Page 43 of The Unravelings

And after that incident, Amanda put a target on my damn back and had it out for me every step of the way. I tried hard to keep it from the guys, but my father forbade me to fight back. For any reason. He wanted her to hurt me. Sliced, punched, thrown to the ground, and much more.

Amanda got away with murder in the eyes of my father. All because he thought she was more important than me. Maybe she was. Maybe her father could get him out of jail and get the charges dropped, and I couldn’t. But it still hurt that my father prioritized other people over his own family.

Only the guys understood. They helped me avoid her, even when she sought me out.

After lying on my living room floor with blood leaking from my throat and a fire raging around me, I promised myself I’d never be a weak person again if I made it out alive. It had gotten me nowhere. Ever. Not with Amanda. My dad. Franco. Or even Hux, JJ, and Mack.

It got me fucking killed. Tears get you nowhere. Being soft and kind doesn’t keep the bullies at bay.

Temperance clears her throat and gains my attention. Right. No more memories, Olivia. Keep yourself in the present instead of falling into the past. The past gets you nowhere. Only the future holds what you need. I sit up straighter, trying not to shrink under her scrutiny.

She touches her thin-rimmed glasses as they perch on the end of her nose. Her mouth screws up, and she taps her pen on the desk impatiently, creating a rhythm against the wood while her bracelets jingle on her wrist.

I wish she’d get on with this so I can go back to my room and pretend I don’t exist again. Well, until my class with Wilder and Mack later today.

Internally, I groan. How can this day get any worse? I finally emerge from my bedroom, and this is the prize I get?

I deserve the biggest margarita, a million dollars, and a two-hour massage after this. If only…

“You missed three days’ worth of classes.” She raises a brow and taps her pen faster.

“I had the flu,” I say flatly.

Did she want me in class puking my guts out and contagious? I mean, she doesn’t have to know I was wallowing in depression and drinking myself into a numbing state. Not exactly the flu.

“You can’t afford to miss any more classes. And these grades—” She trails off in disgust, peeking at her computer. “Failing every single class you’re taking.” She practically clicks her tongue at me like she’s my mother. “How on earth have you managed that so early into the semester? How is this even possible?”

I don’t know, lady. You tell me. It doesn’t seem possible at all. It’s almost like some asshole who desperately wants my attention is purposefully messing with my grades. Well, mission accomplished, Jasper Jeremiah. It got more than my attention. It got hers. Or maybe that’s what he wants? No clue. All I know is, if JJ can hack into my personal file, he can probably hack my grades and make them bad.

This has his stupid name written all over it.

“I’ve brought the matter to the dean,” she emphasizes the last word with wide eyes. “I’ve recommended that your scholarship be dropped and your placement here terminated.” She taps her pen harder now with agitation as my heart nearly leaps out of my chest. Yes! Expel me! Take me away from this hell my stupid uncle has put me in. “But the dean has agreed to give you a second chance. With conditions.”

And like the life I had before, everything slips away before I can fully grasp it.

“Conditions?” My shoulders tense, and my stomach knots.

“Yes,” she says, dropping her pen. “Conditions. You’re to improve your grades within the next month to prove you’re Greenwood U material. We are the best and brightest university around. We’ve even selected a new tutor for you.”

I swallow hard when she shoves a sheet of paper in my direction and taps her nails repeatedly on the name scrawled across the top.

Jasper Jeremiah fucking Jones.

It’s right there in print. His name. My shitty fate.

Never ask what could go wrong, because everything will start to fall apart the moment that thought enters your brain. Case in point.

My entire body erupts in a cold sweat, slicking my palms. Fuck. He’s forcing my hand. Maybe if I had answered his texts and talked to him, this wouldn’t have happened.

I eye the door like a trapped animal. If I run now, I can hightail it back to my room and pretend this never happened. Right? No. Fuck. I need to focus on what my advisor is saying, but static fills my brain, and my ears ring.

“A tutor?” I finally breathe.

“Yes. You’ll find his contact information on the sheet and—” Her mouth hangs open as a knock taps against the door, stopping her mid-sentence. Before she can utter a word, the door slowly opens, revealing my new fate.

Tall. Dark hair. Familiar brown eyes. Wrapped in a T-shirt and jeans, with confidence oozing off him.

My entire body seizes at the sight of him slowly walking through the door. The click of the door shutting sets the hairs on my body on end. Memories of the night I died roar through my mind. The way his eyes watched me from beneath his mask as he held me down, letting Franco finish me off.