my mistake - gabrielle aplin

"So, you're telling me you just... you just broke up with her?" Layla's head was tilted in confusion as she looked at Connor from across the lunch table.

"Yeah." Connor cleared his throat and shoved a chip into his mouth.

"Why would you just break up with her?"

"I don't know Lay. It just wasn't working out anymore." Connor let out a sigh and ran his hand through his blond locks. The dark bags under his eyes made it obvious, that his breakup was affecting him more than he was showing.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Layla staring at me. I knew that if I looked at her, I would crack, so I kept my gaze straight forward.

"Mhm... That's really interesting." Layla squinted her eyes. "Hope I need to go to the bathroom."

"Okay?" I questioned.

"Come with me."

"You can't go by your-"

"No." Shit.

Reluctantly I got up from the table with Layla and left the cafeteria to go to the bathroom. The hallways were quiet and mainly empty, aside from a handful of students roaming the hall.

"What is going on?" Layla whisper yelled as soon as the bathroom door closed.

"What are you talking about? And why are we whispering?" I whispered.

Layla frantically motioned her hands around. "You and Connor!"

"What are you talking about?"

"He broke up with Aspen! His girlfriend."

"Yes, Lay. I am well aware of who Aspen is."

"So, does this have anything to do with you? Is he going to ask you out?"

"Layla, I wish I could tell you."

"Well, why else would he break up with her? I mean, she was hot."

"Geez. Thanks, Lay." I scoffed.

"Oh, shut up. You know what I mean."

"Honestly, I don't understand anything Connor does, so I really don't know why he broke up with Aspen."

"You kissed, right?"

"Yeah... twice."

"Twice?!" Layla shrieked and slapped her hand over her mouth. "God! Hope, you're the reason they broke up. You dumb bitch! Oh my God."

"Stop." I groaned. Kissing Connor (twice) while he had a girlfriend was not my proudest moment, and I won't lie I did feel a little guilty when Connor texted me this morning and said he and Aspen had broken up.

"He has to be in love with you. He has to be."

"Can we please talk about this later? This bathroom smells like feet." My face twisted up in disgust. None of the bathrooms at this school were safe to use, and if I was being honest, the whole school should just be torn down. The broken baby pink stall doors and cracked lime green tile floors were not cute or functional.

The two of us walked back to the cafeteria, where I caught Connor trying to steal some of my chips. "Back off, bitch."

"I really thought you guys fell into the toilet. What'd you have to do? Wipe each other's asses?"

"Haha, you're so funny, Connor." Layla mocked.

Just as Connor was about to argue with Layla, two police officers and the principal walked into the cafeteria. Almost immediately, the whole room fell silent, and everyone watched as they made their way to the basketball table. From where I sat, I couldn't hear what was being said, but I knew it wasn't good.

One of the officers, who I had recognized as Officer Romero, grasped Jack's arm and pulled him up from his seat as the other cop tightly secured a pair of handcuffs around Jack's wrists. Jack's face contorted in confusion, and his brows were drawn together. He had no idea what was going on.

I, on the other hand, felt like I was going to throw up. Jack was getting arrested, and I knew exactly why. God, he was getting arrested because of me.

As I watched Jack with wide eyes, Connor turned in his seat and stared at me.

"H..."

My hands shook as I brought them up to my face, "Oh my God."

The cafeteria practically erupted with noise as soon as Jack walked out the double doors. Although I was sure that the majority of the people sitting around me had seen the photos Jack leaked, I don't think they thought anything of it.

It's terrible, but revenge porn happened all the time. It seemed like every week, someone new was getting exposed by their current or ex-partner. I couldn't tell you how many times I had accidentally seen a girl's tits or ass.

"Holy shit," Layla mumbled.

"Hope?" Connor spoke up. The concern on his face was evident. His deep blue eyes were clouded with worry and a little bit of fear. He was scared that I was seconds away from breaking down. To him, I was undoubtedly as fragile as glass.

"He's going to jail. I just sent Jack to jail." My voice broke as I spoke.

"Good." Layla scoffed, stabbing at the salad in front of her.

"Layla..." Connor warned.

"Ugh. Look, he probably won't go to jail. My guess is he'll get a slap on the wrist and a fine."

"That doesn't make me feel better," I whispered.

In my head, I wanted Jack to go to jail. I wanted him to sit there and rot because he broke my heart. But I also knew that this was not enough to get him locked up for the rest of his life.

In my heart, on the other hand, I wanted Jack to walk back through those doors and laugh like this was some sort of funny joke. I wanted him to come kiss me and say that he never cheated on me, I wasn't pregnant, and I was still the love of his life.

Jack had been my rock for so long, and in less than a month everything had changed. We had broken up, I found out I was pregnant, and Jack had exposed my nudes. And now? He's getting arrested and possibly going to jail because of me. I was ruining his life.

"I think I'm going to puke."

---

hi guys! this is not my favorite chapter and that sucks because i haven't updated in so long :( i'm on winter break now, so hopefully i will have the chance to update more. happy first day of hanukkah!