Joseph stood still, his chest tight, as eight stares bore down on him. It felt like a fuse had been lit in the room, just waiting for someone to strike the match. 

Max did just that. “Oh my God,” he muttered, breath short. “You did record me.”

He turned, jaw clenched, and pointed a trembling finger across the room. “That night at Emory’s pool house. You had your stupid camera the whole time.”

Joseph didn’t move.

Leo stepped between them. “Max. Don’t.”

“You don’t get to defend him,” Max retorted. “Not this time. We all said things. We all did things. And it’s all on his camera.”

Amelia scoffed. “The Halloween basement. That bottle game—”

Nina whispered, “The fountain steps. You were filming everything.”

Preston let out a bitter laugh. “God. Of course. The New Year’s Eve thing at the chalet. And the cabin trip after that. And David—” he caught himself too late.

Max froze. “David?”

Preston didn’t answer right away.

The silence that followed was sharp. Too sharp.

Joseph felt it tighten in his chest.

“Wait—David? David?” Nina asked, glancing around. “The guy from high school? The one who had a similar voice to Joseph?”

“The one you fake-dated?” Celeste added, turning to Preston. “For, like, a month?”

“It was a joke,” Preston said quickly. Too quickly. “Back then. It was just—everyone thought it was funny.”

“Yeah,” Amelia muttered. “Until he stopped showing up to class.”

Preston shifted uncomfortably. “He left. We didn’t—he wasn’t even part of the group anymore.”

“He was,” Jude said quietly. “For a while.”

Leo folded his arms. “We all played along. Every one of us.”

“I thought it was just some dumb chat stunt,” Nina said. “Preston pretending to flirt, texting in the group… wasn’t that the whole thing?”

“It was more than that,” Eli muttered.

That statement sucked the air out of the room.

The girls looked at him, then at Preston, then at Joseph, and at all of them.

Max ran a hand through his hair. “That last summer. The lake cabin. He showed up.”

Celeste blinked. “I don’t remember David being there.”

“You wouldn’t,” Jude said. “It wasn’t a big deal. Just us guys.”

“Nothing happened,” Preston insisted too quickly.

Leo shot him a look. “Don’t.”

“What happened?” Amelia asked.

Silence.

Joseph’s eyes stayed fixed on the floor. He remembered fragments: voices raised, the attic door slammed, someone crying. Laughter that turned brittle.

“It was supposed to be another joke,” Max finally said.

Nina stepped back, as if the air had shifted. “You recorded that?”

No one answered.

Then Preston said it, low: “If they have the David footage…”

The room stilled again.

Joseph didn’t utter a word. He didn’t need to. They all knew where that camera footage had come from. 

And they all knew who had been behind the lens.

Preston turned as if something had finally snapped. “This is your fault,” he said, his voice low and shaking. “This is your fault. You and your stupid camera.”

Joseph blinked, stunned. “What—?”

“You never stopped,” Preston continued, moving closer. “Every damn trip, every party, every second we weren’t looking—you were there, filming. Like our lives were a goddamn documentary.”

Suddenly, he lunged forward and yanked the camera straight from Joseph’s hands.

“Why are you acting like you forgot?” Preston shouted. “You filmed everything!”

And before Joseph could react, Preston slammed the camera to the floor.

It shattered on impact—plastic cracking, the lens snapping off, a battery rolling under the couch. Bits of it skittered across the room like broken teeth.

Joseph stared at the pieces.

Preston’s chest heaved. “Now someone’s using it against us.”

“I didn’t make you do anything,” Joseph snapped.

“But you filmed it,” Preston shot back. “And you kept it. You kept it all. Every messy night, every fight, every secret we laughed off like it didn’t matter—and now Sasha’s gone.”

“You think I wanted this?” Joseph’s voice broke through, loud and sharp. “You think I wanted any of this to happen?”

“You let it happen!” Preston roared, jabbing a finger into Joseph’s chest. “You let that camera go missing. And now someone’s using it to tear us apart.”

“I didn’t give it to them!”

“You might as well have!”

“I didn’t know it was still out there!” Joseph shouted, stepping forward. “I lost it. That’s all. I lost it, and someone found it. Yes, it had footage of all of us. So don’t you stand there and act like I’m the only one guilty.”

“Guys—” Leo tried, but his voice was already buried.

“You are the only one who filmed everything,” Eli cut in now, venom in his tone. “You always thought you were above it. Standing in the back with your little camera like you weren’t in it with us. But you were. You were always in it.”

Joseph turned to him, fists clenched. “You think I planned this? You think I’m the one dragging people into rooms? Gagging them? You think I’d hurt—”

“You filmed Lena,” Eli snarled. “You filmed Sasha. And now they’re gone. So yeah, Joseph, I think you helped.”

“I didn’t show those clips to anyone! You think I’m proud of what was on that camera? You think I wanted to see them again?”

“But you kept them,” Jude said calmly from the side, his voice almost eerie. “You kept all of it.”

Joseph glanced around the room—at Preston’s rage, Eli’s accusatory gaze, Celeste’s panic, Amelia’s folded arms, Nina’s silence, and Jude’s eyes, sharp like knives.

“I was going to delete them,” Joseph murmured, almost to himself. “I was going to—”

“But you didn’t,” Preston snapped, his anger palpable. “Because that’s who you are, Hale. You collect people. You don’t live it—you archive it. You sit in the corner, recording everything and calling it art.”

“You were laughing too,” Joseph shot back. “You used David for a joke—you and all the others. Don’t turn this around on me like I’m the monster—”

Preston looked as if he wanted to kill him.

Leo intervened. “Okay, stop—”

“You said that tape was gone!” Preston yelled.

“Shut up, Preston,” Leo retorted sharply. “Don’t say another word.”

“Why?” Preston demanded, almost with a laugh. “So we can all pretend we didn’t know? That the prank didn’t go too far? That we didn’t break him before he left school—”

“I said shut up!” Leo exploded, grabbing Preston by the collar.

“Let go of me!”

Nina shoved herself between them, her voice sharp. “Enough!”

They didn’t relent.

So she screamed, “Stop! This is exactly what they want!”

That caught their attention.

Leo froze, and Preston’s fists dropped to his sides.

Nina’s voice trembled, but she pressed on. “You think the cameras aren’t still watching? You think the freak behind this isn’t thrilled right now, watching us tear each other apart?”

A thick silence enveloped the room. The fight drained from Leo’s shoulders, and Preston turned away, breathing hard.

And somewhere amidst it all, Joseph stood frozen, like someone had just yanked the floor from under him. 

Not quiet. Not observing. 

Just cornered. 

And the worst part? 

He wasn’t sure if he deserved to be.