Meri scowled. “They should. If not, I’ll give him a piece of my mind.”
Part of me wanted that. Part of me was also scared that he would retaliate against me for speaking out. I’d told Professor Woods that earlier, after class. Luckily, Duke hadn’t shown up for rehearsals tonight—maybe because he was sporting a black eye.
“He’s going to be mad,” I whispered. “What if he?—”
“Why don’t you let me take care of him, Audrey? He’s not here for the right reasons, and we both know it.”He’d only tried out for the musical because he knew it was my dream. Because he wanted to stalk and haunt me even here, in my safe space. Theater—the drama department—wasn’t his thing.
“Still, I just…” I thought about how he’d been the last few times I’d seen him. I shut my eyes, wishing I was stronger. A single tear dropped from my eye, and I cursed softly. I hated crying in front of people. I definitely didn’t want to cry in front of my professor.
She rubbed my shoulder, looking at my wrist. “He scared you, honey. Put his hands on you.”
I nodded, wincing.“Yeah. He did.”
“Let me take care of it. I know this has been an ongoing issue, and I think it’s something that needs to be addressed now.”
Professor Woods had given me a hug before I left, reassuring me that everything would be okay. Even though nothing felt okay.
“Maybe. I think so.” I hugged my knees to my chest.
“And Parker?” Florence asked.
I raised my head up. “What about him?”
“How’s he been taking all of this?” She raised an eyebrow. “His girlfriend got hurt, after all.”
“Oh.” Right. That was what she meant. “He was the perfect gentleman. Carrying me up to his room, giving me an ice pack, taking care of me…” My cheeks were warm.
Kissing me, letting me rub against him until I fell apart in his arms…Super casual things that friends do, you know. Except I couldn’t say those things, because they thought our relationship was real.
And it felt a lot less likejust friendshipanymore.
Parker hadhis hands shoved in his pockets when he came towards the bench I was sitting on outside of the athletic center. It had been two days since the party, and the lacrosse team had another game tomorrow. The bruise on my wrist from how he’d grabbed me had mostly faded, and luckily, the slap against my cheek hadn’t left a mark. Still, I felt raw. Exposed.
He let out a sigh, plopping down next to me, running his fingers through his damp hair.
“I got benched.”
“I’m so sorry, Parker.”
“No, it was worth it.” His gaze was set on mine. “What happened today?”
“They’ve scheduled a hearing with the disciplinary committee, but he’s on a one week suspension from all campus activities. Apparently, the only thing he’s allowed to do is go to class.”
“And the musical?”
A sigh of relief slipped through my lips. “Since he’s not enrolled in the theater program, he’s been removed from the cast and banned from the theater building.”
My fake boyfriend—because I needed the reminder—wrapped an arm around me, tugging me tight against his chest. “Thank fuck.”
Neither one of us mentioned the fact that if he got permanently kicked out of CU, we wouldn’t need to do this anymore. Pretend to be a couple.
Because I didn’t want to stop.
I didn’t want to go back to before.
Before I knew what it was like to be in Parker’s arms. What it was like to kiss him—really kiss him.
I didn’t want this to end.