Page 156 of Teacher's Pet

Jake glares up at me, his forehead reddened from the impact. His breaths are sharp, but he doesn’t struggle. He just watches. Calculating.

"That used to be true," he whispers, barely audible over the noise of the bar. Then, with a slow, deliberate tilt of his head, he gestures toward Ana.

My jaw clenches.

"The difference between you and me, Noah, is that I have nothing to lose. Nothing to hold onto." His voice is eerily calm. "But you? You’ll regret what you just did-"

"Breaking news," an announcer bellows from the TV, cutting him off.

The bar falls into a hush. Every screen, once broadcasting football, suddenly shifts to a live news report. The wordsBREAKING NEWSflash in bold, red letters.

"New developments in the hit-and-run of Levi Trace, the young boy mercilessly killed last summer, have surfaced. An anonymous source has linked one suspect to that night. Investigators are actively pursuing the tip. While no one has been convicted yet, authorities believe the source is credible and could be tied to one of the students currently attending Spokehaven University-"

My blood runs cold.

Across the room, Ana freezes, her eyes locked onto the screen. Her entire body goes rigid, her breathing shallow.

Jake’s laughter rumbles beneath me, low and triumphant.

"Checkmate," he sneers, smirking up at me. "Told you to play nice."

And just like that, my fear skyrockets.

Anastasia

Meg and Elijah keep talking, their voices buzzing around me, throwing question after question about Noah.

But I can't think.

Can't process.

All I see is Levi’s face plastered across the screen, his smile wide, his hands gripping his diploma, eyes full of life–life that Cole stole.

Life that maybe, just maybe, I could have saved.

My hands tremble, my breath shallow as the announcer’s voice distorts, turning into static in my ears.

"While no one has been convicted yet, authorities believe the source is credible and could be tied to one of the students currently attending Spokane University-"

Cole.

It has to be Cole.

There’s no way in hell he’d let anyone rat him out. Erica, Walker, his newest lapdog, they’d know better.

But me?

Fuck. I’m the perfect scapegoat.

"Ana?" Megan hisses, shaking my shoulders. "Are you even listening?"

From the corner of my eye, I catch Jake’s smirk. His focus isn’t on Noah anymore, it’s on me.

An unsettling urge coils in my gut, pressing me forward. My fingers move before I can stop them, pulling out my phone, dialing a number I swore I’d never call again.

The line rings.

Once.

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