Page 65 of Cruel Devotion

My meeting with the dean went about as well as I expected it to go. He was a fan of mine—or he was. Professor Ulbrich was a football lover, and it eased my mind and settled my nerves when he started talking to me about that, first and foremost.

But then he got down to business.

With a heavy sigh, he shook his head then opened his mouth to begin. Then he stopped, furrowing his brow. “Don’t you want your parents to sit in on this meeting?”

Fuck no.

I was surprised they hadn’t been informed yet. “No, thanks. I’m all right.” Telling him that Ididn’twant them to know about my issues would probably be bad, though, so I didn’t offer anything else on that matter.

“I’ll be honest with you. This isn’t the first time that Mr. West has tried to interfere with situations like these.” He lowered his gaze to the papers in front of him on his desk. “I’m not saying that it’s bad that he personally tries to govern the acceptance or rejection of certain students, but I’ve long thought that he tries to police things according to how he sees fit.” He pursed his lips. “And that stays between you and me, Eli.”

I nodded. I knew how to keep my mouth shut.

“His request for immediate expulsion seems extreme.”

I didn’t speak. I couldn’t move. Holding my breath and waiting for him to say something after that, I stared at him and prayed he couldn’t see that I was sweating bullets.

“Seeing that you’ve been a good student with no other marks for bad behavior, I would go so far as to say that his request is asinine.”

I exhaled a long breath out my nose, willing my heart to slow with those words.

“However.”

Ah, fuck.I tensed all over again.

“That was an expensive vehicle to damage, you were intoxicated?—”

“No one can prove that.” I cleared my throat. “I’m not making excuses, but no one can prove that I was intoxicated at all.”

He nodded. “Sure. That’s true. No breathalyzer was used. No cops were called, either. There is no official trail of law enforcement about his car that night. But I’ll be frank with you, Eli. When it comes down to your word against his…”

I rubbed my face and blew out a long breath.

“You see what I’m getting at.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Mr. West has a lot of power here, and he is used to getting what he wants. So if he’s dead-set on getting you expelled, there likely isn’t anything you can do about it. Nor me.” He held his hands up like he was innocent.

“There’snothingI can do?” I licked my lips, hating to sound desperate. “I just need to graduate. So I can get a job to pay back the scholarship he’ll have revoked.”

“Well, that’s not a done deal yet. One thing at a time.”

“I know. But that’s my worry, that I can’t graduate to be able to make the money to pay it back.”

“I understand. And it’s not my call. It will be a committee to decide, and a review will be completed. All I’m suggesting is that you not think it’s all over just yet.” He raised his brows at me. “It also goes without saying that you shouldreallybe on your best behavior until the end of the semester.”

“Yes. Absolutely.” I sure as hell wasn’t going near Preston or his parties again. The only things I wanted to focus on were passing my classes and spending as much time with Haley that I could before she left. Or whenweleft. That discussion wasn’t over.

After I left the dean’s office, I pulled out my phone to text her and see when we could talk again.

Finn rushed up to me down the corridor, though, and I frowned at his panicked expression.

“What’s going on?”

“Haley.” He skidded to a stop, grabbing my upper arm almost to halt and make sure he had my attention. Catching his breath, he shook his head. “She’s?—”

“What?”

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