Page 83 of If You Dare

He clasps his hands together on the desk. “Thank you for coming in. I’d like to discuss a pretty serious allegation another student has made.”

Shit. This is worse than I thought. The mint sours in my mouth, and I search for a trashcan to spit it out. “What allegation?”

“It’s been reported that Wes Novak has been harassing you on campus.”

A hush falls over us, so quiet I swear I can hear my heart stop. I’m not the one in trouble.

Wes is.

“What?”

“I’d like you to be honest with me.” Dean Forrester leans closer. “Are these allegations true?”

Aneesa. She must’ve been the one to report Wes. She said if things got worse, she would say something. Once she found out Wes and I are having sex, she must’ve decided that was the final straw.

But she’s wrong about him. This isn’t one of his pranks—this is a new chapter for me and Wes. We’re finally getting to a better place, holding hands as we make our way through the darkness together, side by side.

And Aneesa’s trying to stop that.

My nails bite into my palms. I get that she’s trying to be a good friend, that she’s just trying to look out for me, but a good friend also wouldn’t go behind my back and do something like this when I explicitly asked her not to. She didn’t listen to me, and if anything happens to Wes, he’ll never forgive me.

I already lost him once. I’m not losing him again.

“You’re not in any trouble, Violet,” he assures me. “I just want to make sure you feel safe on our campus. If true, these allegations could be grounds for his expulsion.”

Aneesa thought she would be giving me an opportunity to finally make Wes and the rest of the Devils face the consequences for harassing me for weeks. For hurting me, for humiliating me, for terrifying me.

“No. It’s not true.” I swallow hard.Fight back.“But there is someone else who’s been harassing me.”

Dean Forrester’s brows furrow as he grabs a pen. “Can you give me the name?”

“Trey Lamont.”

He nods, scribbling down Trey’s name, and relief relaxes my limbs. If Trey gets kicked off campus, I’ll finally be able to breathe easier. Wes can handle him, but he can’t be around me every second. And Trey knows Wes’s schedule—he knows when I’ll be vulnerable.

“Okay. Thank you for clearing that up. We’ll look into Mr. Lamont. I appreciate you coming in.” He stands and opens the door for me. “Have a great day, Miss Harris.”

As soon as I’m out of the building and stepping into the chilly air under the morning sun, I call Aneesa.

“Hey!” Her bright, airy voice. “I have the funniest story—”

“Did you report Wes to Dean Forrester?”

“No?” Her voice drops an octave, and she almost convinces me with the confusion in her tone. “I haven’t reported him to anybody. You told me not to.”

I want to believe she wouldn’t blatantly lie to me, but no one else cares about me enough to report him. She’s my only friend on this campus. And if Edith suspected Wes was mistreating me, she would handle him herself.

“So why did Dean Forrester call me into his office to tell me someone made allegations that Wes has been harassing me?” I bite out the words.

Even if they investigate Trey, they still might not do anything if they can’t find proof. Worse, if they do expel him, he’ll have a new vendetta against me.

Aneesa has no clue about the ramifications of what she’s done.

“I have no idea, Violet.” Her words are clipped now. “Maybe someone saw something. It’s not like he tries to hide it.”

That’s true, but no one would care enough to say anything. Especially now that his pranks have stopped. “Don’t lie, okay? It’s fine if you did, but just be honest about it.”

It’s not fine, exactly, but at least if she would be honest with me, we could talk it through. We’re not going to get anywhere if she keeps lying.

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