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She’s quiet walking up to his door. Nora taps lightly on the open door frame.
“Simon?” She whispers, voice quivering. His eyes land on her, the fear and pain coming off in waves. She sniffles, already knowing she’s about to cry. “I saw the post. I-I-I already reported it and they’re taking it down.”
“Nora,” he laughs humorlessly, “it doesn’t even matter.” And she can see the tears building up in his eyes, the scrunching of his eyebrows. “Everyone already saw it.”
Simon sounds so hopeless. He sounds so . . . broken.
Nora holds back her own tears to take another step towards her brother, closing the door lightly behind her.
“It’s true,” he whispers. He can’t look her in the eye. “I am. Gay, that is.”
Nora doesn’t know what to say. She takes another step and opens her arms ever so slightly.
“Si, I’m so–” her voice cracks, “I’m so sorry they took this from you,” she tells him, in tears. “They didn’t–ha–have the right I’m so–”
Simon cracks, crying into his hands, covering his face.
Nora lurches forward to wrap her arms around him.
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, you didn’t deserve this,” she says on repeat, hugging her brother with more force than she’s ever hugged anyone in her life.
“I didn’t–I didn’t know what t–t–to do, I was so scared I just wanted this to be mine and he took that from me and everyone knows and I didn’t get to choose–I just wanted to choose, Nora.”
The Spier teens cry in each other’s arms, both so scared and so, so . . .
“I don’t know what to do.”
Nora tightens her arms as her tears slow and her sniffling comes to a stop.
. . . angry.
“Who did this?” She asks, voice hardly coming out above the oscillating fan in the corner.
Simon doesn’t say anything for a minute.
“He blackmailed me.”
“Who?” Nora demands, louder now and pulling away from the hug.
“Martin Addison.”
And though she may be just a freshman, Nora’s resolve strengthens as she looks her older brother in the eyes.
“I’m gonna destroy his fucking life.”