Save Him

Chapter 66

"Actually, no, don't answer that. I don't want more lies. Just tell me why. Tell me why it was worth it to ruin what we had for a one-night stand!" Her eyes widen. Her cheeks have a reddish glow.

"What the hell?" I frown. Her face slips from my hands. I keep staring at her speechless.

"Don't look at me like that," She orders and I narrow my eyes. Why the hell am I not understanding a word of hers this morning?

She rummages through her back and hands me her phone.

"Do me a favor and stop acting," She throws me her device and swirls, walking away. I eye a chat of an unknown number. I read the words of the message before I tip on the image. My mind travels back to the moment I was searching my phone this morning and Taylor's words of warning resonate inside my brain; her good opinion of you will change too.

"Fuck," I toss her phone in my back pocket and run after her. I go down the staircase and get in front of her, blocking her way.

"I didn't cheat on you," I state, staring back at her eyes. She starts arguing, but I don't have it on me. "I did not cheat on you," I repeat louder. "I lost my phone at Cyle's home this morning, I thought I had forgotten it back at Stephan's office, but obviously it was taken by someone. I don't exactly who or why but it was. A lot of people stayed last night at Cyle's. I did not sleep with her or anybody else. Alright?"

"Do you seriously want me to believe that? Are you kidding..." I rock my head. I can't persuade her that way. An idea pops into my head; maybe I can't, but someone else can. I grab her hand despite her words against it and take her to the courtyard. The air of the outside hits her and a whimper escapes her lips. I curse this and the mess we're in. I swear I will eliminate whoever is responsible for this shit. Once I track down Jacob, I pick up the pace. He has leaned against the fence, talking with Chris. I eye Cyle nearby, too.

"Jacob," I shout and bring Amelia to my side.

"Everything okay?" He leans up and strolls up to us. He gives Amelia a smile.

"Where were we last night?" I ask, watching Amelia. Her cheeks are redder and I can tell she's not comfortable. There's only one way to fix this, though. Jacob glances at Amelia, frowning not being ready to comprehend where this is going.

"We were working on your case with my dad. Oh, yeah, it was really late when we finished our parts. We didn't sleep home." He says sympathetically, looking at my girl.

"Were any girls there?"

"What?" He laughs. "No, I wish," He jokes. I pin my stare at her and see how her cheeks flush at my effect. She gazes up at me. I squeeze her hand when I ask.

"Did I sleep with any of them?" A pause of silence makes me glance at Jacob who stares at me and then at Amelia and back again. "Did I?"

"No," He says, frowning.

"Did I share my bed with any girl?"

"Are you kidding? You were barely keeping your eyes open." His gaze travels between us a couple of times. "What is going on?"

I gaze at Amelia who chews her inner cheek, and I know we got what we needed to hear.

"Nothing," I mumble.

Once we enter the school, I open a door of a classroom I haven't been in, in a quiet hallway. I drag her inside and shut the door sticking her into it. I place my hands on the cold surface of the door, at the sides of her face, caging her. I stare at her in silence. Her eyes glance up at mine before falling down; her bottom lip is captured by her teeth as he chews it.

"Anything you want to say to me?"

She gazes up. Her pupils are dilated, the green of her eyes almost drained and pushed to the sides of the circle. Her eyelashes flutter a few times. She crosses her arms in front of her chest and shakes her head.

"Not, really," She stucks her gaze at her shoes and I roll my eyes. My stubborn girl. I know we can't navigate our way through this with silence and stubbornness and I recognize this is my fault; I hurt her. I cup her head as my hands stroke her cheeks, I drop my forehead upon hers, sealing my lids. A few minutes pass in absolute tranquility.

"I love you," I whisper and sense her stir against me. When I reopen my lashes, I find her regarding me with fuzzy and watery eyes. My eyes fall on her lip as it trembles every time she's overwhelmed. This is what she was doing earlier, she wasn't chewing it out of boredom, she was attempting to hide her weakness. This isn't weakness, though, not for me.

"I'm sorry," Her soft voice de-stress my whole being. "I knew you wouldn't do that...but," She stops, glimpsing around as if she will find the words dangling in the aura of the room. "I trust you," She states. "But seeing her text, the picture..."Her voice trails off; she's ashamed of the assumptions she jumped in. "I even called you and heard all those moans, some girl moaning your name again and again. What was I supposed to think? That you were up till late working on your case?"

"I was," I correct her.

"I know," She mutters. "Now, I know. Can you explain why I heard all those things when I called you though?"

"I have lost my phone. I thought I had left it at Stephan's office but I didn't. I was holding it when I got to Cyle's house. Someone must have taken it while I was sleeping or...I don't know, baby, I don't know."

"This isn't..."

"I don't know what happened," I repeat and momentarily, lose my control. "Am I supposed to know what every sick girl is thinking about us? What strategy she planned to go whatever the hell she wanted to?"

"This isn't what I thought all night and couldn't sleep," She completes the sentence I didn't let her finish. I close my eyes. Shit.

"Sorry," I confess. "I'm sorry for shouting," I peck at her forehead. "For all this mess," I take her head in my hands. "For what its worth, I didn't sleep well last night either,"

Her rosy lips curve upwards in a smile of pride and happiness.

"Then maybe, you shouldn't leave me in the middle of the night, and if you do, I will come with you,"

"Fine," I agree. After what happened last night, and given the fact we're in the midst of this chaos, I'm not up to lose her. I can't be scared and worried about us too. I can't lose the solace and peace of mind she offers me. I won't focus on what I'm supposed to do if I know I'm losing her.

She wraps her arms around my torso, pulling me against her. I lean down and connect our mouths. Her kiss is sweet, as usual, yet, this time, I sense a certain hint of need. And I know, I must be pouring my emotions into our kiss as well.

"Wait," She whispers, a little dizzy. "How did last night go?"

"Good," I retort, not having it in me to talk about laws and documents.

"What? Only that? What happened? Did you..."I push her against the door and put my hands on her waist leaning into her. Her voice slowly fades away as her eyes widen at the crazy proximity.

I capture her mouth with mine, and feel her intake of breath against my lips. I pry my way between her lips and meet her tongue. I circle my arms around her and raise her body against the door. A moan escapes from her lips and echoes inside me. I touch her thighs and help her wrap her legs around my torso. The reduction of the height difference causes my body to ignite like a fucking tinder in a brewing blaze.

She breaks the kisses, and I listen to her heavy breathing as she gasps for air. Looking at the tightness around her eyes, and the small dark circles under them, I know she had enough for these days. She didn't sleep much last night and neither did I. And I can feel the lack of sleep taking away my clarity and self-control and containment. I can't have that right now, I need a clear mind.

"Corbyn?" Her whisper brings me back.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"I just want to go home," She voices my need with six little words. I nod in agreement. I just want to lie in bed with her and sleep in peace, not thinking about anything, in the hopes of fleeing our reality for a little. And I fucking need that the most, even for a few hours as long as my girl is with me.