Page 110 of Jump on Three

“You will make it your mission to let everyone know there is no more ‘Creepelyn.’ I do not care what you have to do, if I hear a single person using that bullshit, you will carry the blame. You hurt my girl again; you will feel it times a hundred in return. Whatever you’ve done to Evelyn is finished. Do you understand me?”

Her chin quivered. A small part of me disliked scaring a girl, but most of me was pleased she feared me. That meant she would take me seriously and I wouldn’t have to go any further.

“I can’t control what other people say,” she protested.

“You will, or you’ll face the consequences we discussed.”

“Ivan,” she whined. “Please, I—”

“No. You have nothing to say to me. I’m done with you, girl.”

I pushed her just enough to move her out of the path of the door then swung it closed and flipped the lock. Evelyn was in the same spot, crowded against her desk, her fingertips digging into her thighs.

I stood by the door, taking a breath to regain my control. The things those girls had been saying played on repeat in my head. Had they said that to Evelyn? Had they been calling her that shit right under my nose?

No, this wasn’t going to calm me, and I needed to be calm for my girl.

“Evelyn.”

Her body jerked, her head turning toward me. “I—” There was nothing else. Her mouth worked as if she was trying to speak but couldn’t form the words.

“It’s over, angel. Whatever she was making you do is not going to happen anymore. You don’t have to worry about her or her friends.”

Her lips rolled over her teeth, eyes darting around the room in panic. “I’m hungry. I would like to go to the dining hall now.”

I shook my head, confused. "You won’t talk about what I just walked in on?”

She waved me off. “It was no big deal, and I really am quite hungry.” She slipped her bag over her shoulder, nodding toward the door behind me. “Shall we go?”

“Evelyn…”

She lowered her head like a bull prepared to ram me out of the way. “I’m hungry. I would really like to have dinner now.”

Even though everything inside me screamed in protest, I let her out of the room. I needed to talk this out, but my girl’s needs weren’t the same. Luckily, I was patient. I’d give her time to eat and sort through her thoughts, then she’d tell me exactly what the hell was going on.

After we finished eating, I took her back to my room for more privacy. Freddie was at a late study group, so it was just the two of us.

Closing my bedroom door, I picked Evelyn up and carried her to my bed. There, I tucked her in my lap, my back against the headboard. I took her shoes off and toed off mine, getting us comfortable. I had no intention of letting her leave until I knew how deep this thing with Layla went.

“I need you to talk to me,” I said softly.

“Are you angry at me?”

“No. I’m angry for you.”

She exhaled a shuddering breath. “I really could have handled Layla. She’s a bitch, but I’m used to her kind of bitchiness. She forgets me as soon as she has what she needs.”

Sickness swamped my gut. Evelyn had been going through something on her own right under my fucking nose. And she was used to it. Evelyn, who would never hurt anyone, whose voice was a tinking spoon in a teacup, who barely passed five feet tall, was used to being treated unkindly. There was nothing right about that. In fact, everything was wrong with it.

I had to work hard to keep the anger and frustration out of my tone. I was not angry at Evelyn. I might have been frustrated with her, but I would never take that out on her.

“What does she need?” I asked.

“As she said, she needs help with her essays.” Her face pressed into my neck, and her hand delved down the back of my shirt, tracing her favorite tattoo.

“Why the hell would you help her? She’s not a nice girl.”

“It was the only way I could stay on the swim team.”

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