Page 36 of Cruel Steps

The bell rang, and I tensed as voices filled the halls of the Humanities building. My heart sped back up, and I struggled to breathe. A heavy arm wrapped around me, the smell of cotton and sea breeze infiltrating my panic, and I relaxed against my better judgment. My body was moved and pulled into a lap. I snuggled into the person, my body knowing who it was even if I refused to believe it.

Part of me wanted to push him away. If Hope saw us together, she’d take him, too. But I couldn’t seem to make my mouth move. It felt nice to be held, to let him shoulder the burden as I soaked in his comfort. Eventually, my heart rate slowed, and my breathing returned to normal as the adrenaline left my body. I relaxed further into his embrace, his steady heartbeat soothing my frayed nerves.

“Merbear?” His voice was so soft that I couldn’t ignore him any longer.

Lifting my head, I opened my eyes slowly and took in Colter’s concerned hazel eyes. People bustled around us, supposedly heading to their next class, but Colter ignored them and just held me.

The wound in my heart relished his attention, and I was dangerously close to shifting from having a crush to liking him… a lot.

“What happened, baby?”

My heart flipped at the term, and my words evaporated off my tongue. I stared at him, wishing I could curl up in his arms forever and let him deal with it for me.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I whispered. Had he not gotten the alert? It seemed like everyone in my class had. Hope was a lot of things, but a technical genius wasn’t one of them. Unless she had a new minion, there was no way she knew how to send it only to my class. Besides, that wasn’t her style. She took every opportunity to kick me, to remind me she had all the power.

“There you are,” a voice said from behind me, and I tensed. Colter’s face changed, and I watched him go from caring to menacing. Whoever it was didn’t take the hint to leave. “Oh, hey, Donovan. I brought Emerson’s stuff. She… forgot them in class.”

It was then I realized it was Cody. Shame washed over me, and my face heated at the reminder my entire class had seen something Hope had sent. Whatever it was, I knew it wouldn’t be good.

“Thanks. I’ll make sure she gets it.”

“Yeah, all right.” Cody cleared his throat. “Emerson?”

I shook my head. I couldn’t look at him and see more pity. Once had been enough.

“Okay, well, I put my number in your book.” Colter’s chest rumbled, and I realized it was from a growl. “Easy, Donovan. It’s not like that. We have a class project together.”

It’s not like that.

Why did that sting so much? I wasn’t interested in Cody, but his rejection still hurt. He’d been flirting before the video, so whatever was on it must be embarrassing enough that he’d lost interest.

Apparently, I’d unknowingly tensed at his words, and Colter frowned down at me. His eyes narrowed, but I shook my head that it wasn’t anything. Whatever was on my face wasn’t convincing, and he glared at Cody, his eyes shooting daggers. I felt terrible for Cody about whatever conclusion Colter had drawn, but I didn’t have it in me to correct it. This new side of Colter was doing things to my lady parts. It felt nice to have someone stand up for me. I’d never had that before.

“Whoa! Slow your roll, Donovan. I didn’t, it’s not, what,” he stuttered, pulling on my heartstrings.

Okay, I couldn’t let him suffer because I was too chicken to face him. We did have a project to do, and I didn’t want it to be anymore awkward. Lifting my head, I placed my hand on Colter’s cheek and pulled his face to me. He resisted, but eventually let me guide him away from murdering Cody with his eyes.

“It wasn’t him. He’s not the…” I shook my head, emotions clogging the rest of the words. Colter relaxed, eyes bouncing between mine, and nodded once he found whatever he needed. He kissed my forehead before returning to Cody.

“Do you know what happened?” he asked.

I tensed. Shit. I hadn’t thought this through. I opened my mouth to protest but didn’t know what to say, so I turned my head and pleaded with Cody to be quiet. He glanced down, his face softening when his eyes met mine, before a look of regret appeared.

“Sorry, Emerson, but Donovan’s got scary eyes right now, and I don’t want him to ‘forget to block’ during practice, and I get flattened. I’ve got too many dreams to risk an injury before it’s my time to shine.”

Cody was so damn earnest it was hard to be mad at him for spilling. But what surprised me was the news that Colter played football. Was there anyone on this campus who didn’t?

Cody lifted his eyes, and I knew my secret shame would change how Colter looked at me. So, I braced for it, pulling away, but Colter’s arms stayed wrapped tightly around me.

“I don’t know who did it, but an email was sent to the entire school with a video link.” He paused, clearing his throat. My cheeks heated. Whatever it was, it was bad. “It’s of Emerson.”

Of course, Colter couldn’t leave it at that. He pulled out his phone and checked his email, finding the right one and clicking on the link. With his arm gone, I successfully climbed off his lap and scooted down the bench to where Cody had placed my bag. I couldn’t handle Colter’s disgust with his arms around me. Feeling the loss of them would be too hard.

“What the fuck?” he said, hissing out the words. I tensed, hiding my eyes and pretending to look through my bag. “Mer, what is this?” His voice was harsh, and I knew I’d already lost him.

I shrugged one shoulder and wiped the tears that had reappeared.

“Hey! Don’t attack her,” Cody shouted, stunning me. I glanced up in surprise and found something in his eyes I hadn’t seen before—recognition.

---