The Four Beta Brothers – Chapter 17

JUNIPER

“What is she doing here?” Nathan was trying to whisper. His voice had that raspy hush to it, but he failed the volume aspect of a whisper.

“Ask Asher,” Axel said.

The couch was surprisingly comfortable, possibly more so than my bed, but the conversation with Axel had only made it more difficult to sleep.

that mean—”

t question,” Asher said. “And stop staring at her. Let her sleep.”

d again.

ly,” Axel said.

I could practically hear the eye roll from Nathan. “T

e dorm quieted after that, and I managed to fall back asleep for a few minutes. It was only when my phone started buzzi

er said, standing in the kitchen.

sleep from them. “Where are your brothers?”

ready.”

e smell of pancakes and syrup hit my nose, and my

rible.

at?

nto a bully.

cial media. I clicked on one of the notifications, which took me directly to a video.

oked at the preview of the video, the rest of the w

.

eo. It was compiled from multiple angles, but it wasn’t the conversation I had w

. He knelt on the floor in front of me, looking

e video for him. He took the phone from my hands, and the more he heard, the harder his eyes grew. He scrolled through the comments, and then he stood up and sta

even sound like you.” His eyes were glued to my phone.

ed my fingers over my face, stretching the skin.

this point, there’s not much I can do. If everyone wants to think of me as the monster Moira has painted me to be, I can’t change their minds.”

d at me.

se. The only friend I lost was Moira. I didn’t exactly have a lot of friends. School has always been my priority, and I just have to keep it that

et her win,” Asher said. There was defeat in his eyes.

t with Asher here, something told me that everything would be okay. “She won’t. I won’t let her.” I lif

. He was just a temporary distraction, but Asher was the one I wanted to get closer to.

nd from there we’ll figure out what to do.”

ASHER

I was just a student here. Ethan may have only been a TA, but he was also sent as the official representative from Beta Burrell’s office. Even at his young age, Ethan could give orders to the principal here. He had power. He could influence the school to actually do something about the bullying to Juniper.

ay away from Juniper again in exchange for his help, then he would truly be following in my father’s footsteps.

e he was going to the office.

ever wear comfortable clothes?” I

nge. “These are my comfortable clothes.”

ic.

arcasm.

t the door.

effect he had on me. I wanted to storm out of the apartment already. Juniper was the only reason I stayed. “Juniper is getting bullied. Why haven’t you done anything to stop it yet?”

to him, even if he was a condescending jerk.

go back to Juniper and tell her everything was going to be okay.

out two fancy teacups. They were white with various shades of blue flowers printed all around it. The edge of the cup was brushed with a shimmering gold. The same gold rimmed the saucer beneath the cup.

I said. Ethan knew this

o me like the child he thought I was.

nd politeness, but that would only halt the conversation.

tell me exactly what’s going on. I can’t do anything if I don’t know the details.”

a deep breath, ignoring the drink in front of me. “Have you seen the video that went viral? The one that was manipulated to make Jun

deal with the mess Moira left.

enraged me.

l. It’s making her look horrible.” I tapped my finger on the table repeatedly, trying to re

n sound like her, but there’s not much I can do to stop the students from believing the lies. All I can do is protect her from the

cting her from the school isn’t enough! Her roommate destroyed her stuff. She is being bullied and harassed. You have to do something. You’re the future Beta

ar.

e to me if she faced any issues, and I would help her. I am here to make sure students are safe after all. She needs to be the one to report the bullying, though.” He tapped the spoon gently on the side of the cup and then set the wet utensil on a cloth napkin. Every movement he made was careful and deliberate. “As for her reputation with the students, there’s not much I can do, but you’re forgetting something.”

. I wished he wasn’t so roundabout sometimes. “And what am I forgetting?”

and getting yourself involved with Juniper, why don’t you use your reputation to try to help her? People trust and respect the Burrells. If you tell people Juniper is a good person, it might he

t. I could make most people swoon with a simple smile. Why hadn’t I tried to use that to make people like Juniper, too? There had to be a way to get the students on her side using my reputation.

d said, “Thanks. That’s actually some really good advice.”

came to me.” He took a sip of his drink.

hed he didn’t make it obvious that he knew exactly that.

sure the school doesn’t take any actions against Juniper unfairly. Thanks for the drink.” I wal

, Ethan said, “Oh, Father will be in town at the end of the week to check on things. I expect you to join us for the day.”