Page 50 of Loving Lies (Granton University 3)

“No.” Tess shook her head and took a step away from the large photo, unable to believe it. “No. He couldn’t be.”

“He is.” The sympathetic look on Bailey’s face proved she wasn’t joking. “I’m sorry, but that is definitely the guy.”

“But…” Covering her mouth with both hands, Tess shook her head a little bit more adamantly.

Jonah wasn’t a bully. He just wasn’t.

“Tess—” When her friend took a step toward her and reached out as if to comfort her, Tess threw up her hands.

“No! He’s not.” No way. Impossible. The Jonah Abbott she knew couldn’t be a bully if he tried. And yet her insides twisted with misery even as she denied it. Clenching her teeth, she scowled at Bailey, blaming her for all of this. “Why would you even say that?”

With a sad sigh, Bailey shook her head. “I can’t believe you don’t remember him at all. Every time we saw Einstein running from a group of people, he was right there, yelling the loudest. He was the worst of them, the—”

“No. Don’t even. Did you actually ever see him hurt Einstein?”

“Well, no, but none of them physically ever really touched him, Tess, and he still lost his damn mind and shot up half the campus.”

“But…no. Not Jonah. You’re wrong. You’re just—” Tess huffed out a frustrated breath. “You’re just jealous.”

“Jealous?” Bailey propped her hands on her hips. “Of what?”

“Of…of…of all the time I’m spending with him. You don’t like that there’s someone else important in my life, taking up my time and attention.”

“Oh my God.” Tossing her hands into the air, Bailey spun in a circle before coming around and muttering, “Will you listen to yourself? Important? Shit, Tess, this guy is a complete stranger. You’ve known him less than a week, and what you know is that he remembers nothing about himself…if that’s even true. Hell, if I were him, I’d conveniently lose my memory too.”

“Oh, no you did not. Take that back.”

“Take what back? That I think he’s faking his amnesia? Wouldn’t you if you were responsible for twelve people’s deaths and I don’t know how many—”

“He is not responsible! Jonah is completely innocent. He would never…he’d never…” Not sure what else she wanted to argue, she narrowed her eyes and sucked in a long breath. “Who was it last night that said he was perfect for me?”

Bailey growled. “That was before I learned he was the head freaking bully of Granton University. The guy’s bad news. He’s practically Satan’s little brother.”

“No, he is a good person. And I’m going to prove it.”

With that, Tess spun away and marched off. Bailey called after her, but she ignored it. She wanted to be pissed. She wanted to rage and yell at Bailey some more, but somewhere inside her, she knew her buddy was coming from a good place, so she just couldn’t release any of her fears and anger on her. But the growing concern in her swelled until she began to tremble.

Knowing Bailey wouldn’t like it if she took her car for another Jonah visit, she found the nearest public transportation pick up spot and waited nearly an hour before she found a ride to the hospital. Her emotions had settled themselves enough that she didn’t want to scream and cry at the top of her lungs anymore, but she couldn’t stop shaking.

No way could she tell Jonah what he used to be. He wasn’t that person anymore, and it seemed impossible that he ever could’ve been.

Besides, lots of people came out of amnesia to turn into someone totally different than they were before. Didn’t they? Or was that only in books and movies?

It didn’t matter. Jonah wasn’t a bully, and she knew that to be true from the core of her being. Breathing out a steadying breath, she stopped by a convenience store to buy a Snickers bar. She’d promised him one, after all. Tucking it snugly into her huge purse, she marched into the hospital to see her boyfriend. Okay, fake boyfriend, but over the past week, it didn’t seem so fake anymore.

As soon as she stepped off the elevator and onto the third floor, she turned toward room 312 only to catch sight of someone else entering it. Someone not wearing scrubs.

With a gasp, she jerked to a halt and stared until she recognized the back of Coach Whitely as he opened the door and strolled inside.

He’d come. He’d actually come!

Thrilled she’d somehow managed to convince Jonah’s coach to visit him, she took off sprinting and was out of breath by the time she reached the door and yanked it open.

Flying inside with her wild hair streaming behind her, she was full of smiles until she saw who else was already in Jonah’s room with him and his coach. With their backs to her, two uniformed officers stood next to Coach Whitely, surrounding Jonah’s bed.

“On the date in question, do you remember—”

“What’re you doing?” she burst out, making all four males in the room swivel their attention her way. “You can’t ask him questions. He has amnesia. He doesn’t remember anything.”

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