21. Haley
21
HALEY
N ews of Eli’s trouble spread fast. Everyone had already talked about that car being damaged from that big party. That was old news, but the excitement about it came back full force with Preston telling everyone—and his dad—that Eli was at fault.
I read the posts and gossip online in countless posts about how Eli’s scholarship would be revoked. Lots of conspiracy stories came with that notion. More popped up with the thoughts that he could be kicked out of school completely and not allowed to graduate. That was how much clout the West family had, not only in Marsten, but at this college.
“I was getting ahead of myself,” Eli said glumly as we sat at a table near the food court. Close by the coffee shop and a wing of the main hall where lots of classrooms and lecture auditoriums were located, we passed the time talking about what he could do to salvage the situation and stay positive. He had a meeting with the dean this afternoon and another meeting with the financial aid department and registrar tomorrow morning. I wasn’t sure what I could actually do, but I listened and gave him my ideas, hoping he knew he wasn’t alone.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
He sighed, reaching over to guide me over to sit on his lap, wanting to hug me close instead of sitting next to me. “I was looking forward to graduating and being done here. I’ve been getting sick of the college scene and all the immature shit that happens here.”
“Says the guy who got in the driver’s seat of an expensive classic car while buzzed…” I scolded lightly.
“But I didn’t?—”
“Intend to drive. I know. I know.”
“I was just looking forward to putting this behind me. I could leave town and find a job away from my parents.”
He gazed at me with so much patience and affection that I felt like I was his queen on his lap.
“Where?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Anywhere. Just so long as I never have to deal with them again.”
Nodding slowly, I leaned against him and relaxed. This wasn’t the first time we’d talked about our futures. “I know what you mean. I’ll be sad to leave Aunt Cindy when I go to move to the city to be with Nat, but there’s no way I’ll stay here.”
“Because you wouldn’t get into grad school here,” he said.
“That and I’m so sick of it all. I hate the judgment. How everyone assumes I’ll be like my mom. Or even my sister.” I explained to him that Natasha had been given a date-rape drug that night Grayson was conceived, but when she told the cops, they dismissed her, saying she was just like our mother, that it had to be her fault that she was raped.
“I’m sick of the bullying from everyone.” I hung my head.
“I’m sorry,” he said, tipping my face up and kissing me softly.
It felt like both another apology from him for ever bullying me and an apology that I'd suffered from others too. Now that he’d explained a little more, I understood why he’d acted the way he had, changing from a friend to a bully.
“What if…” I looked up at him, marveling in the intensity of his blue eyes that never failed to mesmerize me. I was still too scared to accept that he was this committed to exploring this thing we were doing. Whatever it was. “What if we got out of here together?”
He slid his hand over my thigh. “Like right now? A quickie before my meeting?”
I laughed lightly, kissing him back since it was kind of empty over here. PDA wasn’t something I wanted to go wild with, but it seemed private on this side of the large room. “No. Not a quickie.”
“To leave Marsten together?” he asked, smiling wider. “I’ve actually thought about that already.”
I raised my brows, unable to hide my grin. “You have?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Hell yeah. I’ve been trying to be strategic about where to move in terms of having employment, but in the city, I’d have lots of options for work.”
Hope blossomed in my chest, and I let it set in and spread through me. I couldn’t resist kissing him again, framing his face and reveling in how he always wanted to lean into my touch.
“You'd better hurry,” I told him. “It won’t look good to be late to your meeting with the dean.”
With a heavy sigh, he released me. I stood, but he hugged me at my waist to keep me in his space as he looked up at me. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“Yeah. Aunt Cindy is going to pick me up from the library.” She wouldn’t be able to come get me until an hour after my last class was over, and I wanted to make sure that Eli had time to handle his things without worrying about making time for me. He had a lot on his plate.
He stood, kissing me once more before we parted ways.
I grabbed my bag and slung the strap over my shoulder, wishing things didn’t have to be so hard. So difficult. We were both so close to moving on to a new future, and it wasn’t fair that life had to be this much of a challenge. After so long of wanting to fit with someone, wanting to be with someone who cared for and cherished me, I would lose him in the end. It wasn’t easy to see him suffering, but I knew there was nothing I could do.
As I looked up, I caught Preston watching me from the other side of the area with tables.
He glared, narrowing his eyes as he stayed there like a hawk in the distance.
This time, he was only watching.
Recently, he’d upped his taunts and teases whenever he walked past me or saw me in class.
With him, my old mantra for dealing with bullies still applied.
Ignore. Avoid.
And I did. Even with the increase of his calling me a whore.
This was a big part of why I didn’t want to be so public with Eli. Keeping our relationship a secret would help cut down the criticism from everyone that I was actually with someone for the first time. It wasn’t anyone’s business whom I was with or what I did with Eli, but I knew people would talk.
Preston did. But I ignored him all I could.
He walked behind me toward my next class, one he was also in.
All through the lecture, I felt his attention on me.
Afterward, he continued at it, stalking close by as I walked to the library. His stare stayed ever-present on my back.
No matter how quickly I tried to reach the library, I felt his presence too close for comfort.
He wasn’t just watching me. He was hounding after me. He was hunting me down.
Breaking into a run as I reached the path that curved toward the library where I could wait for Aunt Cindy, I dared to take one glance over my shoulder.
He ran. Now that he noticed that I’d spotted him, he charged after me, clearly chasing me.
I sprinted faster, but I slipped in a slimy stretch of a puddle left from a cold spring rain. My shoes skidded, and as I tumbled down into the grass, he reached me.
“You little fucking whore,” he growled, grabbing my upper arms and forcing me into the ornamental shrubs of the landscaping.
“Let go of me!” I fought back, wrestling to get free.
“You’re nothing but a goddamn tease.” He gripped my neck, squeezing hard like he wanted to choke me. “You don’t put out for anyone but that fucking loser, huh?” He slapped my face as I tried to scream.
The bite of agony seared through me, radiating with heat over my cheek. This time, the pain didn’t feel good. The pain didn’t lead the way to an endorphin rush and make me feel pleasure. Red-hot anger and terror swept through me, and I tried not to lock up with panic under his attack.
“You won’t put out for anyone but fucking Young,” he snarled, clearly delusional and angry as he clawed at my clothes, trying to force my pants down.
“Stop! Get off me?—”
He silenced my shouts with another hard smack to the face. This one was so hard, so sharp, that it stole my breath.
“Help!”
Nothing I said or did stopped him. He was crazed, frantic to get my clothes off so he could rape me, but the thought of anyone other than Eli touching me pushed me to fight back harder. And harder.
As he struggled to hold me against the wall, I let all my fury sweep into a hot, boiling energy. I shook, grinding my teeth and forcing my arm up between us so I could jam my palm up at his nose with all my might.
“Ahh!” He flung back, putting his hand up to his nose as blood gushed out.
I didn’t wait.
I didn’t linger.
Without another glance back at my bully, the one who tried to hurt me more than with words and cruel jokes, I sprinted away. Desperation fueled me. For the first time, I couldn’t ignore or avoid him. This was fight or flight. Now that I’d fought to get free, it was time to escape until I could feel secure again—something only possible in Eli’s arms.