Page 60 of Kings of the Campus

Jace steps between us, his voice calm but firm. “We’ve got to try, Alec. We can’t just sit here and do nothing while she’s going through this. If we don’t show up now, we might lose her for good.”

The weight of his words sinks in. The thought of losing Tessa, for real, after everything…it’s unbearable.

Devin steps closer, his voice softer now. “We’ve hurt her, yeah. But this is our chance to show her that we’re serious,that we’re here for her no matter what. It’s not about fixing everything in one night, but it’s about being there. For her. And for the baby, if…if there’s still time.”

I stop pacing, the gravity of the situation crashing down on me. Devin’s right. Jace is right. We’ve got to go, no matter what happens next.

“Alright,” I finally say, my throat tight. “Let’s go. We can’t let her face this alone.”

Jace nods, and Devin grabs his jacket. Together, we head for the door, ready to face whatever’s waiting for us at the hospital, hoping it’s not too late to make things right.

The drive to the hospital is short but the silence is deafening. The tension between us is thick enough to cut with a knife.

As we head inside, Devin marches up to the desk and asks about Tessa but the receptionist refuses to tell us anything about her, citing safety concerns.

“What now?” I ask, feeling completely lost and out of my element in this situation. I’m usually so good at staying in control but being around Tessa makes me feel very much out of control.

“I’ll call Matteo,” Jace mumbles. “Give me a sec.”

He heads outside to make the call and Devin and I stand there together while the receptionist eyes us with suspicion.

“I hope she’s okay,” he says, his voice trembling with worry. “I hope they can save the baby.”

I shove my hands in my pockets. “Me too. It has to be pretty scary. I just want her to know she’s not alone.”

Devin nods. “I’m not letting her go anywhere on her own anymore. Not until we’ve caught this stalker asshole.”

The stalker stuff was pushed to the back of my mind after the pregnancy revelation but when he brings it up, it reminds me of how much danger Tessa is in right now.

“I don’t want to let her out of my sight,” I admit. “Not anymore.”

Jace comes back in, looking grim. “Matteo gave us her room number but said to wait another fifteen minutes before we head up there because she’s being taken for an ultrasound.”

Devin walks over to one of the benches near the waiting area and sits down, slumping over as he puts his head in his hands. I join him, placing one hand on his back while I try to keep myself together.

It feels like this is all our fault. I keep thinking that if we’d just listened to Tessa, if we’d just shut the fuck up and believed her foronce, she wouldn’t have been walking to her car so late at night. She wouldn’t have stressed out so bad that she had to go to the hospital.

And maybe she wouldn’t be losing the baby.

Before I know it, Jace is nudging me.

“Matteo texted and said we can go up now,” he tells me. Devin and I stand up and follow Jace to the elevator where we make our way to the fourth floor.

Once we find Tessa’s room, we knock on the large door. Valencia answers, a scowl on her face at the sight of us.

“Go away,” she growls. “Tessa doesn’t want to see you right now.”

My heart is in my throat. “Please?” I beg, glancing around the side of the door but Valencia blocks my way.

“I’m not letting you assholes in. She doesn’t need more stress. Get out of here and don’t come back!”

35

JACE

Valencia stands in front of us like some kind of bouncer, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. She’s already yelled at us to go away but I’m not about to leave Tessa alone right now. Not like this.

“Valencia,” I start, putting on my most charming smile, the one that’s gotten me out of a hundred messes before. “Can we talk for a sec? Please?”

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