Jessie Kensington thought she had escaped her troubled past when she faked her death and started a new life as Violet Arrowood. But three years later, she finds herself at Vanguard University on a scholarship, trying to build the future she always d...
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I can fix this. I have to fix this.
I run down the hallway after him, my footsteps echoing and my voice bounces down the hall as I call out his name— but it's like it doesn't reach him. I know everyone can hear me, I don't even know what time it is, but I don't care! I just need him to stop and listen. But he only quickens his pace, taking longer strides.
"Tyler, please stop!" I plead, my voice cracking as tears stream down my face. "Tyler!" I scream, desperate. "I'll tell you everything."
He stops abruptly, turning to face me just as Clara's door swings open. We both look at her, and Ty's glare shifts back to me.
"How do I know you won't lie?" he demands, ignoring a puzzled Clara standing in the doorway.
"Because—"
"Are you guys okay?" Clara asks, stepping out and looking between us.
But Tyler raises a hand to her, signalling her to be quiet.
"Because..." I step closer. "After everything I've lost, I can't lose you too."
I'm cut off by another voice, and a chill runs down my spine. Tate emerges from Clara's room, and his face makes me dizzy.
"Is everything okay out here?" he asks, positioning himself beside Clara and wrapping an arm around her. "We heard everything you were screaming about. Everything."
I can't move, fear roots me to the ground. Tate warned me to stay away from Ty, and I was reckless, selfish, consumed by my feelings for Ty. So high on him that I almost forgot that he threatened me— threatened us. Tate's eyes scrutinise me as he steps closer.
"Yeah—yeah, everything's fine," I stammer, forcing a lie. "I was just telling Ty I had an assignment to do when he came over this morning."
I dread the look on Ty's face, praying he won't say anything to make this worse.
"This morning, huh?" Clara says, a hint of amusement in her voice. I swallow the ball of anxiety that's digging its claws into my throat.
"Don't embarrass them, babe." Tate says. "Let them have their privacy." He gives Clara a playful peck on the cheek, and I almost throw up.
He knows. He knows I'm lying. My breathing quickens as I glance between the three of them. The room spins again, but this time, I'm sinking deeper and I can't pull myself out of it.
"What's going—" Ty begins, but then he stops. "Hey, are you okay?" He's looking at me, but my focus is on Tate as he slips his phone into his back pocket. Did he just message Nathaniel? Did he tell him what I did?
"I'm fine. I'm fine," I stumble, my phone vibrates in my hand. I'm too scared to look at it.
