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No! It couldn’t have been him. Could it?
My legs give out from underneath me and I grab the door. “Sorry,” I say to a girl coming out. I slide my hand across the outside wall, bracing myself against the structure. My nails embed in the stone as I try to get a grip. On the wall. On myself. On what I just heard.
He definitely called me baby girl. I heard him correctly. He’s drugged girls in the past. Why didn't I see this? How could I have been so wrong?
I spot Ridge in the distance, but everything around him is a hazy cloud; he’s all I see. His eyes lock with mine as my stomach swims with grief.
I’m gonna be sick.
In an instant, I tear open the door and haul ass to the bathroom on the right.
As soon as I’m in a stall, I click the lock and my knees hit the floor, not caring about the potential filth I’m kneeling in. Nothing can make me feel as revolting as the knowledge that I let Cade into my bed, underneath my clothes. I kissed him. He put his fingers inside me and I came around them, all the while thinking it was Ridge. Then I assumed it was Zeke. But all this time…it was Cade.
Leaning over the toilet, everything comes out. I gag and cough and throw up until I’ve emptied my stomach completely. Then I drop down on the floor with my back pressed to the stall.
I break down. A mess of tears and snot and regret. When the bathroom door opens, a light breeze hits my back from the gap in the stalls. I pay no mind to whoever just entered. I sob uncontrollably, not caring who hears me on the other side of this stall.
“Angel?”
His voice hits my ears and I never could have anticipated the sense of relief that washes over me. My head lifts. “Ridge?” I cry harder, getting to my feet so I can tear open the door, and when I see him, I collapse in his arms. “Ridge.” My head rests on his shoulder that catches every tear that falls down my face. His arms wrap around me and I feel safe.
“You’re okay. I’ve got you, Angel. I’ve always got you.”
We stand like this for several minutes. Even as two girls walk in, only to walk right back.
Ridge doesn’t press for answers or shy away from my hold. He just keeps his arms wrapped around me, not letting go until I’m ready.
Another minute passes, maybe two, and I rub my face on the shoulder of his coat. When I take a step back, his thumbs sweep under my eyes, and the solemn look on his face is endearing. No judgment. Just him being here for me. “You ready to talk about it?”
I nod. “I think so.”
He takes my hand and leads me over to the sink before turning on the water. Running his hand under it, he adjusts the cold and hot a couple times, then positions me directly in front of the sink. “Lean down.”
I’m not sure why, but I do. Then he splashes some lukewarm water on my face while holding my hair from behind. In a swift motion, he seizes some paper towels from the holder and pats my face as I straighten my back. “Tell me what happened.” He keeps dabbing and patting, drying my face and wiping the tears that continue to spill.
I swallow hard, feeling like a ball is resting in my throat. Then I choke out the words, “It was Cade.”
“I know. I saw him touch you when you entered the building. I tried to catch him in time, but came after you instead. Don’t worry, Angel. I’ll take care of him.”
“No,” I correct him, “it’s not about him touching my face earlier. Cade is the one who came into my room that night. He’s the guy I thought was you. He must have killed Zeke, too.”
It all makes sense now. Cade took advantage of me. Then he lured Zeke to my room, while I was knocked out from the pill he gave me. Then he somehow framed me by stealing my phone.
His fists clench. The corded veins in his neck protrude and he grits his teeth. “You're sure?”
“Mmhmm. Pretty sure. The guy that night kept calling me ‘baby girl.’ It’s how I came to the realization it wasn’t you. Earlier, at the door, Cade called me baby girl, and it was the same voice. Same cockiness.”
“Where’s Scar?”
“In class.”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. “I’m calling her. Telling her to leave class. I don’t want you to be alone.”
“Why? What are you doing?”
Completely ignoring my question, his fingers hover over the dial pad on his phone. "What’s her number?”
I grab it away from him and hold it behind my back. “What are you planning to do, Ridge?”
