BAD INFLUENCE
Bad Influence - Episode 37&38
(•Tainting Her Innocence•)
GENRE: College romance
By, Mide L.
✧༺✰༻✧ ✧༺✰༻✧ ✧༺✰༻✧
✮{...PUNISH YOU...}✮
Hailey’s phone lit up too. She reached for it, heart skipping.
Something had just happened. Something big.
The screen buzzed again, and a new message appeared in the group chat.
• Jessa’s body was found near the cliff... she’s dead.
Hailey froze. Her breath hitched, and the phone nearly slipped from her hands.
Another message followed quickly.
• They said her knee was badly injured. It looked like she tried to crawl before... before she died.
Her mind went blank.
No. No, this had to be some sick joke.
Jessa, dead?
Hailey’s heart pounded violently in her chest. Her mouth went dry as a cold wave of dread swept through her. She could still hear Jessa’s laugh in her ears... so loud, so alive.
But now…
She was gone.
Hailey’s hand trembled as she read the message again and again, hoping the words would change. That it was a mistake. A cruel prank. Anything but the truth.
But it was real.
Jessa was gone.
Her chest tightened, and a broken sob slipped past her lips before she could stop it. The phone fell from her hand and hit the floor with a soft thud.
"No... no, no" she whispered, curling in on herself as the tears came rushing down.
"She can't be... she just can’t—"
She hadn’t spoken to Jessa since that day.
The day she told Hailey she was in love with her.
The words had stunned her, left her confused and unsure of what to say. And Jessa… she had distanced herself after that. No texts. No calls. Just silence.
Hailey never got the chance to talk to her.
Now, she would never get that chance.
"She died feeling alone, I've watched her these past few days, always the first to leave the class after lectures" she choked, covering her face with both hands as the sobs racked her body. "I didn’t even get to say goodbye…"
Arms wrapped around her.
Warm, strong, steady.
It was Asher.
He didn’t say a word at first. He just held her as she cried, his own face pale, eyes red. She could feel the tightness in his body, the way he clenched his jaw to keep himself together.
"I can't believe this…" he murmured, voice rough with grief before he continued.
"Jessa was our friend. She didn’t deserve this"
Hailey buried her face into his chest, her tears soaking into his shirt.
"I should’ve called her. I should’ve gone after her. Maybe if I had just—"
"No" Asher cut in gently but firmly, pulling her closer. "This isn’t your fault, Hailey. None of this is. Don’t do that to yourself"
She shook her head, but he cupped her face, forcing her to meet his gaze.
"We both loved her in our own way" he said quietly before he continued.
"And whatever happened out there… she didn’t die unloved"
They stayed like that for a while.
Then...
The heavy roar of an engine was heard. A motorcycle drew near, the sound sharp and commanding.
Xavier.
He pulled up like a scene from a movie. Dark jacket, gloved hands, piercing eyes. The motorcycle came to a clean stop, the engine purring beneath him. He kicked the stand out and stepped off, boots hitting the pavement.
His gaze swept lazily over the group gathered in front.
Unbothered. Uninterested.
Until he saw her.
Hailey.
Still clinging to Asher. Still crying. Broken.
He paused. Something flickered in his eyes, an unreadable glint.
And then… a smirk.
Cold. Cruel. Amused.
He leaned against his bike, arms folded, like the pain Hailey was drowning in was just entertainment to him.
The students nearby stiffened. No one moved.
No one dared approach.
They all knew him.
They all feared him.
They can only admire from afar.
He stared at Hailey a beat longer, that smirk still dancing on his lips… and then turned.
He walked away with his usual slow swagger, boots clicking against the pavement, as if he hadn’t just witnessed someone fall apart.
And just like that... he was gone.
Murmurs picked up again. The discussion about Jessa’s death resumed, growing louder, more intense.
•••
BOY'S RESTROOM*
The air was thick with smoke.
Xavier leaned against the cracked tile wall, cigarette pressed between his lips, eyes clouded not just from the smoke, but from something deeper. Something raw. He drew in another drag, longer this time, until his lungs ached.
But the ache was nothing compared to what he felt when he saw her.
Hailey.
In his arms.
Asher’s arms.
The image replayed in his mind like a cursed loop—her tears, the way she clung to him, how tightly he held her. That damn look of protection.
It should’ve been him.
He slammed his fist against the wall, the echo bouncing through the empty restroom. A crack split across the tiles.
Just then, the door creaked open.
He didn’t look. He didn’t have to.
The scent of citrus and danger drifted in with her.
"You always did smoke harder when you’re jealous" came the soft, almost teasing voice.
He didn’t turn. Just exhaled another drag.
"Take off that mask, Layla" he said coolly, his eyes fixed on the wall in front of him. "I know it’s you"
There was a beat of silence, followed by a low, amused laugh.
"I knew you’d figure it out" she murmured.
A soft rustle followed as she reached up and peeled the mask away.
Gone was the flawless beauty everyone thought Ava possessed.
What remained was… her.
Layla.
The girl with the crooked nose, the sunken cheeks. The deep scar that ran from the edge of her brow down to the side of her jaw like a cruel signature from the past.
Her skin was patchy, discolored in places, raw in others. She didn’t look anything like the captivating Ava, students admired.
She looked like the ghost of someone who once meant something to Xavier.
He finally turned and their eyes met.
No words. Just recognition. Years of silence crashed into that moment like a tidal wave.
"You didn’t die" he said, more to himself than to her.
She smiled faintly, scar pulling oddly with the motion.
"Surprised?"
He stared at her, expression unreadable.
"They said you were dead, that I killed you"
Layla stepped closer.
"You let them believe it"
He didn’t deny it.
"What the hell are you doing here?" His voice cracked a little. Just barely.
Ava or rather Layla shrugged, stepping closer into the smoke.
"Watching, waiting and then i figured it was time to come back. Now I'm back, but that girl caught your eye already"
Xavier’s jaw tightened. "Don’t mess with Hailey"
Her smile vanished.
"Oh, I won’t. But you already are, Xavier. You’re the mess"
He looked away.
Silence stretched between them.
Then, Layla said quietly, "I never stopped watching you. Even after you left me for dead"
She reached out, fingertips brushing his arm.
"Did you miss me?"
He stared at her, eyes dark.
"Every damn day"
Layla’s breath caught, but she masked it with a smirk.
"You have a funny way of showing it. Leaving me bleeding in that warehouse... I thought I was going to die"
Xavier’s eyes narrowed, shadows flickering behind them.
"You were supposed to stay away that night. I told you"
"You told me a lot of things, Xavier" she snapped.
"And I believed all of them. I believed you loved me"
He looked away, jaw clenched so tight the vein in his neck throbbed.
"I did"
Layla’s laughed bitterly. "No. You loved the idea of me. Until things got ugly. Until I got ugly"
She ran a finger down the jagged scar on her face.
"This? This was the price I paid for loving you."
Xavier took a slow step forward, his face unreadable.
"You think I gave you that scar?"
She didn’t move.
"You didn’t stop it either" she whispered.
The room fell silent.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then he said, "I searched for you"
"You disappeared, Xavier" She moved past him, pacing now.
"Then you showed up with a new attitude, and a new girl"
"Hailey isn’t—" he stopped himself, tone shifting. "She’s not like you"
Layla turned sharply. "Exactly. She’s innocent. She still believes in happy endings. You think you’re protecting her? You’re breaking her. Slowly"
Xavier lit another cigarette. "Then why are you here?"
"To see what you’ve become. To see if there’s anything left of the boy who once told me he’d burn the world for me" She stepped closer again, now toe to toe.
"Is he still in there?"
Xavier held her gaze.
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he turned away, walking toward the mirror, exhaling smoke slowly.
Layla’s voice was calm but cold.
"I’m not done, Xavier. You should know that. I came back for a reason and it’s not just revenge"
He looked at her reflection in the mirror.
"And what do you want?"
Her lips curled into a dangerous smile.
"To see if you'll choose her… or the monster you really are"
She stepped back, pulling the mask from the counter and placing it carefully over her scarred face. Ava returned in her place, polished and pretty.
And with that, she turned and walked out—leaving Xavier alone in the haze of smoke and ghosts from his past.
FLASHBACK — ONE YEAR AGO
It was raining.
Hard.
Thunder rolled across the sky like war drums, drowning out the sound of screeching tires as Xavier’s black car swerved into the abandoned warehouse yard.
Inside, the lights flickered. The air smelled like gasoline and betrayal.
"You weren’t supposed to be here, Layla!" Xavier shouted as he stepped through the rusted metal doors, soaked to the bone.
Layla stood in the center of the room, her mascara streaked down her face, eyes wild.
"I came because I knew something was off!" she cried.
"I saw the texts, Xavier. I heard the rumors, what were you doing with them?"
Xavier didn’t answer.
Behind him, two men in dark hoodies were quietly loading boxes into a van—boxes that Layla had accidentally seen earlier. Guns. Cash. Blood-stained evidence of everything Xavier had kept hidden from her.
"You lied to me, all this time…"
"I was trying to protect you!" Xavier snapped.
"You think this world is pretty? You think I am?"
"I didn’t care,I just wanted you"
One of the men approached. A deep scar ran across his neck.
"She’s a liability, X. You know what has to happen"
"No" Xavier stepped in front of her.
But Layla had already stepped back, trembling. "You’re one of them now"
The man lunged.
Layla tried to run but she slipped on the wet floor. The edge of a broken metal pipe caught her face as she hit the ground hard, screaming in pain.
Blood spilled instantly. She clutched her cheek, wailing.
"Layla!" Xavier dropped beside her, panic breaking through his mask.
"Fuck! stay with me, Layla!"
But she pushed him away with her bloodied hand.
"Don’t touch me"
The other men dragged Xavier back.
"Leave her. She saw too much"
"We’ll dump her far. No one’ll know"
"No!" Xavier fought back, his voice cracking.
"Don’t touch her, I’ll handle it!"
But by the time he broke free, Layla was gone.
They left her near the cliff, barely alive. He searched for days, for weeks but she had disappeared without a trace.
He thought she was dead.
And after that night, something in Xavier broke.
The boy who once loved Layla… died with her screams.
END OF FLASHBACK
•••
NIGHT, XAVIER’S PLACE*
The door creaked open before she could even knock.
He stood there. Hoodie on.
His eyes swept over her face.
"You came" he said, stepping aside.
Hailey entered slowly. The scent of smoke and something earthy filled the air.
"Yes"
He shut the door behind her with a quiet click.
They were alone.
Just them.
Hailey stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, her arms wrapped around herself. Her lips trembled. She tried to speak but choked on her own breath.
Xavier watched her in silence, leaning against the armrest of the couch, arms folded. His expression unreadable.
Then, the tears came.
Hailey sank on the edge of the couch, burying her face in her hands as sobs racked through her body. She tried to hold them back but she couldn’t anymore.
"I lost my friend, Xavier" she managed through the tears, voice raw and broken.
"Can you be considerate at least?"
Xavier exhaled heavily, rolling his eyes, shifting his weight like her emotions were an inconvenience. He didn’t say anything.
"I feel like she was killed" Hailey added, lifting her tear-streaked face to meet his gaze.
Hailey’s breath hitched as she waited for him to say something, anything. But Xavier remained still, his face hard.
Then he said it.
"She deserved it"
Hailey blinked, her sobs catching mid-breath. "What…?"
Xavier pushed off the couch, pacing a few steps like he was irritated just being near her grief.
"I said, she deserved it"
Hailey stared at him, her heart thudding violently against her chest.
"You don’t mean that"
He turned to her, eyes like ice.
"You think you knew her, but you didn’t. Not really"
Tears welled up again, but this time it was from anger.
"She was my friend. What do you know, Xavier?" Her voice cracked.
"You’re saying all this like you knew something"
He looked at her for a long, unreadable moment… then turned away.
A knock cut through the heavy silence like a blade.
Xavier’s jaw tightened. "Stay here" he muttered, storming toward the door.
Hailey stood still, her tear-streaked face watching him. When he pulled open the door, a tall, elegant woman stood there, perfect makeup, expensive perfume clinging to her like another layer of skin. Xavier’s face shifted instantly.
His entire body stiffened. His lips curled slightly not in a smile, but in something colder. Disgust.
Hailey stepped forward slightly, curious, but Xavier slammed the door halfway shut behind him, blocking the woman’s view of her.
"What do you want?" he asked sharply.
"Xavier, can’t I check on you?"
"You don’t check on anyone unless it benefits your image. Save the act"
Her painted smile faltered. "I just thought—"
"You don’t think, you plan. You calculate. You fake everything" he snapped.
Without another word, he slammed the door in her face and turned around slowly, his expression dark and hollow.
His gaze landed on Hailey.
And something inside him snapped.
"I’ve been in a bad mood since morning, and seeing you with Asher… hugging him like that? That just worsened it"
Hailey froze, confused. "Xavier—"
"Don’t" he growled, stepping closer until there was barely space between them. His gaze dropped to her lips, then back to her eyes—dark, wild, possessive.
"Get on the damn bed"
Her breath caught. "What?"
His jaw flexed, his next words like fire laced in ice.
"Let me punish you"
___
💕TBC💕
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