Scandalous Love

29. | Riley

"Tell me why you're still yet to fill me in on what went down between you and Hunter," James complains for the third time this week after dance rehearsals.

I hadn't told him yet because I was still trying to grab hold of whatever had been said myself.

I was trying to wrap my head around the idea of Hunter's parents no longer being around. I guess he and I were a lot more in common than I originally thought, having lost a close parental figure in the past. I can't imagine how hurt and heartbroken he must be on the inside.

We begin to leave the building and James swings his arm around my waist like usual, holding me close to his side.

"I told you it's nothing to worry about, James," I say, looking up at him. "I just didn't know about Hunter's parents before but now that I do..." I drift off and James sighs, rubbing circles into my hips with his thumb.

"You want to understand him but he's just not the easiest person to read?" he suggests, making me nod my head.

"Exactly."

We walk past Beth who was busy talking with the other girls on the team but as we do, we inevitably heard the things Beth was deciding to come up with. It worried me how accurate she was about it and it only caused me to tremble at the sound of her words.

"I mean, think about it, girls. Have you ever seen her anywhere else before she joined here? In this neighbourhood everyone knows everyone but I'd never seen that girl in my life until recently."

"I guess you have a point," Thalia mumbles, looking at me and trying to make it as far from suspicious as possible but I could feel it. I know when someone's looking at me. I've grown up with the feeling of eyes being on me since I was first born.

"But what are you implying?" Giselle questions.

"What if she's from North Side? What if she isn't who you or James or anyone else thinks she is?" Beth continues.

James and I exchange a look as we begin to walk out of there at a quicker speed but slow enough to hear what else she had to say. "I mean, you've seen the guards walking around here this past week. What if they're looking for her? What if she escaped North Side and she just joined the team so she can take over it like her family would?"

Having heard enough, I tugged at James's hand and began to fast-walk away from them while he followed along behind me.

It no doubt caught their attention but I couldn't care less. I wasn't about to spend any extra seconds in the same room as people who would care to form rumours about me right in front of my face.

"Babe," James calls after me when I storm out into the hallway, dragging him along with me. I shake my head, turning around to look at him.

"Let's just go, J," I mumble, making him sigh but nod.

He joins me by my side and keeps his hand linked with mine until I speak up again when we approach the double doors which led to outside. "No one told her, did they?" I ask him, looking up and tilting my head sideways.

He brings us to a halt and pauses, looking around before shrugging his shoulders. "I sure do hope not," he responds, pecking my forehead as I exhale, moving my arms to wrap around his torso.

I thought dating in secret was stressful before but it only seems to be more difficult now.

We walk in silence for two or three minutes, walking alongside one another until we approach a green grassy field. My head was still soaring with all sorts of thoughts about the things I'd heard Beth saying about me and it didn't take long before James caught hold of my silence and sighed, bringing us to a halt.