He Begged Me To Stay After I Had Already Left Chapter 08

He Begged Me To Stay After I Had Already Left Chapter 08

Chase didn’t spare Sophie another glance. He turned and walked out of the Suttons’ house.

The next day, the entire school was gathered on the football field.

The principal stood on the platform, his face livid.

Chase walked straight up, took the microphone, and said, “Today, I have something to tell all of you.”

Then he turned on the giant LED screen behind him.

Video clips, photographs, and audio recordings began playing one after another in sharp, undeniable detail.

There was the recording of Sophie arranging the fake report.

There was the security footage of Sophie paying off the bleached-blond punk behind the bar.

There were the transfer records showing she had paid someone to cut the sound system wires.

Silence fell over the entire school.

Everyone stared at the screen in shock, unable to believe what they were seeing.

The girl who had always seemed so gentle and sweet, the one who looked like she’d cry if she stepped on an ant, was actually vicious to the core.

“Is… is this real?”

“Oh my God. We blamed Nina for everything.”

“Sophie is insane. She’s a complete psycho.”

The crowd erupted into furious condemnation.

A few girls dragged Sophie into the middle of the field by force.

Her hair was a mess, her face was deathly pale, and she shook her head frantically.

“It wasn’t me. This was faked. Chase, why are you doing this to me?”

He stepped down from the stage and walked over to her.

“Faked? Save it for the police. They’re already on their way.”

Sophie completely fell apart. She collapsed to the ground and burst into loud, broken sobs.

“I was wrong. I really was wrong. Please save me…”

No one pitied her.

The very people who had once helped her torment Nina were now cursing her louder than anyone else.

Police cars pulled in with sirens wailing and took Sophie away.

She was facing charges that included extortion, falsifying official records, and criminal misconduct, and the law would deal with her from there.

Chase stood where he was and watched the police cars disappear into the distance.

He felt no satisfaction, not even the slightest thrill of revenge.

Because he knew that no matter what he did, Nina was never coming back.

From that day on, he changed.

He quit the student council and stopped taking part in any social events.

Every day, he went to the airport and sat outside that same security checkpoint.

He would sit there all day, watching the endless stream of people passing by.

He paid to keep Nina’s old number active for the next ten years.

And every night, he sent her one text.

Chase: [The weather was beautiful today. Did you see it where you are?]

Chase: [I sent Sophie to prison. Everyone’s apologizing to you now.]

Chase: [I looked up your illness. It sounds like there might be a new treatment.]

Chase: [Is your brother doing any better?]

Chase: [Nina, I miss you.]

Not a single message ever got a reply.

Still, he kept sending them, day after day.

Once, the airport announcement called for a passenger named Nina.

Chase ran toward the gate like a madman.

But all he found was a middle-aged woman he had never seen before.

He sank to the floor in a daze, and tears slipped soundlessly down his face.

“Will you ever come back?”

He asked the empty air in a whisper.

The only answer was the cold, impersonal voice of the airport announcement system.

Chenter?