Page 34 of Loving the Liar

“Uh…” I hesitate. “Is Chris around? Professor Reeves told me to give this to one of his assistants.”

She looks up at me, her smile looking as hypocritical as they come. “Oh, you can give that to me.” Extending her arm, she expects me to hand it to her.

I hesitate, staying too far for her to grab my paper. “Isn’t Rose White meant to be the other assistant?” I ask.

She looks offended, her arm falling back down. “Technically, it was going to be between her and I. I find it really surprising that he took a first year.”

I guess that’s her answer then.

“I think he just didn’t want to take two transfer students as his assistants. It would have been weird,” she justifies, lost in her own thoughts and not caring one bit about what I’m here for.

“I don’t think I’m supposed to give this to you.”

She stands, dragging on the heavy silence when she refuses to tell me where Chris is.

Closing the short distance between us, she points at my jaw. This girl is so tall I have to crane my neck back to keep a semblance of equal footing. Towering over me, she presses her finger against my skin. I flinch and take a step back. She did it on purpose. Pushed exactly where my skin must be red or bruising from Reeves’s grip.

“The only way to succeed is through hard work, not by using what’s between your legs. I wouldn’t be that kind of girl if I were you, Ella.”

I feel my eyes round before I can control my expression. “Nothing happened in there,” I snap back.

At that same moment, the door leading to the hallway opens, and both Chris and Rose walk in, arms full of printed documents. They stop, taking in the scene for a second before Rose breaks the awkwardness by putting the papers down and walking toward me.

“Els, how are you?”

She takes me in a tight hug, keeping me against her chest, as if trying to give me some of her strength. She can spare some since she’s got so much. Rose is a badass who’s been through hell and back. When I was little, she and her twin were taken in by Chris’s family and became his foster siblings. I grew up with her, Jake, Chris, and Luke being my protectors. I guess Chris took it a step further.

“How are you holding up?” Rose asks in her raspy voice. “I haven’t seen you at all since we started again.”

I nod at her, muttering a quick I’m alright. I’m not about to get into it in front of that girl. When I pull away, Chris still hasn’t taken a step toward us, but Megan has moved right beside him.

“What are you still doing here?” he asks her, as she attempts to wrap her arm around his. He steps to the side, not even pretending he’s not trying to avoid her grip as he puts his documents on his desk. “I told you I’d meet you at home.”

I don’t think I’ve ever heard his voice so bothered. Chris is the king of keeping up appearances. He’ll always put in the effort to make everyone feel comfortable. I don’t recognize the grim behavior.

She offers him a frozen smile and tilts her head to the side. “I had time. I thought we could go home together.” When she looks at me, her smile widens. “Ella is here.” She points it out like it’s not obvious, clearly trying to bring the conversation to me.

Chris barely stops a huff, running a hand behind his neck. I know this telltale. He’s angry or anxious. Maybe both.

“Ella,” he says in that warm voice I love. My name sounds magical on his lips, yet when he keeps going, it drops a few degrees. “You remember Megan, right?”

His eyes dig into mine, and it feels like our bodies are the only ones in the room. How can he make everyone disappear with a simple look? How can he make his girlfriend so unimportant by the simple way he said my name?

This is so wrong.

“I remember,” I rasp, completely enchanted by whatever adoration he’s still managing to express without a single word.

I only met Megan once, and it’s blurry. A New Year’s Eve dinner Chris had organized at his house. I was so drugged up on diazepam that night that the second I started drinking champagne, I knew I wouldn’t remember anything. I shouldn’t have taken my meds and drank at the same time, but I was so anxious to see Chris that I didn’t care.

The reason I really know what she looks like is from stalking her socials when they started dating.

Rose must sense the way every single one of my muscles tense because she puts a hand at the small of my back, rubbing soothing circles. And thankfully, she tries to get me out of the situation.

“Well, it’s been great. Can we leave now?” she says, deadpan, not enjoying a single second of this. “Actually, I was going to meet Luke for dinner. Do you want to come, Els? I can drive you back to campus afterward.”

I want to answer, but I’m frozen on the spot, stuck under the glacial stare of Megan’s dark blue eyes. Why is she so scary?

The moment is cut off by Chris’s sudden stride toward me. He stops right before he bumps into me. Bringing his hand to my chest, he wraps his finger around mine and pulls my hand away.

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