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“Hey, Tanner. Didn’t realize you were in here,” Alex said, with Hazel dutifully by his side.
I clenched my jaw; almost certain he was going to pick a fight for eavesdropping, since the hockey players were known for their short tempers. At six foot three, I wasn't exactly a short guy, but Alex was a defenseman, and I'd heard he liked to fight. Something I didn't want to be a part of right before the start of summer training camp.
“Yeah?” Without asking, he drew the chair opposite me out and took a seat. Then he gestured for Hazel to do the same. Holding her books, she stared down at him with a hesitant smile before joining us.
He twiddled his thumbs. She looked anywhere but me, and all I was getting were awkward tea party vibes.
“Just wanted to see how you're holding up?”
The concern laced across Alex’s face didn't match his question. Holding up? Was he talking about my benching? It must have been because he was a victim of the same fate as me. “I'm good. Training's going well, and I hope to be starting QB next season since Aiden has lost all drive now that he has Alyssa Barnes on his arm. What about you? Have you gotten your grades up enough to play?”
He let out a sarcastic laugh and glanced at Hazel. “Yeah, man. I’m good, but I wasn’t talking about football. I was talking about Aster.”
Aster?
I flicked my gaze to my phone, on the off chance that she texted me back finally. She hadn’t.
“We're fine,” I replied sternly because, frankly, it’s none of his business, and I was surprised he’d even asked.
“Really?” Hazel piped up eagerly. “Have you spoken to her today? She hasn’t been answering any of our calls, and we’re worried.”
Concern immediately spikes through my body. Was I missing something?
“No,” I drawled out, looking between the two of them, expecting one of them to say something.
Hazel slowed, and some kind of realization crossed her face as she looked at Alex. “Oh, you haven’t? When was the last time you spoke with her?”
“Yesterday morning. She was busy with the Dean yesterday, so I didn't want to bother her.” I left out the fact that I've texted and called her several times to no avail. “Why? What’s wrong?” As I looked between them, their eyes grew wider, and Alex blew out a long breath.
“Guessing you haven't checked your emails yet, then?”
I grabbed my phone and unlocked it. There still wasn't a message from Aster, but I wasn't hung up on that. I was hung up on these apparent emails that I hadn’t checked.
“No. What's in them?” I stood, flicking through my phone, ready to leave and get to my girl.
My heart beating at an erratic pace because I expected the worst. If she’d been hurt, I’d never forgive myself. Not after what happened to Thea in our senior year of high school.
I flicked my thumb across the screen because it was taking too long to load. It may have only been a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime.
Alex’s hand clasped my shoulder. “I’m sorry that we’re the ones that have to tell you this.”
“Tell me what?” I ground out so loudly that people around us whipped their heads in our direction.
He was taken aback, and instead of waiting for his dramatics, I turned my attention back to the phone. Thirty new messages appeared in bold, and as I swiped through them, I didn’t see anything nefarious. That was until the one with a little red flag appeared popped up at the top.
URGENT MEETING REQUEST WITH DEAN FARREN.
My brows furrowed.
What was that about?
Did this have something to do with Aster’s meeting yesterday?
“Aster's being investigated,” Hazel finally admitted. Pity lined their faces as I glanced at them.
“For what?” It was the only thing I could muster out, because so much was whirring through my head.
“For her tutoring practices.”
