Page 60 of Saving Barrette

“Yeah,” I expel another heavy breath, my shaking and trembling starting up again. “Well, I didn’t think he’d have the nerve to start the case off with lies.”

His jaw snaps closed. “What?”

“He told his attorney that we had been dating and he broke it off last week. Apparently, me choosing now to file the report meant I was trying to get revenge over him.”

Can you take a guess as to what Asa’s reaction to that one is?

Complete and utter hysterics. Ha. He freaking busts up laughing. “He fuckin’ wishes,” he says with a chuckle, though there’s a hard edge to his words as he shifts his cold eyes down the hall where Roman is gathered with a group of women.

There’s a part of me that wants to run to them and tell them not to go anywhere with him, but then again, my thoughts went back to that cop that questioned me yesterday. “What evidence do you have that it was him other than finding a hat that may or may not have been his?”

My answer? My vagina test.

Yes, I said that, because I panicked and forgot the name.

I pray I haven’t let justice slip through my hands.

Asa pulls me into him, his hands on my hips. “Let’s go. If I’m here any longer, I’m going to go after him.”

Nodding, I twist and begin walking with him, his arm slung around my shoulder as we pass by groups of girls staring at us. I don’t look at them; instead, my eyes are on the ground. My thoughts unintentionally drift back to Roman. I try to recall any memory of that night again, but still, nothing more comes to mind.

Asa must sense my mood and tightens his grip. “You okay?”

We’re outside the stadium now, the night so different from the noise of the last few hours. I stop, my eyes drifting to his, and then up at the sky. “I hate that I can’t remember any details, but I think maybe that’s a good thing because the idea of remembering something so brutal might be too much.”

Asa pulls me into his arms, holding me close. “You were drugged. There are always going to be parts of it you’re never going to remember.”

He’s right, there will be, but it doesn’t stop me from wishing I could.

We start walking again, slower, heading toward my dorm when he laughs lightly. “You’re handling it better than I thought you would though.”

I look up at him, reaching for his hand that’s slung over my shoulder. “Handling what?”

“Everything since I told you about the hat and going to the police.”

“I’m relieved.”

He pulls away slightly, just enough to see my face. “You are? Why?”

I curl in closer to him, refusing to allow any space between us with the cool night air whipping around. Letting go of his hand, I brush my hair from my face. “Because. I don’t know that my fear would have ever allowed me to make the decision on my own to go to the police and file the report. This gave me the push I needed. You did.”

He breathes out what I can only assume is the breath he’d been holding waiting on my words. “I was just in the right place at the right time.”

“Like the night you saved me.”

A smile lifts his lips, blinking slowly. “You’re worth it.” His head dips forward and I think he’s going to kiss me, but then some students in the distance scream his name and I jump. His hold tightens when they approach, wanting his autograph and pictures with him. And though he keeps me tucked to his side the entire time—aside from pictures as I’m sure they don’t want me in—Asa never gives any of the women pawing at him an indication he’s not totally devoted to the girl purple and gold threw up on.

We’re back at my dorm, standing at the door when I unlock it. “It’s crazy how they worship you,” I tease when another group passes by, giggling and fawning over his every move.

Asa leans his shoulder into the wall, rolling his eyes. “They’re clearly misinformed.”

I bite my lip, remembering just how bad I want to be alone with him. “Oh, I think I understand it.” His heated stare locks on mine, and suddenly it feels like a thousand degrees in the hallway. There are students passing by, all of them wearing dawg gear, celebrating the win, but I don’t see any of them. I don’t think Asa does either. We’re trapped in a moment only we share. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice some of his teammates trying to coax him away. “Lawson!” they scream, waving and jumping around.

He laughs and flicks his hand at them, as if to say, go away.

I grip the front of his jacket in my fists and sigh. There’s no other place I’d rather be than in his arms. “Did you want to go party with your team?”

Asa’s smiling, and though I know all his smiles, this one feels unfamiliar. He shakes his head and backs me up against the door, his hands on my hips. “You’re where I want to be.”

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