Page 40 of Dare To Fall

Me: Medical seeing to my first-degree burn.

Clutching my bag in one hand and my cell in the other, I walk out of the room.

Sin: Meet you outside the dorm building. I need you not to freak out.

I frown down at his words.

Me: What’s happening?

Sin: Just trust me.

Me: What are you going to do?

Eli doesn’t respond, which sets my anxiety on edge. I cross the campus until I see the dorms. A crowd has gathered outside the main doors, and Eli and Kellan are leaning against one of the walls. The second Eli sees me, he straightens and stalks toward me. The air of determination around him makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. My pace slows as he comes closer.

What is he going to do? Why did he tell me not to freak out?

His eyes stay fixed on mine, giving away nothing. The crowd follows in his wake, and I force myself to keep my breathing steady when he reaches for me. His hand wraps around my jaw and tips my head up.

“When did I tell you it was okay to fuck Kellan?”

“Don’t—” I try to shake my head, but his grip stops me from moving.

“She’s shaking.” Someone in the gathered throng laughs. “Maybe she’s scared he’s going to eat her.”

Eli smooths the pad of his thumb back and forth across my cheek, eyes cold and unyielding. “Get on the floor and kiss my feet.”

Fear uncurls at his demand. “Please don’t do this.”

I search his face for an ounce of softness, but his expression is aloof, lips set in a thin line, eyes narrow. This is the monster. The bully I’ve come to know. There’s no trace of Sin or the lover I’d been in bed with this morning.

Is this just all for show?

The way he’s acting seems so real, and it sends a chill down my spine.

“Do it.” His voice is soft. “Get on your fucking knees and kiss my feet.”

I blink fast, trying to stem the fall of tears. “No, please.”

The fingers on my jaw flex. “Last chance, or I’ll make you do something worse.”

My mind runs wild with the possibilities of what that could mean. I lower myself to the grass at his feet, and stare down at the ground. Despair is a heavy weight in my stomach.

Fingers tangle in my hair, yanking my head up.

“Lips on my foot now.”

My chest constricts at the ice in his gaze, its shards piercing my chest. I shake harder, unable to contain the very real fear that’s running through my body. The moment he lets me go, I bend down and kiss his shoe, tears spilling down my cheeks.

Chapter 25

Eli

The moment her mouth touches my sneaker, I press it against her lips and then use my foot to shove her backward. She lands on her ass, hands behind her.

“Did you really think you could cause trouble between me and Kellan?” I keep my voice steady, cool, and embrace the monster they all think I am.

She doesn’t respond, staring up at me out of terrified blue eyes.

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