CHAPTER 22: Secrets on the Third Floor

DAVID

“How dare you?” My voice cut through the silence as I caught sight of Bella, swaying slightly as she stood at the entrance to the third-floor corridor. I had warned her more than once. Why couldn’t she listen?

I reached out, my hand circling her wrist with a controlled but firm grip. Her eyes met mine with a hazy defiance, lips curving slightly upward as though she found the situation amusing. "What are you doing here?" I demanded, my voice a sharp whisper. "I told you to stay away."

Her gaze wavered, catching the dim light in the hallway as she tried to pull back. "You don’t get to tell me what I know," she muttered, a faint slur in her words as she stumbled again, nearly falling before I steadied her. Strands of her hair framed her flushed face, and she smirked, her eyes slightly glazed.

"You’ve been drinking." I spoke it as a fact, a simmering annoyance tightening my grip momentarily.

"I… didn’t drink," she mumbled, though her words betrayed her. She looked down, and for a se