Page 6 of Break My Rules

“What are you talking about?” he looks at me, still seeming so confused.

“The tattoo! That one on your thigh,” I say grimly. “She saw it too.”

“Who did?”

“Wren!” I explode. “That night, the one she was taken. It was the only thing she could remember about the man who hurt her. She told me all about it,” I add bitterly. “You can’t fool me anymore. I know had to have been you.”

Chapter3

Saint

She thinks it was me.

I stare at Tessa in disbelief. This has to be some kind of sick joke. She can’t possibly believe…

But she does. I can see written all over her face, the brittle suspicion, and the way she’s already backing away from me, and walking fast through the college towards the gatehouse.

She thinks I’m the monster who hurt her sister.

My God.

“Tessa!” I snap into action, hurrying after her. “Tessa, wait!”

She keeps walking, but I catch up, resisting the urge to pull her into my arms again.

“What happened to your sister… You don’t really think I could do that?” I ask instead, chilled to the core by her accusation.

“I don’t know what to think!” Tessa sobs, tears glittering on her cheeks in the dark. “I thought I knew you, Saint, I thought I was falling—but then I saw that tattoo.”

The damn tattoo. I should have guessed something was up when she fled the party so suddenly. “I’m not the only person with this ink,” I tell her, before she can bolt again.

Tessa stops walking. She turns to me. “W-what?”

I see relief flash in her eyes, and it gives me something to believe in.

She didn’twantto think it was me.

“I’ve had this tattoo since I was a student here,” I explain quickly. “My mates and I had them done on a dare one night before Finals. We designed it ourselves. It was just a drunken prank—”

I stop, realizing just what it means. If the man who hurt Wren had this tattoo…

Then one of my friends from that night is the monster who hurt Tessa’s sister. Who destroyed her life and drove her to her death.

I exhale. “My God, Tessa, I’m so sorry…”

She shakes her head, like she’s trying to process it. Dark hair falling in her eyes. “It wasn’t you?” she asks, her voice lifting in hope.

“No, baby. I swear,” I tell her honestly. “The Blackthorn Society party last year? I was at my family’s place in the South of France, working on my book. I can get you receipts,” I add. “Plane tickets, credit card bills. Whatever you need to believe me. You know me,” I insist. “You know I would never hurt someone like that.”

Tessa swallows, looking lost in her oversized coat. I try to imagine her feelings of confusion and betrayal, but I know, I could never come close. To think that I’d been deceiving her, that I was the one to blame…

I could lose her.

Fear grips me, sharp and metallic. This woman has captivated me since the moment we met, and every night we’ve spent together has only made me want her more.Need her.

“I’m so sorry, Tessa,” I say, keeping my voice even despite the furious storm of emotions raging inside. Every instinct is screaming at me to hold her, comfort her. Help her through the shock and conflict that’s written all over her face. But I force myself to stay back and give her the space she’s asked me for. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been going through, if you saw that tattoo and thought that I—”

My phone sounds loudly in my jacket pocket. I kept the ringer on so I could hear if Tessa called me back. Now, I quickly take it out to silence it, not breaking our stare.

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