Page 35 of Somewhere Between Falling

I found the section I needed and was searching for the correct book when I felt him come up from behind me and wrap his arms around my waist.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, startled, as I turned to face him.

“You left your phone in my car.” He brushed his fingertips down the length of my arm before tightening his arms around my waist and pulling me in. “Figured you’d need it.”

“Tobias—” I started, looking anxiously around, but he pressed his lips to my own before I could continue. Quick and sweet. We stood there, only for a moment, in blissful happiness as we stared into each other’s eyes.

“I knew it,” Julie sneered, as she snapped a picture of us wrapped around each other with her phone, startling us both apart. Even though I was several inches taller than her five-foot-nothing frame, the way she was standing with her arms crossed, glaring at me with a smug look of contempt, I’ve never felt so small.“I knew you had to have cheated somehow. There was no way your paper was better than mine on its own merit. But even I never would have guessed you’d be desperate enough to sleep with the TA.”

And just like that, everything changed.

Chapter Twenty

It took me a minute to realize what had just happened.

My world had shifted sideways.

I wanted to vomit.

I wanted to cry.

I felt bone crushed.

I should have known better.

“Oh my God, this can’t be happening,” I muttered to myself.

“Tamsin, calm down. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“I knew something like this would happen. I knew it.” My heart was racing, and it felt like I couldn’t breathe. Is this a panic attack?

“It’ll be okay. If we need to, we’ll make the necessary adjustments, but there’s only a month left in the semester and then none of this will matter anymore.”

“I can’t do this.”

“Can’t do what?” he asked, genuine concern coloring his tone.

“I have to get out of here.”

I heard him call out my name as I rushed out the door, but I didn’t turn around. I couldn’t.

I knew better. This was exactly what I wanted to avoid. It was bad enough hearing people still talk about my dad and Blair. Now I’ve given them a reason to talk about me too, which is exactly what I wanted to avoid in the first place.

I practically ran to my dorm room, fully intending to throw myself on my bed and not re-emerge from my covers until this semester was over. My grades were probably high enough that I’d still pass most of my classes anyway. My plan to wallow, however, was derailed by Alex.

“What’s wrong?” she asked as soon as I closed the door behind me.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well, that’s too bad because I’m not leaving this room until you tell me what happened.”

The floodgates burst open, and I told her everything. She was relatively quiet while I spilled my guts. I told her who the secret guy was, and I could tell she wanted to say more about that but she let me finish.

“First of all, I cannot believe you didn’t tell me about Tobias. Rude. Second of all, I’m not going to let her get away with this,” Alex said, reaching for her phone.

“Who are you going to call?” I asked, praying it wasn’t my dad.He was the last person I wanted to be aware of what was going on.

“Keith.”

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