Page 97 of Destroying Everleigh

“We should go before a teacher spots us,” Amber insisted. “You’re on scholarship. They won’t be as lenient.”

“Okay,” I whispered, knowing she was right. I could afford to miss another day. As long as it didn’t become a habit. Well…I really couldn’t, but I’d be able to make it up.

Jameson approached us, his eyes locked on mine. My throat constricted at seeing him again after our night together. I’d been doing a good job of avoiding him for the most part. “Are you okay?” he asked. His gaze raked over my face and then down to my neck. “Did he do this?” He reached out, brushing his fingertips along my throat.

Horror swept through me at what he must have seen.Ashton’sfingertips bruised into my skin. I shook my head, a little too quickly to be believable, but it was the truth. Those bruises didn’t come from violence. Amber glanced at my neck too, her lips pursing as she tried to gauge where they came from.

“Who choked you?” he pressed, anger swimming through his green eyes.

I wasn’t about to tell him how I’d gotten them, and I couldn’t exactly lead him to believe that Ashton had been the one to do it in a violent way. That would be a lie and would cause problems between them. Frankly, I was a little surprised he didn’t already know.

“We really need to be going,” Amber urged. “Can we talk about this in the parking lot or something?”

Jameson hesitated, and for a moment, I thought he was going to refuse and keep demanding answers. But after a few moments, he nodded in reluctance. Ashton and Kash made their way over, and I fought the urge to look at them. My mind was a wreck due to all the things happening lately, and all of these emotions I couldn’t make sense of.

Amber linked her arm through mine and I allowed her to lead me down the hallway. Her heels were loud against the marble flooring, and it made me wince every time she took a step. I was half expecting for a professor to come out and get onto us, but no one ever did. Then again, it was early morning and there was only one class in session right now in this hall.

When we got outside, the fresh air helped calm some of my racing nerves. It was still relatively cool out due to the sun hiding behind a few clouds. The parking lot was void of people, so that offered me some relief. We followed Amber to her car, and I immediately leaned against the hood, my jaw throbbing from where his fist had connected. I’d been in such a daze that I hadn’t even seen where he’d run off to. Would he snitch on Ashton? I didn’t even understand why he flipped shit on Lucas in the first place. I suppose I’d be pretty irritated if someone shoved me too, though.

“So,” Amber began, moving to stand beside me with the three guys looming over us. It felt weird having them here like this. “You want to tell us what happened to your neck?”

Ashton’s lips twitched into a smirk, and I fought the urge to glare at him.

“It’s not important.” I shrugged. “I barely even remember it happening.” It was a subtle dig, and by how his eyes narrowed, I could tell he understood what I was getting at.

Kash looked at me in confusion. “You…don’t remember getting choked?” he asked with skepticism.

I glanced back over at Ashton. “Some things just aren’t that memorable.”

Jameson was glancing between the two of us, and my pulse started thundering against my neck. Jamie and Kash had always been pretty observant. And while that was a decent trait to have, it was backfiring on me right now.

Jameson’s lips tugged into a frown, the wheels turning in his head. He glanced over at Ashton who was still staring me down like he wanted to set me on fire. “Didn’t Evie go to your parent’s house last night?” he asked.

Amber’s lips parted in surprise, and she glanced over at me. “What?” She blew out a breath and shook her head. “No. We’restaying on topic. What the hell does that have to do with the marks around her neck?”

Jameson rolled his eyes and marched forward until he was suddenly invading my personal space. My breath caught in my throat as he grabbed the hem of my shirt. I twisted away from him, trying to create more distance between us, but it was hard to do when there was a vehicle pressed against me from behind.

“Kash, a little help here.” Jameson glanced over his shoulder, placing his hands on my hips to hold me in place. He then turned to Amber. “Back when Evie and Ash dated, he’d leave bruises on her. They’dalwaysbe on her hips.” He snorted in amusement. “The first time we saw them was a few months after they’d been dating. Summer was approaching so we all went to the lake. We thought he was abusing her.”

Amber looked at him incredulously. “And he wasn’t?” She shot Ashton a weary glance, like she didn’t trust him one bit, and I didn’t even blame her.

“No.” Jameson smirked.

Kash approached, winding my arms behind my back the best he could from the awkward position. He looked over at Amber with an unreadable expression. “They were sex marks,” he said dryly.

Heat spread through my body at the fact that they all knew this, and that it had become the center of conversation. Jameson tugged my shirt up right beneath my bra, and I trembled against them, embarrassment clawing through me.

Jameson snorted, though there was no amusement anymore. I knew what he was seeing. The marks on my hips from where Ash had grabbed me and held me against the tree. There were probably marks on my back, too.

Kash released me and I hurriedly yanked my shirt back down, folding my arms across my chest like it would somehow help.

I shifted uncomfortably, hating the way everyone was staring. “We should probably go,” I muttered, glancing over at Amber. “Are you coming with?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but Ashton cut her off before she could get the words out. “We’re going to the frat house,” he decided for us. “We need to make sure you don’t have a concussion.”

I reeled back, a little surprised that he even cared. “He didn’t hit me in the head,” I protested. “I’m fine.”

The last thing I wanted to do was spend more time with them. My emotions were all over the place, and I hated that it didn’t matter how mean these assholes were to me, I still cared for them in some way. Maybe it was because I knew that their cruelty wasn’t misplaced.

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