Asher stilled. His eyes went wide for a second or two. His jaw slackened. “What?” I sucked in a shaky breath and asked again, “Did you punch Lamar?” “Cynthia.” I braced myself. Was he about to tell me what I feared most: that he had hit Lamar, and I was all wrong about him? I held my breat
“I went to the hospital last night and talked with Nurse Irene,” he said. “I wanted to scope out the investigators. See what they knew, and how they were going about collecting their information.” I tensed, remembering the investigators from this morning, and the way that third one had stared at m
I clung to Asher like he was my anchor in a storm, and he held me just as tightly. For a while, I was transported to a different time, where Asher and I hadn’t hurt each other and nothing between us had changed. We held one another like we belonged to each other, like nothing else in the whole wor
I avoided thinking about boys entirely, both Asher and Lamar. I still hadn’t untangled the mystery there, of Lamar’s black eye. Asher said he hadn’t punched Lamar, and I believed him. But I struggled to understand why Lamar would lie about it? What had he hoped to gain by lying to me? Or was it
“Tell me, Cynthia,” Lamar demanded. “Break my heart.” He wanted me to choose between him and Asher, but how could I? If it was a matter of trust, Asher won hands-down. But Asher didn’t want me romantically. If I chose Asher over Lamar, Lamar would never forgive me. He wouldn’t want to be with me
He gave me a curious, sideways glance. “Did you want me to tell people Asher attacked me? I’m trying to be considerate of you.” I wanted to believe that. It was very sweet if true. But a little voice inside me whispered, doubt. Viciously, I wondered if he kept it secret simply because no one would
Lamar was leaning in for a kiss. There had been no ask for permission. There had been no indication that he’d wanted this at all! I’d been about to say goodnight, and he was leaning in. He was almost on me, when I recovered from my shock enough to turn my head. His lips pressed against my cheek in
“Me, too,” I said. With one last bright smile, he said goodnight and hobbled down the hall. Quickly, I rushed and hid in my dorm room. I wasn’t as tired anymore, and knew I wouldn’t sleep even if I tried. I had to talk to someone about what just happened. I couldn’t keep it inside, I thought I