Ambition (Private 7)

dog doo she'd just stepped in, and strode right past me. What was going on? Had she planned this all along? Had she booked the St.

Sebastian behind my back? Did she have the makeover and photo shoot plan up her sleeve from the beginning? Sabine was right.

Noelle had been working against me. And I had let her in. I had let myself believe she cared about me--that we were friends. But

Noelle had no idea what it meant to be a friend. All she cared about was herself. "How could you?" I blurted, whirling around. "How

could you do this to me?" Noelle paused and half turned. She had her iPhone in her hand and shook her head, laughing as she looked

down at it. "Funny. I was about to ask you the same thing," she spat. She thrust the phone in my face and the entire world screeched to

a stop. Me and Dash. Me and Dash in streaming video on the tiny screen. Kissing. Touching. Falling down on a red mattress together.

My hands groping for his waistband. His fingers unzipping my dress. It was all there. All of it. My night at the Legacy. She had seen it

all.

ON THE OUTSIDE

Noelle headed for the door, but for the first time all night I knew what I had to do. I had to stop her. I had to make her understand.

"Noelle, please! Please, stop. Let me explain!" I chased her down, grabbed her arm. She yanked it away with so much force she al-

most knocked me off my feet. "This is the Legacy!" she snapped, her hands shaking as she held up the phone. "This is the night Dash

and I got back together." I couldn't tear my eyes away from the video. It had been taken from the entrance to the tent. Who had done

this? How? Was it Ivy? Was it someone spreading gossip? Why? And why had they sent it to her now?

"Don't you have anything to say, Miss Trust-Me? Miss I-Can't- Lose-You-Too?" Noelle demanded, trembling with anger. "God, to

think I called you my sister!" she spat. "You're nothing but a back- stabbing, lying slut!" A few people around us gasped, reminding

me that we weren't alone. Reminding me of where we were. "Noelle, I am so, so sorry," I choked out, approaching her with tears

streaming down my face. "Hell, yeah, you're sorry," Noelle replied under her breath, getting as close to me as possible. Clearly she

didn't want any members of the audience she had just won over to hear what she had to say. "You're done at Billings, Reed. Done at

Easton. You may as well pack your shit up and hop the next train back to Croton, because you are not going to want to be around to

find out what I can do to you."

I looked around, desperate... for what? An ally? Someone to swoop in and save me? Someone to take my side? Where was Sabine?

Where were Constance and Tiffany and Rose? As my eyes searched, I saw that half the people in the vicinity were watching us, while

the other half were looking at their phones. Looking and laughing. Gasping. Pointing at me. Whoever had sent the video had sent it

not only to Noelle, they had sent it to all of Easton. Scorching humiliation rushed through me, burning me from the inside out. My life

was over. I had to get out of here. Now. Stumbling like I was inebriated, I groped my way blearily toward the exit. There were a few

people near the door, getting their coats, and they all shied away from me as if I were somehow contagious. I fumbled through my

purse for my ticket, grabbed my coat, and turned to go. That was when I spotted Constance, standing in the hallway, talking to Marc,

their heads bent together. Relief rushed through me. Constance. Yes. She was my friend. She had always been loyal. She would help