"Here's a beer. Punch tastes like soap or some shit," Mark said, handing Tina a can.
"Thanks," she replied, glancing at Laura. "At least I got that potato out of her comfort zone."
Mark didn't respond; his face was tense and distracted, almost as if he hadn't heard her.
"What's up with you already? Is this about yesterday?" she pressed.
"Look, I told you already—someone's messing with me. I think... I'm next."
"Next for what?"
He hesitated, glancing around. "Messages I keep getting—from myself..."
She rolled her eyes. "We all do. Somebody's just messing with us. Probably Alex, knowing her."
But Mark's uneasy expression didn't change.
"Listen," she said, taking his hand, "I have to get back soon to babysit my little brother, so let's have some fun while we can, yeah?"
She dragged him onto the dance floor, hoping to lighten his mood, even if just for a little while. As they moved, Tina felt a brief flash of relief, a reprieve from her own mess.
Her mom's struggles, her dad's homelessness—the weight she carried every day—all faded with each beat, and for a few minutes, her life felt almost... sparkly.
Then Alex appeared, slipping between them with a sly grin. She took Mark by the hand, pulling him aside. Tina weighed the option of yanking Alex by her ponytail or slapping her but held back, leveling a stare at Mark instead.
"I hate to be the one to show you this," Alex said, holding up Nick's phone. "But I thought you should see what I found on here." She swiped through a series of intimate photos—of Tina. They'd been sent to Nick, apparently from Tina's phone.
"I saw them before Nick did, so... yeah, you might wanna handle it," Alex murmured to Mark, smirking over her shoulder as she walked away, barely glancing at Tina.
Tina stepped closer to Mark, searching his face. But he just shrugged her off.
"What's going on?" she demanded.
"Don't talk to me," he muttered, his voice steely.
"What did that witch say to you?"
"Why the hell would you do this?"
"Do what?"
"Nick?" Mark's voice was low, simmering. "You're into Nick now?"
"What are you even talking about?"
"She showed me everything. Stop pretending!"
"Did it ever cross your mind that someone hacked my phone?" Her voice rose now, drawing glances from those nearby.
Mark froze, doubt flickering briefly in his eyes.
"Didn't I tell you it's probably Alex behind all of this? Don't you see how she's pushing all of it onto Laura?"
"Whatever. I can't think about this right now."
"Then don't think about it," she said coolly. "If you believe her over me, we're done." She turned and strode away, fury boiling inside her. If he was that easy to manipulate, he wasn't worth the energy. Tears prickled at the edges of her eyes, but she shoved them back. She didn't need a man who couldn't tell her from a rumor.
"Tina! Hey—" Through the loud music and chatter, she heard a faint voice. It was Nick, carrying Laura, who looked barely conscious.
"What happened? Is she okay?"
"Yeah, I think she just had too much to drink," he said, looking puzzled. "Found her passed out in my closet."
Tina snorted. "Damn, girl. I leave you alone for a few minutes..."
Nick helped settle Laura into the passenger seat of Tina's car, though Laura clung to his shirt like a lifeline.
"Laura, honey, please stop strangling Nick," Tina said, smirking as she pried Laura's hands free.
Tina ducked back inside to grab her coat and bag, only to be intercepted by Stephen, who looked anxious.
"Hey, have you seen Peter?"
"No, why?"
"He's been gone for a while. Big guy, dressed as a reaper—you know him."
"Yeah, I know him, but I haven't seen him in at least an hour. He just disappeared." She shrugged.
Stephen's brow furrowed. "It's weird. He usually wouldn't just vanish without saying anything."
She pushed the thought aside and brushed past Stephen to get back to the car.
After a short, half-dazed conversation with Laura and dropping her off at home, Tina collapsed onto her own bed, still fuming. She thought about calling Laura to talk about the fiasco with Mark but decided against it. Laura had her own problems tonight.
She checked on her brother and he was asleep in his room. She went back to rest in her own texting her mother she arrived.
"There's leftovers in the fridge" There was a message from her mom. But Tina didn't feel like eating.
Her phone lit up once more. It was Nick calling.
"Hey, Nick?" she said, surprised.
"Hey, just checking... everything okay?"
"Yeah, Laura's home safe."
"Good, good..." He paused, sounding uncomfortable. "Uh, I found your bracelet in my drawer. Pretty sure Alex planted it."
Tina sighed. "Thanks for letting me know. You can give it back at school."
"Yeah... just thought you should know."
"Thanks," she said, hanging up and staring at her phone in the darkness as restlessness returned. It felt like everything was unraveling at once, twisted beyond her control.
With a weary sigh, she drifted into a restless sleep, softly crying and wondering how everything had gotten so close to falling apart.
