Page 160 of Unloved

“Ro?”

“I—I—”

Nothing comes out. Humiliation and anxiety war for dominance in a match that has me searching for the nearest trash can in case Idodecide to throw up.

“God, for such a smart girl, you really act pathetically stupid sometimes.” Tyler rolls his eyes. “RoRo here has had a crush on you since freshman year. She’s told everyone that you were her first kiss—that you shared some magical night together.”

He shakes his head at Matt, as if he’s chatting up one of his buddies and not a guy he’s relentlessly mocked, a student he insufficiently tutored and someone he’s claimed to hate for years.

“I thought at first it was to make me jealous. Then she wanted to go to your games all the time. And finally, shebeggedus to let her tutor you—right after we broke up.” Tyler huffs a laugh and tucks his hands into his pockets. “Hate to break it to you, Freddy, but she’s, like, a stalker. I mean—we only started datingafterI started tutoring you.”

The room goes quiet, ice cold against my skin that still feels like it’s on fire.

That’s… that’s not true.

I mean—yes, parts of it are, but… But, I beggednotto be Matt’s tutor. And I never had any clue that Tyler was tutoring Freddy at all.

Terrified to look at Matt, to see the belief or disgust on his face, I close my eyes tightly.

“Matt, I swear I—”

He holds his hand up, stopping the word vomit on my tongue. My cheeks flame hotter, shame eating me from the inside out.

“Listen to me, Donaldson—you’re an asshole. If anyone is pathetic here, it’s you. I know you think I’m toostupidto remember exactly how we met, but I haven’t takenthatmany pucks to the head yet.

“Ro is the best person in this department—she’s smart, a genius, really, and you’re so threatened by her you can’tstandthat you don’t have some weird control over her. But you can’t stop her from being better than you anymore.”

“She’s not—”

“I’m not done, Donaldson.” Matt calmly cuts him off. “My dad is just like you. A narcissistic, abusive asshole. And he turned out just as washed-up and miserable as I’m sure you will be. Now back off. You love telling everyone else they’re stupid, but you’re a full-blown idiot.”

He laughs, eyes dancing as he flicks his gaze to me. “You’re telling me my girlfriend and I kissed freshman year? That she’s been crushing on me since then—whileshe was dating you?” The smile that takes over Matt’s face is beaming, his arms stretching out around my shoulders lazily. “That’s the best thing I’ve heard all year.”

Tyler is furious, and my emotions are so jumbled I feel a little nauseous, leaning into Matt’s body for support.

“Now, princess.” Matt turns to me and kisses my cheek. “Do you need anything else? Anything you wanna say before we leave?”

I shake my head, eyes wide and wonder filled as I gaze up at him.

“Great.”

He walks to my desk, leaving everyone else frozen in shock as he grabs my bag and anything off my desk, setting it all inside and zipping up the sage-green backpack with a ribbon still hanging off it. Sliding it onto his back without a second thought, he grabs my hand and starts to lead me out.

We strut past Tyler first, and my boyfriend leans in to whisper, “Thanks for the info. You can’t imagine how good it feels to know that all five times you slept withmygirlfriend, she was thinking aboutme.” He grabs Tyler’s shoulder and jostles him slightly. “Good talk, man. And hey, if you ever talk to her again, I’ll kick your ass. For real this time.”

He ends it with a big beaming smile, grabbing my hand again as we walk out of the main area, passing by the Dr. Tinley’s office door on the way.

Carmen Tinley is still standing half in, half out, looking a little shellshocked at the entire outburst.

“I’m done, Dr. Tinley,” I say, barely restraining my tone. “I quit—tutoring, TA’ing, any of it. I want to be dropped from consideration for your cohort in the spring.”

She clears her throat. “May I ask why?”

Her gaze flicks to Matt and I stand a little taller, wishing I could cover him entirely.

“I think you know why.”

We exit the door in silence, waiting until we’ve cleared the entire COSAM building and are walking across the greenery of central campus before Matt whips around and clasps me in a hug.

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