You're the Reason - J. Nathan Page 0,59
racing heart.
He glanced over his shoulder at Valerie. “I’m glad you’re all right.” He turned and walked out of the room without even looking my way.
Valerie squeezed my hand. “Don’t cry.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not.”
“You’re in the hospital. I’m going to be okay.”
“You two need to talk,” she said.
“His last name’s Shaw. He’s a cop. I didn’t know either of those things.” I closed my eyes. “He’s probably married with kids. No wonder why he wouldn’t sleep with me.” I dropped my face into my palms. “This was his job. I was just part of his job.”
Valerie remained silent for a long time so I peeked up to be sure she was okay. She stared at me, the dark circles around her eyes reminding me of the horrific night she’d had and what could’ve gone wrong if I hadn’t gotten to her in time. “I don’t believe you were just part of his job. I saw him with you. He was different. He had me decorate your room with candles for God’s sake. You don’t do romantic stuff like that if you’re faking it.”
I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes. “This isn’t really helping.”
She flashed a sad smile. “I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry.”
We both laughed, but it didn’t feel like real laughter as we considered the sad situations we were both in at that moment.
But we were strong.
And, we had each other.
We’d move past this.
CHAPTER THIRTY
I sat alone in the coffee shop on Friday afternoon, trying to ignore the hollow in my chest that had been there since Saturday night. I wrote my History through Film paper alone. Alone because my partner was no longer a student at Crestwood. Alone because my partner lied to me about everything. Alone because my partner didn’t care enough about me as a human being to even talk to me after deceiving me.
Some girls at a nearby table spoke in whispers. I could’ve sworn I heard them say something about the campus NARC. And when my eyes shifted to them, they lowered their voices even more.
My stomach turned over, my thoughts never straying far from the grand deception I had my very own front row seat to. What was it going to take to move on?
“Well, looks like neither of us ended up with him,” Chantel said, stepping up to my table.
“Instead of gloating, I’d think you’d be asking how Valerie is? You know Valerie. Your sorority sister.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s not like it’s the first time she ended up in someone’s bed.”
“Wow. If that’s how you talk about your friends, I can only imagine how you talk about me.”
She scoffed. “I don’t.”
I knew that was a lie. She wasn’t someone to let things go. She dwelled on them. She made people pay for them.
And that’s when it hit me.
The distance between her and Val. Their strained interactions. The fear she instilled in my usually confident and strong friend. “Oh. My. God.”
“What?” she sneered.
“Did you set her up?”
“What?”
“Did you have Ryan slip something in her drink? Was this more payback like the video?”
She straightened her spine. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do. Jesus Christ. It’s all starting to make sense now.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, but I do.”
When it hit her that I might actually know something, her eyes narrowed and her face contorted into something cold and calculating. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”
“You’re wrong about that too. I do. And I’m not scared of you.”
“You should be.” She spun around and walked out, the clicking of her heels drumming in my head like my own pulse.
I gathered my things. How had I not seen it before now? I left the coffee house and jogged back to the dorm.
I knew why they didn’t get along.
I knew Valerie’s secret.
And something needed to be done about it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
My heart had been racing. But when the knock on the door came, it became a jackhammer in my chest. I glanced over at Valerie who sat on my bed, her hands wringing nervously in front of her. She nodded her permission.
I walked to the door, grasped hold of the knob, and hesitated. You got this. I pulled in a breath then pulled open the door. Chase stood there in jeans and a dark shirt, his hands buried in his pockets. I said nothing, just stepped back so he could enter.
He moved past me, the woodsy crisp scent of his cologne wafting by.
I fought to retain my composure and