Page 129 of Bonding with the Beta

When he leans over to kiss me softly, I melt into his touch. It’s only gentle and short, but it’s everything. He pulls back and keeps us close, our mouths still grazing.

“Kayleigh, I–” he clears his throat as he stares at me. “I–”

I furrow my brows at him. “What?”

His head shakes once. “I just want you to be safe.”

“I will be. I’ll text you,” I say before placing a final kiss on his lips and stepping out of his car. “Thanks for dropping me off.”

“Bye,” he calls as I shut the door.

I climb the stairs to my dorm room, my legs shaking as I reach my door. I don’t want to associate this room with what happened with Josh; instead, I think about all the good times I’ve had with Evie and Kayden.

As I push open the door and step inside, my foot nudges a piece of paper lying on the carpet. My breathing stops for a second, and I reluctantly reach down to grab it.

My hands shake as I quickly shut the door behind me and lock it. I look down at the paper in my hands, my index finger flicking open the crumbled lined paper.

Kayleigh, we need to talk about last night.

Call me.

Josh

My whole body rattles with anger. I rip up the note and grit my teeth. I don’t even think about my next steps. I storm out of my dorm and race towards the courtyard where Josh and his posse usually eat lunch. He never goes home after each term because he lives so far away, and God, he better hope I don’t find him.

As I walk through the SU bar to reach the seated area outside through double glass doors, I spot Josh sitting with Craig and Jessica. Josh’s face is painted black and blue. The cut on his nose is covered with a stitch, and the corner of his mouth sports a nasty bruise.

The door makes a screeching noise when it opens, causing some people to turn and look. One of them being Josh. He does a double take, his face struck with surprise by my entrance.

He never thought I had a backbone, so I’m proving him wrong.

I watch him quickly move away from his friends when he realises I’m walking directly towards them.

“Kayleigh—”

“How fucking dare you,” I seethe, eyes burning as even more people turn to look at us. “How dare you think you can come back to my dorm room and leave me a note demanding we ‘talk’ after what you did last night?”

He blinks at me before shoving his hands into his pockets. “Maybe you should keep that boyfriend of yours on a tight leash. I could press charges.”

My nostrils flare. “Press charges after you tried to assault me?”

He scoffs, “Oh, please. I barely touched you.”

I shake my head and laugh at him in pity. “Are you that delusional? I genuinely think you have yourself manipulated sometimes.”

“It’s your word against mine.” He flashes me a smug smile. “And with a face like this? I think I know who they’ll believe, especially after your past.”

“Fuck you, Josh.”

“What? Do you not think they’ll go through your file to find that you tried to end your life after we broke up?” His intimidating tone has my fists clenching. “Because they’ll see it and realise what an obsessed, crazed woman you are and that you’re probably lying for attention.”

My chest heaves uncontrollably. I want to smack him in the face.

Hell, I want to rip his skin off.

“Ow, are you going to go crying to your boyfriend now? No wonder you’ve never been stable. You always need to lean on someone for support.”

Josh pokes his tongue into the corner of his mouth where his lip is split. “I fucking hate you,” I rasp. “You’re not going to get away with this.”

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