Dysphoria

Chapter Twenty Two

The week after Halloween was weird.
Jules didn't come to school, Tyler Clarkson turned himself in and admitted to attacking Maddy which I knew was bullshit. Maddy and Nate were walking around school like Bill and Hillary after Hillary found out about Monica. She knew they had to act the part but she didn't seem happy about it.

"What the fuck is wrong with everyone in this town?" I hiss through my teeth as Nate Jacobs is cheered and hailed like a hero as he walked into the cafeteria for the first time since being suspended.

Rue was standing beside me staring at him like I was.

"Can I ask you somethin." She didn't break her eyes away from him.

"Have you ever noticed anything between him and Jules?" She asked me.

My neck snaps in her direction. "Jules?" I try to rack my brain for anything suspicious. "Nothing obvious but sometimes there's a tension, like she's almost scared of him...and he likes it. But I just presumed it was because of the whole knife thing at the McKay's. Why, have you?"

"I just noticed this...energy between Nate and Jules at Daniel's after you and Fez left. I don't know it was weird, it was like he looked at Jules before he made out with Maddy like he wanted her to watch. And she did watch." Rue said, her face trying to hide her discomfort. "I think something bad happened, she won't text me back, and I think it has something to do with Nate."

Our suspicions were confirmed when it came out that the day of the Halloween party, Jules of all people miraculously confessed to seeing Tyler choking Maddy at the Carnival which was of course lies. For one, she was new in town just like me and the only time she had apparently ever seen Tyler was when he fucked Maddy in McKays pool, there's no way she would have recognized him in the dark. When she didn't even mention seeing me with Maddy and the so called attacker I knew then Nate had coached her and found some way to blackmail or threaten her.

Tyler handed himself in, even though he was practically blind in one eye and had been in hospital for a week. No one seemed to care how he got these injuries but I could take a guess.

"But why the fuck would she help Nate?" Rue asked getting visibly annoyed.

"Look Rue, it might not be willingly. He's been threatening me because he knows I saw him strangle Maddy at the carnival, and I can't say anything or he'll call the cops on Fez. So it could be something like that, or much as I hate to admit, when he turns on the charm he can really be convincing. Trust me I know. So...do you think there's any chance she could possibly...like him?" I ask carefully knowing that Rue feels pretty intensely for Jules and I don't want to upset her.

"Maybe. I didn't know he was threatening you and Fez, that's fucked up. God I hate him. Jules said she was sexting with some guy who hadn't come out to his conservative family."

"Did she ever see his face?" I ask.

"No, just his body parts." Rue said gesturing to her imaginary penis.

I pondered this and remembered what started this whole thing. The fucking dick pics.

"I'm going to ask this as carefully as I can, because I don't want to be TMI or rude...but Maddy found a bunch of dick pics on Nate's phone. Lots of different guys. And do you think maybe he was exchanging things like that with Jules? Because I wouldn't put it past him to black mail her." I said feeling a little queasy, his threats to me would constantly play in my mind.

"Black mail her with nudes?" She asked like it was the dumbest thing in the world.

"Well look, she never saw his face so it could have been Nate pretending to be someone else to get nudes from her." I offer up.