AllFreeNovel
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I hate that he’s ruined this experience for me. University has always been a dream of mine. I took one year at college to get the grades I needed to attend, but with funds being low, I had to work my arse off every day to be able to afford to be here. I’ll be damned if I let him take that away from me. Not when I’ve worked so freaking hard to get here.
“Okay. At least we only have two lessons,” she breathes, just as someone knocks on the door. We both turn to each other, horror in our wide eyes. My breathing becomes rapid as I wring my hands together. Allie gulps. “Who is it?” she yells, stepping closer to the door.
“I am the Greek God of Whithall,” CJ booms in a deep voice. Allie rolls her eyes, stepping forward to open the door.
He and Cole stand in the hallway looking sharp. My eyes rush past CJ, seeking out Cole right away, and my chest exhales. The tightness I’ve been feeling in my chest since I woke up this morning, evaporates.
Cole is wearing a pair of dark, worn jeans, his white Nike trainers, and a blank T-shirt with a leather jacket. His hair is damp from a shower and his jaw left unshaven. He looks every little bit as dangerous as ever, yet I feel utterly safe in his presence.
“What are you doing here?” Allie asks, trying to sound annoyed as she looks at CJ with her eyebrows narrowed down. She needs to work on her acting skills because the sparkle in her eyes is giving away the fact she doesn’t mind him being here one single bit.
“We’re here to escort you two lovely ladies to class. We thought you might want to grab some coffee with us first, since yours is shit,” CJ remarks smugly, his gaze fully focused on Allie.
“Our coffee is not shit,” she lies stubbornly. Our coffee is totally shit. Mum picked up some crap stuff from the convivence shop yesterday instead of the normal brand we usually have.
“I could do with a decent coffee,” I announce, ignoring the death glare Allie is giving me. She curses under her breath when she realises she’s lost, and I smile.
“Nice hoody,” CJ teases, and I blush. Yes, I’m still wearing Cole’s hoody. It hangs down to my knees and is so baggy on the arms I have to roll the sleeves up. It most likely stinks of me by now too. Still, I can’t seem to part with the thing. It’s comforting. I like the way it makes me feel protected, like if enough of the hoody can cover me, the more invisible I will be when I leave here. I just hope my efforts aren’t in vain and that everyone looks past me.
“Thanks,” I whisper. He just chuckles and moves to help Allie with her coat.
“I am capable, you know,” she snaps.
“You are? I thought you were struggling, Cupcake,” he teases.
“How are you always this cheery in the morning?” she moans.
“I have stamina, baby,” he chuckles, waggling his eyebrows.
“Ugh, pig.”
“How are you doing this morning?” Cole asks once we step outside the flat.
I shrug, not wanting to get into my nightmares right now. “Okay.” Only Mum knows about them so far since she stayed in bed with me, holding me all night.
I’m sure he can tell I’ve had no sleep since I haven’t put any makeup on to cover up the dark circles. For some reason, the idea of putting it on my face sickens me. I’ve not even brushed my hair, and that’s saying something. I’ve literally scraped it up on the top of my head in a messy bun. I’ve got no motivation whatsoever to faff around with it or make myself look presentable.
Self-consciously, I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear before tucking my hands into the sleeves of the hoody, gripping the material in my fists.
“Have your mum and Sam gone?” he asks as we step into the lift, ignoring CJ and Allie bickering behind us.
“Yeah. They left this morning. They had to get back to work, but Mum promised to come back down again as soon as possible,” I inform him.
“It’s going to be okay,” he promises me, picking up on my nerves as we step out of the lift. My eyes begin to burn with unshed tears, and I have to look away from him before I break down.
“I’m scared,” I whisper so only he can hear. I don’t want Allie worrying or feeling any more guilty than she already does about me. After hearing the full story about what happened and how Logan brutally goaded her behind my back, I can understand why she’s so worried. She thinks he’s going to do the same to me.
Cole takes my arm gently, pulling me further back from Allie and CJ so that we’ve got some privacy.
“I’ve got the same lessons as you today. If you want me to stay with you, I will. I promise.”
“I can’t ask you to do that,” I whisper, ashamed I actually want him to and that I even consider it for a split second.
“You don’t need to.”
“Why are you so nice to me?” I ask him, looking up at him.
“Because my sister said I have to?”
