Page 116 of Dare To Fall

I let her push me onto my back.

“Even if you did, I’d be more than happy for you to thank me again.”

Chapter 78

Arabella

Strong arms wrap around me from behind. I turn in Eli’s embrace, and bury my face in his chest, its warmth familiar and comforting to me now.

He hugs me tightly. “It’s going to be okay.”

“How do you know that?” I reply quietly. “You don’t know what’s going to happen.”

He runs one hand up and down my back. “Ari, trust me.”

A tempest of emotion threatens to turn me inside out. I’m only going back to Churchill Bradley Academy because he convinced me to stay and graduate.

Fingers touch my chin, and he tilts my face up to his. “The school knows about what happened.” His lips brush over mine, sending a delicious shiver down my spine. “The faculty will be watching over us.” A kiss to the tip of my nose. “Whoever your blackmailers are, they won’t be able to get to you.” His mouth skims along my jaw. “You’ll be safe.”

I shake my head. “They got to me before. There’s no guarantee it won’t happen again. Nothing stopped them from hurting Zoey.”

Pain washes over his expression. “We don’t know, for sure, what happened to her.”

“I do.”

“How?”

I bite my lip. It’s time to tell him the truth. “I had her diary.”

Eli’s eyes widen. “Zoey’s diary?

I nod.

He releases me from the hug and steps back, putting distance between us. “What do you mean by had?”

I feel cold at the loss of his touch and cross my arms. “It was in my bag. The one that Kellan took when we arrived here.”

“Where did you find it?”

“In the chapel. It was hidden under one of the pews.”

Emotions shift and change over his expression too fluidly for me to catch. “How long have you had it? Why didn’t you tell me?”

My gaze drops to the floor at the bite in his tone. “I-I didn’t know if I could trust you.”

“Jesus Christ, it could have the answers we need.”

“I read some of it … You were right. She was being forced to do dares. They were making her do things—”

“I told you that Zoey told us about the dares.”

“But I don’t think she told you everything.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Frustration is clear in his tone.

“She was scared. They were hurting and threatening people she cared about. She was too frightened to tell you and Kellan because she knew she was being watched.”

His eyes are bright, sharp with anger. “I can’t believe you kept this from me.”

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