Page 141 of Dare To Fall

Miles grabs my arm. “Bella, come on!”

We hurry into the building and make our way to Eli’s room. I throw open the door without knocking, shove Miles inside, then close and lock it behind us. Eli’s head lifts from where he’s sitting, a sketchbook on his lap, and frowns at us.

“Is that Bella?” Kellan calls, poking his head out of the bathroom door.

“Some of the jocks just tried to ambush us.” My heart is still beating wildly in my chest.

Discarding the sketchbook, Eli uncoils from the bed. “Are you okay?”

I nod. “They were after Miles.”

Kellan steps out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his hips. “Did they hurt you?”

Miles doesn’t resist when Kellan pulls him into his arms.

“No, Bella got me the hell out of there. I should have known something like this was going to happen.”

“It’s not your fault that they’re all fucking homophobic.”

“I’ve lied to them for years.”

“Out of fear,” Kellan reminds him.

Eli takes my hand and leads me toward his bed. Sitting down on the edge of the mattress, he pulls me onto his lap and hugs me tightly. “I knew I should have gone for a run with you.”

I loop my arms around his neck, and press my face into the side of his neck. “I told you they weren’t after me.”

“I spoke to Kellan about the texts.”

I stiffen. “Without me?”

Eli’s lips brush my cheek. “Don’t be angry with me, Kitten.”

Miles and Kellan are talking quietly, but all my focus is on Eli.

I shift on his lap and palm his cheek to pull his head around to meet his gaze. “What did he say?”

“He checked the phone. They were contacting you over spring break and weren’t happy when you didn’t respond. It’s someone in our year. At least, that’s his guess. They live in the Hamptons too.”

“How do you know that?”

Eli’s smile is faint. “Because they checked to see if we were at the house.”

The thought of them peering in through my bedroom window makes my skin crawl. “Oh my god.”

“Don’t worry.” His arms tighten around me. “Kellan messaged them pretending to be you and explained you’d left the phone at the school over the break. They keep leaving clues he’s been following.”

“You mean he’s close to finding out who’s behind it all?”

Eli nods. “Yes, Kitten. I think he is.”

Chapter 95

Eli

Miles stays with Kellan in our dorm room that night. Once the lights are out, I can hear them talking quietly across the room.

“Do you want me to go down to your room and grab some stuff?” I roll over to face Kellan’s bed. “You don’t have to go back there.”

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