Until Alex - J. Nathan Page 0,51

busy dining hall.

My head twisted around, my eyes scanning the faces of the people who’d seen the picture.

Oh, fuck.

Alex stood on the opposite side of the room, handing her money to the cashier. She turned with her drink and walked over to Taylor’s table.

What was she doing? Hadn’t she heard me? Didn’t she know what Taylor had done?

She looked so innocent, almost angelic, in her white sundress flowing with each step. She didn’t notice all the eyes on her. She didn’t know what they’d all seen. At that point, every person in the dining hall stared, pointed, or laughed. It was just a matter of time before she knew it.

I needed to get to her. But too many people with filled lunch trays obstructed my path. I pushed closer, edging around bodies while straining to hear Alex and Taylor’s exchange over all the noise. But as hard as I tried, I couldn’t get to her fast enough. It was like a bad dream. A nightmare where everything happened in slow motion.

Taylor whipped out her phone and held the screen up to Alex.

Alex’s jaw dropped.

Her hand shot to her gaping mouth.

I just about reached her when her knees buckled. I threw out my arms, catching her before her body hit the floor.

A giant hush settled over the room as I lifted her into my arms. “I’ve got you, sweetheart.”

She hadn’t fainted. Thank God. She wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her face in my chest. “Please don’t let me go,” she whispered into my black shirt, concealing her quiet sniffles.

I carried her outside into the bright sunlight, making it across the quad and to the parking lot in record time. I needed to stop the photo from spreading around. I needed to stop any others from rearing their ugly heads. I needed to bring down Taylor once and for all.

Déjà vu hit when I placed Alex inside the cab of my truck. At least this time she was conscious. She curled her body into a tiny ball. So small. So fragile. So broken. “Why would she do this to me?”

“I don’t know, Alex. People suck. Especially when they feel threatened. You were her biggest competition. You stood in the way of what she wanted.”

Alex closed her eyes and rolled toward the back of the seat, covering her face with her arms to block out the rest of the world. Who could blame her? The world had done nothing but shit on her for the past two months. No one deserved that—except Taylor. She deserved it a hundred times over.

I wanted to pull Alex back into my arms and make all her pain go away, but I couldn’t. I needed to put a stop to the pounding in my head. And there was only one way to do that.

I leaned down and whispered over her quiet sniffles. “I need to run back in for a second. Will you be okay?”

She nodded beneath her arms.

Under normal circumstances, I would’ve never left her alone. But something needed to be done.

I stormed into the dining hall, slamming the heavy metal doors closed behind me sending a vicious rumble throughout the room.

All noise ceased.

Every head turned my way.

With my body quaking, I stalked over to Taylor’s table. I wanted to grab her by the back of her hair and drag her out in front of everyone. But I needed to be smart.

She glared at me, holding up her phone so the photo was displayed. “Face it Hayden, everybody knows you’d screw anything that walks. Upset you didn’t get to her first?”

With a massive roar, I threw out my arms, sweeping the table bare. People jumped back as trays flew across the room. Food splattered on clothes and faces. Metal silverware clinked and bounced to the floor. I glowered at Taylor, who stood unfazed, still donning her bored face. “If you weren’t a girl, I’d kill you.”

I yanked her phone from her hand and hummed it across the room. It smashed against the wall into hundreds of tiny pieces.

Taylor let loose a string of expletives and shoved my chest with her clenched fists. “You should be locked up for the rest of your pathetic life, you asshole.”

I jerked toward her, unsure of what I’d actually do if I got a hold of her. But the guys at the table jumped between us. They had major balls intervening, especially when crimson blurred my vision.

I drew a deep breath. Praying for the strength to walk away. I had