You're the Reason - J. Nathan Page 0,61
I didn’t know what to do. I had no one to talk to. I was so scared.”
“Then she released the video anyway,” Chase said.
Valerie nodded. “She wanted to keep me quiet. I think she was getting scared I’d crack.”
Chase’s breath whooshed through his lips. “This was not what I was expecting.”
“Will I be arrested?” she asked, her eyes wild and scared.
“It’s your word against hers. And you’re right. Her father’s a lawyer. One of the best in Texas. She could beat this charge if her story’s plausible. You might not. You could be their scapegoat.”
Valerie buried her face in her palms.
I rushed over and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into my side. “You were so brave to tell the truth. You did the right thing. Chantel doesn’t have this hanging over you anymore. You’re free.”
“I shouldn’t have waited. I owed it to Sydney. And I owed it to her parents.”
An image of Sydney’s mom flashed in my mind’s eye. She’d known her daughter. And she’d known her daughter would never harm herself. She’d been right. I couldn’t wait for her to learn the truth.
“We can’t tell anyone,” Chase said.
Valerie and I both looked to him with our brows drawn. “Why not?”
“We need her confession,” he said.
“She’ll never confess,” Valerie said.
“Don’t be so sure,” he said.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Valerie walked Chase to the door a short time later. “Thank you for not arresting me.”
He nodded.
“Do you mind waiting a minute? I’ve just gotta grab something in my room.” She hurried out the door before he could even respond.
The door closed behind her, leaving Chase and me alone and in complete silence. I think we both knew she wasn’t coming back.
He moved toward my desk and leaned against it while I remained seated on my bed.
My pulse quickened, the muffled sound filling my ears. Could he hear it? Because it’s all I could hear.
“So?” I said, needing to break the uncomfortable silence.
“So,” he said.
“You’re a cop.” I just needed to say it so my brain could finally wrap itself around the knowledge.
“I am.”
“Are you married?” I asked.
He buried his hands in his front pockets and shook his head.
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
He shook his head.
“Was I just part of the job?” I asked.
His eyes met mine. “It’s complicated.”
“I can keep up.”
He closed his eyes for a long moment. “This was only my second big assignment. I’m young, right out of the academy, and they knew I could pass for a college student. Shoot. If I didn’t go to the academy, I’d still be in college.” He dragged his fingers through his hair the way he always did when he was conflicted. “I never expected to meet a girl who I’d actually have feelings for. This was supposed to be a job. A three-month job. But, when the trail ran dry on Sydney last year, they realized I might still be useful on campus since they had a growing drug problem the dean wanted taken care of. So, they sent me back this semester. I wasn’t even supposed to be here. I wasn’t even supposed to meet you.”
“But you did.”
He nodded.
“And you can’t just pretend you didn’t.”
“I know,” he said, seemingly pained by the notion.
“So, stop being an asshole and talk to me.”
“What do you want to hear?”
“The truth.”
He walked over and sat beside me. The dipping of the mattress pulled me closer to him, but I righted myself and kept my distance. “My feelings for you were real, Soph.”
Tears pricked my eyes. I don’t know what I expected him to say, but that wasn’t it. “Were real?”
He grabbed my hands and held them. “Are real.”
“You lied.”
“I had to. You’ve gotta know that.”
“You haven’t called.”
“I didn’t think you wanted me to,” he said, his eyes riveting between mine, looking for the slightest indication of how I truly felt. “Did you?”
I was so damned confused. So much had happened. So much deception. So much back and forth. “I need to know what was real and what wasn’t.”
“My last name and me ever wanting anything to do with Chantel. Those were lies.”
I scoffed. “Thank God.”
“The truth? There’s a lot more of that. I am from Houston but I have my own apartment which is so much better than that awful frat house.”
“Is that where you took off to when you disappeared?”
“Yeah. Those were mandatory training sessions and briefings I had to attend.”
I nodded, understanding he had responsibilities.
“I did play football growing up. I even played my first two years in college before I changed paths