Side Chick Era Over (Sharon and Carter) novel Chapter 357

Chapter 357

When they tried calling back, no one picked up.

Panic spread fast. The teachers and the principal glanced toward Carter, like drowning people reaching for the nearest lifeline.

“Mr. Biggs… you can’t just leave us like this,” the principal stammered. “We-we were just following your instructions!”

Carter’s face was still shadowed from that slap. His expression was dark, sharp-edged, barely controlled. “When,” he asked coldly, “did I ever tell you to do this?”

The principal was close to tears. “But the order did come from you-or at least that’s what we were told…”

Off to the side, Kelly’s heart sank.

The principal pressed on. “It was… Nate Hendricks. He said it himself-told us directly. He’s been your friend for years. We… we’re just ordinary people. How could we possibly afford to offend someone like him… or you?”

Carter’s face turned stormy. He pulled out his phone and dialed. “Get over here. Now.”

No explanation. No room for questions. He hung up. 1

Kelly’s fingers itched toward her phone, instinct screaming to tip Nate off. But with so many eyes in the room, pulling out her phone now would be suicide. Worse, it might expose her own part in all of this.

Then again… maybe it didn’t matter anymore. If it came out, so be it.

After all, this whole scheme had been Nate’s idea from the start. She only… fine-tuned it a little. Made it less obvious. Stretched it out so no one would notice too quickly.

At first, Nate had simply approached a few parents, dropping careful hints to get their kids to start something with Matty.

But Kelly stopped him. Physical fights left marks-too obvious. Too easy to get caught.

Isolation, though…?

Isolation was cleaner. Sharper. Sometimes, the wounds it left went deeper than bruises.

And if Matty went to complain? Useless. What was he going to say? No one wants to be my friend? No one talks to me?

Friendship wasn’t something anyone could be forced into.

It was the perfect kind of bullying. Invisible. Untouchable.

She never thought it would blow up this fast.

The video kept rolling.

As it played through the full confrontation, Sharon finally understood why both Theo and Matty had kept their mouths shut about this.

To be mocked like that, openly, by a bunch of six-year-olds, Sharon suddenly felt… small and powerless.

She looked at Matty, “You didn’t come home these past few days. You never told us what was happening. Is it because… you didn’t want me to worry?”

This time, Matty didn’t pretend. Didn’t fake being pitiful.

His head lowered, eyes avoiding hers entirely. “I was scared… scared if you found out, you’d worry all this trouble I was facing was because of you. You’d leave me.

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“But I don’t want to stop seeing you. Spending time with you, with Wendy, with Mr. Malcolm… it’s the happiest I’ve ever been. I don’t care if this stuff happens to me. I only care… I only care if you leave me.”

He’d overheard her once talking to Wendy.

“Nate, Kelly, Carter… they’re going to keep coming after me,” Sharon had said. “And Matty might get dragged into it. Maybe… maybe I should send him away for a while.”

Matty stood there, head down like a kid caught doing something wrong.

But he was the one who’d been hurt.

Sharon’s eyes stung. Her throat tightened.

Xavier let out a sigh-soft, almost inaudible.

Sharon wrapped Matty in her arms, holding him tight. “Listen to me. No matter what happens… I won’t send you away. Never.

Okay?”

Matty buried his face in her shoulder. His voice was muffled but firm. “Okay.”

Watching them, a strange, heavy panic started clawing its way up in Theo’s chest.

On the screen, the paused video flickered back to life.

And then-there they were. Bob and the other two boys.

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