Page 145 of Loving the Liar

“When’s Mom coming back from France?”

“I don’t know, but you’ll be fine for another week here, at least.”

My brother can really read me, can’t he? “I should go back to campus. I can’t miss classes.”

“You’re unwell. You’ll go back when you’re better.”

“Peach and Alex are worried.” Who wouldn’t be after they saw the massacre I had made of myself.

“Then text them that you’re safe here with me. I’m telling you to rest, Ella, and I’m telling you you’re not going anywhere I can’t keep an eye on you. If Chris approaches you. I want to know.”

Heat creeps up my cheeks, translating the anger amping up within me. “Don’t tell me what to do. I’m a big girl, not the stupid five-year-old you think I am.”

“I should have told you what to do a long time ago,” he snaps, standing up from the sofa. “I should have clearly spelled it out to you to not date my best friend. Had you had an ounce of honesty toward me, I could have told you he was a controlling asshole with a handsome face. Why do you think I told all my friends to stay away from you? I know they’re not good enough for you. Do you think you know him better than I do? You fell for his stupid shit like every other girl did, and now I’m forced to fix shit I was never prepared to deal with. So cut me some fucking slack.”

My gaze drops to my hands on my lap, shame tightening my chest. “We were in high school. I had no idea what I was doing.”

“He knew what he was doing. He’s the exact kind of man I wanted to protect you from, Els.” His voice is calmer, but I can still hear the betrayal in it.

“It’s not my fault this time,” I rasp. “I… He…” I’m so scared to say the words out loud. “He doesn’t want to let me go. Even with Megan in the picture.”

“He will let you fucking go, or he’ll die.”

My heart stutters before it drops to my feet, and a wave of dizziness washes over me. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“He’s your best friend. Even if he wasn’t, you can’t…you can’t kill people.”

He crosses his arms over his chest, facing me and forcing me to face the truth in the process. “Do you want him to let you go?”

The honesty in his question makes me unwell. I don’t want to answer that.

“Do you?” he insists.

“Things between Chris and I have always been complicated, and I don’t expect you to understand.”

“Do you hate him, or do you want him, Ella? The question can’t be any simpler than that.”

“Both!” I bark. “Both, okay? Now leave me the fuck alone.”

I stand up with a huff, ready to avoid the questions that point out exactly how fucked-up my feelings for Chris are, but my phone makes a noise.

The Hermes noise.

And my gut is telling me that I should check it right. Now.

I look down, unlocking the SFU app with a swipe of my thumb and let the post load.

“No,” I cry out, the floor falling under my feet. “No, fuck. No.”

I collapse back onto the sofa, head swimming.

She just can’t get enough!

Uh-oh… is this how Ella Baker keeps her spot in Professor Reeves’s class?

Sometimes under the desk, sometimes bent over…and her grades keep climbing!

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