Page 84 of If You Dare

“I’m telling you, Violet, I didn’t say anything.” She’s completely lost patience now. “Maybe it was that guy from your writing class. What was his name? Matthew?”

Maxwell. He’s still been friendly, so it’s possible he’d want to report Wes, but I don’t think he’s ever witnessed anything. Plus, he’s a commuter, and they’re notoriously oblivious to the drama that goes down on campus. “I doubt that. Wouldn’t he at least talk to me about it before going to the dean?”

“I don’t know. Ask him. I have to go.” She hangs up without another word.

* * *

Wes

I’m leaving class,making my way through the maze of sidewalks around campus, when I get a call from Dean Forrester.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Novak. Is this a bad time?”

Well, this doesn’t sound fucking good. “Nope, just leaving class now.”

“Excellent. I wanted to inform you that someone has come forward with allegations that you’ve been harassing another student on campus.”

Fucking Violet.

She went to the dean about me? We’ve already backed off. If she was going to go to the administration about what we’ve done to her, she should’ve done it weeks ago. My fists clench.

I thought we were finally getting somewhere. Finally learning to trust each other. Forgive each other.

“I asked Miss Harris to come in this morning, and she denied these allegations,” Dean Forrester says.

I stop dead in my tracks, a girl running into my arm and muttering under her breath as she passes me. So Violet wasn’t the one who said anything. Dean Forrester gave her the chance to rat me out, and she covered for me.

I grin. That’s my girl. “Who made the allegations then?”

“I’m afraid that information is confidential.”

Had to have been that nosy roommate of hers.

“I hope you’re aware, Mr. Novak, that if Violet had confirmed these allegations were true and we had evidence to substantiate those claims, you may not have had a future at Diamond University.”

Violet saved my ass. If I’d been kicked off campus, the hockey team and my chances at the NHL would’ve been fucked.

I’ve spent weeks tormenting her. I enlisted my team to help. We made her life a living hell here. Turned everyone against her. She had every reason to throw me under the bus.

But she didn’t. She knew how much staying at Diamond means to me.

I wish she was here right now so I could pick her up and kiss her.

“Understood,” I tell Dean Forrester.

“I suggest you stay on your very best behavior from now on, Mr. Novak. It would not reflect well on Diamond University if its hockey captain were expelled for harassment. Nor would many other universities be keen on accepting you as a student or employers on hiring you, nor the NHL on recruiting you.” The last threat is what really gets me. Violet saved my chances at the NHL. What I’ve been working toward my whole life. “What you do on a college campus may seem isolated from the rest of the world, but I assure you that what you do here matters and could impact your future. Is that understood?”

“Yes.”

I understand exactly what he’s saying.

I need to thank Violet. Properly.

* * *

I sink into the pool,waiting for Violet to notice I’m here with her.

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