretary, she looked at me with barely concealed disgust. "Dean Waterson is expecting you. Go right in."

I swallowed and opened the door to see a woman sitting behind a large desk-a middle-aged woman, professional, and her face cold and expressionless. She didn't even offer me a seat and slid a paper across the desk.

"I'm sure you know why you're here, Ms. Martinez," the woman said.

NOTICE OF EXPULSION in bold at the top of the paper. The words blurred in front of my eyes. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be real.

The Dean continued, "The video that has circulated depicts behavior unbecoming of a Silverwestern student." She readjusted her glasses. "You've tarnished the reputation of this institution." She cleared her throat. "We cannot allow students who engage in such activities to remain enrolled."

"Ma'am, I'm a final-" she raised her hands up sharply, cutting me off.

"That's not relevant to our decision," she said. "What matters is that your presence here has become disruptive." And she used her hands to make a steeple under her chin. "Students are uncomfortable. Parents are calling. We have to protect the integrity of Silverwestern University."

My voice shook. "This isn't fair-"

"Fair or not, the decision has been made," she injected coldly. "You have 48 hours to vacate campus housing and remove your belongings. Your student ID will be deactivated as of this afternoon." She said, "You're no longer a student here."

I stared at the paper in disbelief. "Can I appeal this?"

The Dean shook her head. "The decision is final. Sign the acknowledgement form at the bottom."

My hands shook as I took the pen she passed to me and signed it.

Dean took the form. "You may go," she said in cold dismissal.

I walked out of the office in a daze, the expulsion letter clutched in my hands. Three and a half years of college-gone. My degree was gone. My future was gone. All because of a video I didn't consent to. All because I'd trusted the wrong people. All because I'd been stupid enough to believe someone like me could be loved.