Page 93 of Penalized Love

She shifts her body so her feet are on the ground, and her leg bounces up and down.“I don’t know, Isla. Maybe I’m just imagining it. He doesn’t want anything serious, and neither do I.”

This whole thing is new territory for us because, as I said before, what the fuck?

Before I can say anything more, the door leading from the living room common area upstairs to the first floor of dorm rooms swings open with a loud creak, startling both Selene and me. I look up to see Tessa standing there, her eyes narrowing at the sight of us.

Just my damn luck.

“Ah, there is my lovely roommate,”she says, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

She is going to start something and has no issue doing it in front of Selene. I should take the polite approach, although the urge to snap at her is growing by the second.“Tessa, did you need something?”

Her eyes shift between Selene and me, and I can see the calculations she is making in her head. The corners of her lips flip up into a smirk, and I brace myself for what she is about to say.“Oh, don’t mind me. I was just heading out. You should keep your side of the room cleaner, though, because it’s rude to have to be stepping over your shit to get what I need to get done.”

Although I’m glad she didn’t hear what Selene and I were talking about, Tessa’s comment raises every red flag in my body. While I’m not the neatest person, I know for a fact that I left my side of the room in decent shape before I came down to meet Selene. I take a slow, deep breath, trying to stop the anger that is rising in my chest.“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Tessa. My side is clean.”

Tessa snorts.“Really? Because from what I saw, it looks like a tornado blew through. Clothes everywhere, makeup scattered across the floor. It’s a pigsty.”

Selene grabs my hand to stop me from lashing out, but it’s too late.“Did you touch my things?”

“No, of course not. Why would I do a thing like that?”

Tessa is lying, even if she hasn’t said another word. The smirk on her face is a telltale sign. And I’ve had enough.“Don’t touch anything that belongs to me ever again.”

She raises an eyebrow, and I can tell my warning did not faze her at all.“Or what? You’ll tell your daddy what I did?”

Her mocking tone makes my blood boil. What are we, in high school? This is obscene, and I don’t want to get school officials or anything like that involved because I don’t want the drama surrounding that. Hell, I don’t want the drama from Tessa anymore, either. This needs to be settled here and now.

I pull my hand out of Selene’s grasp and stand up.“I can forgive and forget that you’ve done this, and we can stay out of each other’s way for the rest of the year. But stop pushing me.”

“Pushing you? Oh, girlie, I haven’t even started yet.”She takes a step closer, invading my personal space. The scent of her sickly sweet perfume slams into me like a boulder and makes my stomach churn.“You think you’re so special, don’t you? With your perfect little life and your secret hockey player boyfriend. Does Daddy know about that? Or does Asher know how often you have to shave to control how hairy you are?”

I freeze. How does she know about Asher? We’ve been so careful outside of when he came to my room that one time, and I didn’t think she would be there. He could have been there for any reason, though, so she’s just pulling shit out of her ass. However, her implying that she has no issue telling Dad about this and her mocking my illness has me seeing red.

“Isla—”

I cut off Selene’s warning with a tirade of my own.“You know what, Tessa? Mind your own fucking business. I’m done with this petty game. You have hated me since the school assigned me to your room. I’ve done my best to be a good roommate and stay out of your way, but you’ve continued to push my buttons to get me to move out. But it’s not going to work because I can be an asshole too. And I’m much better at it.”

I tilt my head back and forth as if I’m preparing for battle and take another step toward her.“First, fuck you for making fun of an illness that I can’t control. Second, my relationship with Asher and whether my dad knows has nothing to do with you, and it’s, once again, none of your fucking business. I know things about you that you don’t want to get out, including that little black book you keep. So I’m going to go upstairs and clean up the mess you made because I don’t want you laying another finger on my shit. You can keep being bitter and jealous if you want, but I’m moving on. This is the end of whatever you think this is between us. Have the day you deserve.”

Tessa blinks hard, clearly taken aback. For a moment, she looks like she wants to argue, but then something in her expression changes. It could be the realization that I’m serious and that I’m not backing down. She scoffs, rolling her eyes.“Whatever, Isla. You’re not worth my time.”With that, she turns and stalks out of our dorm building. I’m sure she would have slammed the door behind her if she could.

“Holy shit, I’m so proud of you,”Selene says just over my right shoulder.

I hadn’t even noticed she stood up from the couch. I assume she was preparing to fight Tessa too, if it had come to blows. Thankfully, it didn’t, and we don’t have to worry about the drama that would have caused.

Before I can turn to look at her, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out, my heart skipping a beat when I see Asher’s name on the screen. I answer, my voice softening.“Hey, I thought you were busy for another hour or so?”

“Hey, I just took a quick break to step outside. But I think I should set up a meeting with Coach. You know, to talk about us. I think it’s time.”

It’s almost as if he knows what just happened to me, but I know there’s no way he does unless Tessa telepathically told him. But when a sign is staring you dead in the face, it’s time to take that leap.

“Yeah, I think you’re right. It’s time.”

36

ASHER

Iglance at the stunning woman sitting beside me in my car as I drive toward Crestwood’s hockey rink. Isla is almost rigid in the passenger seat as she stares out the window, her gaze focused on the gray skies above. Strands of her blonde hair whip in the wind from the cracked window she’s currently looking out of. She’s not paying attention to her surroundings as she chews on her thumbnail.

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