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I knew after the first time we slept together that I was ruined for any other girls, but I didn’t care. I only wanted her, and now that I was sitting here without her, there was a gaping hole in my heart. It was agonizing. I couldn’t stop picturing the defeat on her face in that coffee shop and wondering if this was it for us. If she was going to leave Royal Falls over this morning’s horrendous humiliation, never toreturn.
Not so long ago, all I wanted was to see her gone from this town forever. Now the thought of her leaving filled me with cold dread. I never expected to feel something like that when it came to her, but it was a realfear.
I shook my head and let out a deep, shuddering breath. The thought of losing her might scare the shit out of me, but if she chose to leave, I would have to support her decision and accept it in theend.
I just wanted her to be okay. To be happy. Even if she never spoke to me again, never wanted to see me again, that would have to be all right, as long as she was allright.
Then it finally hit me, all the feelings I had for her. The desperate need and adoration mixed with the acceptance and strength to let her go if that was what she wanted forherself…
It waslove.
I fuckinglovedher.
And the way she looked at me yesterday… she felt the same way. That was why she was so broken when she thought I did this shit to her today. It wasn’t just from the betrayal and shock of seeing that horrible video posted up for everyone to see. It was from the way she felt safe enough to fall for me despite our fractured past, only to have the rug ripped out from under her almost immediately, leaving her feeling like she was all alone in lovingme.
Those feelings didn’t just disappear overnight. Or ever. That meant she had to listen to me eventually. Had to realize I didn’t do this awful thing toher.
My eyes narrowed as my mind suddenly veered off on another track. Until now, I’d been so hell-bent on trying to talk to Laney to convince her that I wasn’t responsible for today’s mess that I hadn’t stopped to consider whowas.
The aching pain inside me gave way to red-hot anger, fueling me with adrenaline as my mind raced through thepossibilities.
Who the hell hated Laney? Andwhy?
Right now, I had no idea. All I knew for sure was that someone was trying to get rid of her, and they wanted everyone to think it was me behind the effort. They were succeeding with that, too, which meant they were either fucking lucky or fucking smart. Perhapsboth.
It had to be someone close to her. Someone who was able to find out about that old video, gain access to it, and wield it like a fuckingweapon.
Someone Laney would never evenconsider.
I drew in a deep breath and clenched my jaw. I might not be able to take every ounce of her pain and make it my own like I wanted to, but I could still help her. I could pour half my efforts into making sure she was safe going forward and the other half into catching whoever the fuck was responsible for today’s shit, so that she’d never have to suffer like thisagain.
I straightened my shoulders and started the car. After pulling out of the parking bay, I floored it, and the roar of the engine combined with the adrenaline in my veins gave me a tinyhigh.
Whatever it took, I was going to get to the bottom of this sordid nightmare, and whoever it was who hurt Laney, they were going to wish they were never born when I was done withthem.
Even if it fucking killed me, they were going topay.
4
Laney
“Laney! Are you awake?”
I trudged over to my door and opened it, smothering a yawn. “Hi, Ms.Flores.”
Two large black messenger bags and a blue gift bag dangled from the guidance counselor’s right forearm, and one brown paper bag was clenched in her left hand. “Morning!” she said with a cheery smile. She held out the paper bag. “I brought you breakfast again. There’s a sandwich in there for lunch,too.”
“Thank you,” I said, opening the bag to find a large takeout coffee, a Saran-wrapped sandwich, and a plastic container filled with a heaping serve of muesli, yogurt and fruit salad. “You have no idea how much I appreciatethis.”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said, waving her free hand with a casual air. “Just doing myjob.”
I smiled. “Really, Ms. Flores. You’ve been such a lifesaver the last three days. I might’ve starved withoutyou.”
She set the other bags down on the floor and sighed. “I just wish I didn’t have to bring you everything like this,” she said. “How are you feeling today,anyway?”
I shrugged. “Okay, I guess. I couldn’t sleep much last night, so I got up really early and started working on anassignment.”
“Do you think you’ll be ready to return to your regular classes onMonday?”
