Page 41 of Loving Lies (Granton University 3)

They tried for about ten minutes—though to Tess, it felt like hours. Jonah kept growling to keep at it, and they’d go again until Frenchie finally murmured, “No. That’s enough for today. You’ve lost what little strength you had.”

“No. One more—”

“No,” Frenchie repeated firmly. “This is enough.”

Tess’s shoulders slumped with relief. She’d tensed up so much in the last couple of minutes, it physically hurt to watch Jonah go through this. Every muscle in her body ached for relief.

Her misery had to be nothing compared to his, though. Not only was it physical torture for him, but she could see it breaking down his emotions and pounding his morale into submission as well.

She was so ready for everyone else to leave so she could pamper him for a while, until he smiled up at her with that smile of his she so adored.

But as the two nurses helped him lie back on his bed, the expression on his face devastated her. He looked hopeless. Beaten. What if she couldn’t make him smile?

Frenchie bent slightly to speak confidentially into Jonah’s ear, and the entire time Jonah lay unnaturally still without responding. She glanced away and concentrated on breathing through her nose, but her sympathy kept rising up in her, wanting to consume her.

When she turned back, she caught the therapist watching her. He cast her a weary half-smile before he patted Jonah’s shoulder and told him he’d be back Friday so they could try again. Then he strolled from the room.

Once Jonah and Tess were alone, she hurried to his side. But he closed his eyes and turned his head aside, away from her.

“I’m kind of tired,” he said, his voice so low he rasped the words. “I think I’ll take a nap.”

“Okay. That sounds like a good idea.” She touched his hair, but he only flinched from her fingers.

Dropping her hand, she watched him rest his hand by his head and breathe slowly. She knew he was still awake, but he refused to open his eyes.

Knowing he didn’t want her there, she gave up and trudged reluctantly from the room.

She didn’t collapse until she pushed open a door and found herself in an empty, quiet stairwell. Then she pressed her back to a wall, slid to the ground, and hugged her legs so she could sob into her knees.

After a good five minutes of tears, she’d calmed herself enough to dig her phone from her purse and send Bailey an SOS text.

Thirty seconds later, her friend responded, calling her phone directly. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? Who do I have to kill?”

“I…I’m okay. But can you come to the hospital and pick me up?”

Bailey was quiet a second. “If you’re at the hospital, why don’t you have my car already?”

Tess sniffed back a stray tear. “You made it sound like you didn’t want me to use it anymore, so I took a bus here.”

“Christ, Tessie, you know my car is your car. But, yeah, sure. Give me a couple minutes to sneak back into class, grab my things, and ditch. Then I’ll be right there.”

“Good. I need you.” Closing her eyes, she blew out a relieved breath. She could always count on Bailey.

Chapter Eleven

“I’M SORRY YOU HAD to ditch class for me.”

Bailey sighed as she turned down the street leading to Grammar Hall. “Ditching class for you is the least of my worries. Why the hell were you ditching class?”

Tess didn’t answer. She already knew Bailey had figured out the truth. God, why hadn’t she listened to her best friend’s advice the first night she’d met Jonah? Why hadn’t she just come clean and told him everything? Maybe she wouldn’t have grown so close to him. Maybe she wouldn’t have stuck around to see his absolute heartbreak today. And maybe she wouldn’t feel like she was being ripped in two right now.

Sniffing as more tears flooded her cheeks, she tried to wipe them away with the back of her hand. But they just kept falling.

“Jesus,” Bailey muttered, reaching past her to open the glove compartment. She yanked out a handful of fast-food restaurant napkins and thrust them at Tess. “Here. Take care of yourself. I can’t—” She blew a breath and shook her head. “I can’t handle seeing you this upset.”

“Thank you.” Tess had her face dry by the time Bailey parked.

After killing the engine, Bailey didn’t move except to rest her hands on the steering wheel and clutch it with a white-knuckled grip. “You have to stop this, you know.” Her voice was low and void of her usual sarcasm. “This guy has made you cry more than once, Tess. He’s not—”

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