Tessa’s POV“Why does he have to play with my feelings like that?” I cried as Ruby wrapped her arms around me.“Because he’s a jerk,” she said, rubbing my back gently. “Most men are nowadays. Maybe your post wasn’t far off.”I looked up at her, sniffling and wiping my eyes.“No… my post was wrong,” I told her, shaking my head. “I shouldn’t have written it. Not all men are like that…”She sighed and held me tighter, allowing me to cry into her shirt.“What even happened? He just kissed you and that was it?”The memory of Joseph’s lips on mine surfaced in my mind. His arms around my waist and the feeling of his warmth sent me into turmoil. I hated that I was weak when it came to him. I hated that he still made me feel like this.“He asked me about my relationship with Brian,” I told her through my tears. “He saw me with him the other night.”“He broke up with you,” Ruby said, furrowing her brows together. “Why does it matter who you see?”“I don’t know,” I murmured. “But then we got cau
Tessa’s POVHis lips were sweet.The moment he captured my eyes with his, I knew I was a goner. I couldn’t resist him. He just looked at me so sweetly and he was so incredibly good-looking. My entire heart belonged to him, and I didn’t want anyone else.I didn’t want to imagine him with anyone else either.He let me close the gap between us and wrap my arms around him. He let me stand on my toes and kiss him. Once I made that first contact, he wrapped his arms around me and deepened the kiss. In that kiss, I knew he wanted me just as badly as I wanted him. The doubts, the fears, and the pain had all evaporated from my body.At that moment, there was only me and him.He lifted me into his arms and turned us both around so he could sit me on top of his desk. As I sat on his desk, I wrapped my legs around his waist and closed my eyes as he kissed down the nape of my neck. His fingers traced my collarbone, sending a wave of chills throughout my body.I moved my hands down to the hem of my
Tessa’s POVI thought Ruby would have been waiting for me at our lockers, but she wasn’t.It’s not like her to leave without me when we had plans. I shook my head and put my things in my locker. I sighed as I felt the ghost of Joseph’s touch still fresh on my skin. My cheeks grew warm as I remembered what unfolded only moments ago inside of his classroom.I had just finished cleaning myself up in the bathroom.This could have ended badly for both of us.I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to brush the thought out of my mind. I grabbed my phone and frowned when I saw Ruby’s name appear.“We need to talk. It’s an emergency. Meet me at the game!” She texted.My frown deepened. Something must have been seriously wrong for her to go to the game by herself. My stomach clenched as I shoved my phone into my pocket and slammed my locker door shut. I didn’t waste any time getting to the football field.It didn’t take long to get there; the field was behind the circle campus in its own s
Tessa’s POV“Too many people will see us if we just go over and grab the phone,” I said, keeping my eyes on Amanda’s stuff.“If we don’t, she’s going to expose that photo to the entire world.”“We have to wait until everyone is preoccupied,” I told her. “If Amanda grabs her bag and goes anywhere, we need to follow her.”Ruby nodded in agreement.“Maybe we can get closer?” She suggested.“That’s impossible,” I replied. “All the other seats are filled, and we are already close to the field.”“I don’t mean up here. I mean down there,” she said, pointing to the field.“The field?”“Not exactly. But we can probably get in there,” she said, pointing to the box the players sit in while they wait to partake in the game. It was close to the cheerleaders and also attached to the gym.To be more exact, it was attached to the men’s locker room.“They would never allow us in there,” I said, glancing at her, shocked.She was quiet for a moment as she assessed the field. Before we could say anything
Tessa’s POVRuby screamed as I fell to the ground. I felt blood oozing from my nose. I was so shocked that I couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.That is until Liz jumped on top of me and punched me again on the other side of my face.“I saw you try to steal her bag you stupid slutty thief!” Liz hissed. “I’ll teach you what happens when you take what doesn’t belong to you!”Liz swung and punched me again. I was frozen; I had never gotten into a fight before. I wasn’t a fighter. I clenched my fists, about to finally fight back when I heard Ruby’s voice.“Get the hell off her!” Ruby yelled, jumping at Liz and knocking her to the ground.Amanda ran over to Ruby and kicked her in the stomach to get her off Liz. Liz’s hair was now a complete mess as Ruby yanked it out of its ponytail holder.Amanda punched Ruby in the head, and Ruby went rolling off Liz from the impact. Amanda immediately kicked Ruby again as hard as she could in the stomach making Ruby vomit on the ground.“You fuc
Joseph's POV“Fighting is against school policy, Amanda and Liz,” The dean, Constance, seethed. “I expected a lot more from the two-star cheerleaders.”“She tried to steal my bag!” Amanda argued.“It’s true Miss Constance,” Liz agreed. “I saw the whole thing! I was trying to help her!”Constance looked suspiciously at the two girls before looking up at me from her desk. I stood in the back corner of the room with the two security officers who were there after the fight.“That doesn’t sound like something Tessa or Ruby would do. Is there any reason they want to steal Amanda’s bag?” She asked me.I was surprised that she directed the question at me.“I’m not exactly sure,” I said, trying to sound as even as I could. “All I know is these girls were kicking and punching both Tessa and Ruby.”“I see,” Constance said, leaning back in her seat. “And how are they? Are they okay?”“They were beaten up badly. We took them to the nurse's office. I’m not sure if they are still there or if they we
Tessa’s POV“Tess, you know this guy?” Ruby asked, staring wide-eyed at Carter who was standing in the center of my living room.“Uh…” I said slowly, not sure how to respond. “Yes?”Okay, that was lame. Carter gave Ruby a small smile and bowed his head slightly at her.“I’m Carter, Tessa’s cousin,” he explained.My eyes widened at his quick lie. Ruby gave me a strange look as she slowly put her phone back in her bag.“You never mentioned him before,” she said, furrowing her brows together suspiciously.“He’s a distant cousin,” I said, trying to sound as convincing as I could. “We aren’t that close.”I gave Carter a look when I said that last part and he only gave me a one-shoulder shrug. He then looked back at Ruby, like he really looked at her. She was bruised around her jawline from when she was punched, and she was still holding onto her stomach from when she was kicked. I was bruised too but Carter’s attention was fully on her.“What happened to you?” He asked sounding a little t
Tessa’s POVThe school after-hours was a ghost zone. I had never been here this late at night before, but I knew Joseph liked to stay behind to get some extra work done. The halls in the academic center were completely dark and I felt a little uneasy about being there.I knew if the dean saw me here at this hour, she wouldn’t be happy. The janitor was definitely around somewhere because I could hear the vacuum in one of the classrooms. I grabbed Carter's arm, and we scurried up the stairs to the faculty office wing.Thankfully, there was a light upstairs and we weren’t walking around in the dark anymore.We made our way to Joseph’s office, and I was about to knock, but Carter shoved past me and opened the door without hesitation. I frowned deeply at him and watched as he stepped into the dark room.“He’s not here,” he muttered, shaking his head with aggravation.“What?” I asked, stepping into the room behind him. “If he’s not at home and he’s not here, where could he be?“I don’t know