Page 11 of If You Dare

“I...I work here,” I stutter, legs trembling.

His scowl deepens, and he moves just a centimeter closer, but the walls are closing in on me. I am a mouse caught in a trap and the snake is preparing to strike.

“Not in the library.” His growl grates its way down my spine. “On this campus. My campus.Hercampus. You don’t belong here anymore.”

He’s right. I don’t belong here. And right now, I wish to god I was anywhere else. My knees wobble. “My mom made me come back. Believe me,” I whisper, “this wasn’t my choice.”

How could Mom not think this would happen? There’s no way she could’ve missed the way Wes glared at me when we left the courthouse. She must know he’s out for blood. Maybe at this point, she doesn’t care what happens to me.

That muscle in his jaw feathers. Like he doesn’t believe I’m here against my will. As if I want to be reminded of all my memories with Chloe. Of all the memories she and I will never make together. Reminded of what I did.

“You should be in jail.”

“I know,” I whisper.

Wes leans closer. So close, someone watching might think he’s leaning in to kiss me. I almost brace for him to reach out and skim a finger down my cheek. To brush his lips against mine.

But the fury in his eyes tells me if he touches me, it won’t be gentle. He’ll make it hurt.

“The judge may have let you off easy, but I won’t make the same mistake.” His voice is low, reverberating down to my toes. Before, I heard his voice in my dreams. Now, it’ll echo in my nightmares. “If you don’t leave this campus, I’ll make your life a living hell. I’ll make you pay for what you did. Make you suffer worse than you made her suffer. You’ll be begging for a prison cell when I’m through with you.”

I swallow, hardly able to get any words out. He hates me. I’ve never been hated before, but it’s no less than I deserve. “I promise you won’t ever see me,” I plead. “I’ll stay out of your way.”

He’s so busy with his classes and hockey, our paths shouldn’t cross. We can avoid each other with minimal effort. I’ll stay away from any corner of the campus he wants, avoid all the buildings and dining halls he frequents. He’ll forget I exist.

Wes pushes off the shelf and away from me. I suck in air like a fish stranded ashore.

“Not good enough.” His voice is flat, lifeless. More terrifying than his fury. “I want you gone.”

I can’t look away from the fierceness in his eyes, no matter how much I long to. A deer unable to do anything more than stare at the blinding headlights, at death barreling toward her.

Diamond was the only university to offer me a full-ride. The prestigious creative writing program is one of the best in the country. My only hope of finishing the book I promised Chloe I would write for her. I get why Wes doesn’t want me here, but my heart aches painfully at the thought of leaving.

Disgust curls his lip when I remain silent, distorting his beautiful face. He shakes his head, forced to look away from me and clench his fists at his sides before he strangles me right here in this library.

Please just walk away.

Instead, his piercing blue eyes slice into me again. And this time, I won’t recover. “I’m telling you now, Violet. If you don’t get the fuck off this campus, I’ll kill you myself.”

Chapter7

After

Wes

My leg bounceswhile I wait outside the office for the Dean of Student Affairs, fists clenched in my lap. This has to be a goddamn joke. An oversight. Who lets a fucking murderer return to a college campus? These people can’t be that fucking stupid.

When the door finally opens, my hands reflexively jump to adjust my collar. Now that I’m a senior, all my professors have advised that we dress for college fairs to impress the recruiters. Just so happens that my button-up works well for an official meeting with the dean too.

“Mr. Novak!” Dean Forrester calls. “Great to see you. Please come in.”

I put an extra ounce of squeeze into the handshake so he knows I mean business. By the time he offers me a seat, my ass is already in the chair. “I won’t take up too much of your time, sir. I’ll get straight to the point. I want Violet Harris off campus.”

Dean Forrester takes a seat behind his desk and that easygoing smile is already replaced with a frown. “I’m afraid we can’t accomplish that, Mr. Novak.”

I nearly spit,why the hell not?But I manage to bite my tongue. I’m not going to get what I want by giving in to my temper. “I don’t think it’s in the student body’s best interest to have a murderer walking around campus.”

Dean Forrester folds his hands together on his desk. “Therein lies the issue. Miss Harris wasn’t charged or convicted of murder, and she was acquitted of her reckless endangerment charges.”

---