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"Come on, class calls."
"She'll be okay," Alex says before we climb out of the car.
"Yeah," I agree, although my stomach twists painfully as I say the word. "I really hope so."
As expected, the gossip surrounding us spreads through the students like a poison, but no one outwardly asks us about any of it. They just whisper and nod in our directions, letting us all know that they're watching our every move.
I hate it.
Back in Sterling Bay, I loved the attention. I ate all of it right up and did everything I could to keep the spotlight on me. To put it bluntly, I was an asshole.
Now, I just want to hide in the shadows and take Mia with me.
She sits beside me in our class, but she doesn't say a word and doesn't even look at me. I'd hoped that with Cade's overbearing presence gone, things here might get easier, but with every second that passes, I can see her closing herself off from the world. From me.
I wish I could fix it, I could say some magic words that will make all her fear, her pain and her nightmares disappear. But I can't. Other than be here, reassure her and prove that I can keep her safe, there is nothing else I can do.
Reaching over, I squeeze her thigh, needing her to know that she has all my support, but, as my touch connects with her, her entire body tenses, and after a beat, she pushes my hand away.
It breaks my fucking heart.
* * *
With every day that passes, I watch a little bit more of the girl I love vanish. By Friday, she's nothing more than an exhausted shell of her former self.
"You should stay here today," I say from her bedroom door.
"Stay here?" she asks as if it's the most ludicrous idea she's ever heard. "While you're all at college? No, thank you."
"Okay, well I'll stay with you."
"No," she says in a panic.
"Mia, please. I'm trying to help. You can barely keep your eyes open right now. Did you get any sleep last night?"
"A little," she admits with a wince.
A bang sounds out from somewhere in the house and she jumps a mile, her eyes going wide and the little color in her cheeks immediately draining away. In a beat, she's at the window and frantically looking around.
"He's not out there.” I sigh with desperation. “Security walk the perimeter every hour now. There's been no sign of him."
"I see him, Bex. He stands out there and watches me."
I stare at her as she loses her grasp on reality."If I let you go to class today, will you do something for me?"
"If youlet me? You don't own me, Bexley," she snaps.
"I'm aware, but I'm concerned about you. If you sit in class, will you even hear a word from the professor?"
"Of course," she lies. "Plus…" She hesitates, and it makes my chest ache. I know what's going to come next is going to hurt me. "He's not there."
"He's not here either, baby." I take a step toward her. "It's just us, and we're all here to protect you."
She nods, but she doesn't believe a word of it.
"Can we go now, please?"
"Does that mean you’ll do something for me?"
