AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t say it,” she whispers. “Don’t say I told you so.”
I tense up and keep my mouth shut.
“Did you see it?” she asks.
I don’t ask what. I can easily guess. “I haven’t seen anything, but Jaxon has been bragging.”
“I took the video down the second it was posted, but it’s out there somewhere. Maybe no one saw it, but I doubt it.”
I can barely say the words. I have to force them out of my throat. “Did you have sex with him?”
Her expression contorts in disgust as she finally makes eye contact with me. “No, I wouldn’t do that on video.”
“Then what did you do?” I ask quietly.
Her cheeks turn beet red. “The same stuff I do with you.”
We both sit in silence, and how I’m controlling my rage, I don’t know how. My head feels as if the top is going to explode as I grip the armrest hard. It’s not her I’m angry with. It’s him. I reach for her hand, and she lets me hold it. Charlotte rests her head on her shoulder, and fuck, something inside me transforms. I know I’ve never felt for anyone like this before. I don’t know if I can handle it.
“Are you dating that girl?” she asks.
I’m confused. “What girl?”
“The one from the Halloween party. The pretty one?”
I know the girl she’s talking about, and I did flirt with her to make Charlotte jealous, but we didn’t do anything. I gave the girl a kiss, but I felt nothing. All I felt was emptiness touching her. She made me miss Charlotte. My fingers touch Charlotte’s wrist, and I stroke her soft skin. I trace my thumb along her veins. I feel more tenderness for her, just touching her like this, than I do for anyone else.
“No, Charlotte. I’m not dating her,” I reply. “I don’t want to date her, not when I have you.”
She looks at me, bites her lip, and then the tears fall. “I don’t know why I did it. It was more of a dare than anything else. I didn’t even need the extra money. I wore a mask, but he pushed it off my face. He did it on purpose.”
I pull her body out of the seat and into my lap. I hold her while she sobs and coughs. And when she slows down, I wipe the tears off her cheek with the cuff of my shirt.
“I should’ve taken care of you,” I whisper.
Her arms stiffen around my shoulders. “Like you did before?”
“Yes.” My voice deepens. “He wouldn’t have done that if he knew you were mine.”
She stares at me with wide eyes until I lean in for a kiss.
She turns her head before I can touch her lips. “You forgive me for touching him?”
I nod and take her chin firmly in my hand. I press my mouth against hers, feeling her breath on my lips. She pulls away and rests her forehead on my shoulder, clinging to me as her body melts against mine.
“I should’ve taken care of you, Charlotte,” I whisper. “Now and then.”
Chapter 33
Charlotte
The random noises in the dorm are creepy when there’s hardly anyone around. Creaks and bumps echo in the empty hallways, and I try my best to ignore them while I study in my room. My gaze keeps leaving my books and going to the floor by the door. It’s been weeks since anyone has pushed a piece of paper under my door. No invites or weird notes, but my nerves stay on edge. I sit here and wait for something awful to happen.
Alpha had another party last weekend, but I didn’t go. And no one asked if I was going. The only excuse for having a party is keeping warm after the first snowfall of the season. Autumn is solidly gone, and winter is hanging around to depress the shit out of everyone.
I give up on studying and lie on my bed, pulling the corner of the curtain away from the window. Another snowfall, and I watch the flakes hurry past the security light shining down from the rooftop. The rhythm relaxes and distracts me from what happened with Jaxon. I didn’t know Asher could be so sweet.
Before Jaxon even left my room Halloween night, I blocked the video on my channel. Panicking, I pushed him away and hunched over my laptop, naked. I did what I could to prevent the video from being broadcast. Later, I checked; there were a few hits, but hopefully no one else saw it. No one else will figure out that Daddy is no longer supporting me.
