Chapter 12

Chapter

Twelve

DECLAN

M y practice jersey sticks to my skin as I dribble the ball down the pitch, looking forward to see if I can make a clear shot. When I see I’m out of options, I pass to Emerson and watch as he sends the ball flying into the back of the net. Coach blows his whistle, ending the scrimmage, and calls us over to a huddle.

After listening to a ten-minute tirade about what we’re doing wrong, he sends us back to the locker rooms. I don’t have enough time to shower before I make it over to the library where Harper’s been at a study group, so I settle for splashing water on my face to cool off and a couple extra swipes of deodorant.

“Has Cy told you anything about last weekend yet?” I ask Emerson.

“No.” He strips off his jersey and shorts, dumping them in the large laundry bin beside our lockers. “He did mention that Banks was sleeping on the couch when he came home but didn’t share anything else.”

“Harper’s been weird since Sunday when I found her scrubbing the house like Cinderella.”

“Do you think they broke up?”

“No. She’d probably be crying, right?”

“Maybe she does, and we just don’t notice. She’s always hiding in her room.”

“I should take her door off the hinges.”

One of the guys next to me laughs, thinking I’m joking. Emerson, on the hand, knows I’m dead serious, so he shakes his head. “I’m sure that would go over well.”

All he gets from me in response is a shrug before I’m off. The drive from the practice facility to the library is quick since most classes are long over. Luck is on my side when I grab a parallel spot right outside the entrance .

She didn’t know which study room they’d be in, so I walk down the corridor looking through the windows of each. I find her in the second to last room, but from the voices drifting through the cracked door, I can tell she’s not done yet. She asks a question softly enough that I can’t really make out the exact words. The voice that answers her is male, and I don’t miss how condescending he is as he explains the answer to her.

“Watch your tone when you speak to her.” I push the door open without knocking.

The mathletes-reject-looking loser does a double take when he looks up from her. I don’t miss the way he was sitting on the table over her with a direct view down her top. Which he was most definitely taking advantage of.

“Who are you?” he asks.

“Are you ready to go?” I soften my tone when I look down at her. Her face is pale, and her eyes are glassy as she nods. I turn my attention back to the guy who put that look on her face. “Leave.”

“Your boyfriend better not show up at our next session, Harper. You’re too far behind for distractions like this.”

“What the fuck are you still doing here?” I glare at him. “You won’t be tutoring her again.” Or anyone for that matter.

I watch him walk out the door before turning my attention back to Harper. She’s sliding books into her backpack and avoiding looking at me.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” she says quietly.

“He shouldn’t have spoken like that to you. And he damn sure shouldn’t have been leering down your shirt.”

She freezes and glances down at her chest. Her hands fly to her already modest neckline and tug it further up. She stands and slips on her backpack before walking around the other side of the table from me. Her eyes stay on the ground the entire time.

“You don’t have to hide from me.” I step into her path.

“I—”

“Is everything okay in here?” A librarian pokes her head into the room. “We had reports of yelling.”

“Yeah, my sister was being verbally assaulted by her tutor.”

“Oh my.” She straightens and looks around me at Harper. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” She’s the picture of southern charm and elegance again. A complete one eighty from how she looked two minutes ago, like a switch flipped. “It wasn’t that bad; I think Derek was just frustrated with my questions.”

Derek.

At least I have a name now.

“Okay, dear. Have a lovely evening.”

Harper breezes past me with her head held high as if I didn’t just witness her almost breaking down less than five minutes ago. I wonder how many times her piece of shit father berated her like that and then expected her to be fine immediately after. It has to be learned or coping behavior.

She walks out the front of the library and to my car, climbing into the passenger side as soon as I unlock the door. I try to make conversation, but she cooly replies in monosyllabic answers. Instead of pushing her now, I put music on and relax. The more unbothered I am, the more I can sense her irritation rising.

By the time I pull into the driveway, I can barely hold back laughter at how clearly pissed she is. I can’t explain it, but drawing reactions out of her has always been so deeply amusing to me. She puts her best effort forward in trying to appear unbothered by me, but I see it in the tense set of her shoulders and the way her lips purse together. She kicks off her shoes and immediately goes upstairs to her room.

I consider following her, demanding a conversation about what her tutor was saying but decide to give her a break. Plus, I need a shower. I stroll into my room and close the door behind me before stripping down and throwing my clothes in the hamper. The door swings open as I’m walking toward the bathroom, so I stop, expecting Cy because he never fucking knocks.

Instead, I’m greeted by a set of big, shocked, hazel eyes belonging to the last person I expect to walk in on me. Her mouth is formed into the most perfect O shape that immediately sends my mind spiraling to all the dirtiest places. I’m not sure if she knows what she’s doing, but her eyes trace every inch of my body. I can feel her gaze like a caress, and my dick swells under her attention.

“Oh my goodness,” she whispers. “I didn’t realize. I didn’t know.”

“Sure are liking what you see though.” I wink at her.

Her eyes snap to mine. “You have a lock, learn how to use it.”

“You have a hand, learn how to use it.”

Her cheeks redden. “I know how to use it. ”

“Do you?” I let my eyes roam over her body suggestively. “I’d like to see that.” The thought of watching her touch herself has me fully hard.

As soon as she figures out the innuendo, her gaze immediately moves to the ceiling. “I only came in here to tell you that you can’t just barge in the way you did earlier. I can handle myself. I need to be tougher when people are trying to help me.”

“Who is barging in on whom here?” I ask with a smirk.

She makes a frustrated sound in the back of her throat and turns on her heel, slamming the door behind her. I know what will be getting me through this shower. Fuck.

Several hours later after not seeing her the rest of the evening, I have my ear pressed against her door to see if she’s busy. All I hear is the muffled sounds of a Taylor Swift album and possibly fingers on a keyboard. I consider letting myself in the way she did earlier, but I actually want our conversation tonight to be productive, so I knock.

“Come in.”

I turn the knob and push open the door to the sight of her in the middle of her bed surrounded by textbooks. She looks up at me, very clearly annoyed. So cute. So adorably irritated.

Be nice, don’t antagonize.

“What do you want?” she asks.

“I wanted to apologize.”

Her eyebrows creep up her forehead. “Really?”

“Yeah. For teasing you about checking me out while I was naked.”

So much for not antagonizing her.

“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes and goes back to the book in her lap. “You can leave.”

“What was that Derek guy saying to you earlier? Don’t say it was nothing because I saw your face and you weren’t okay.”

She sighs heavily before answering. “He just said something that my dad used to say to me a lot. I don’t want to repeat it, but I am glad you showed up when you did. Thank you.”

I’m not happy with that answer, but I don’t want to push. “What are you working on?”

“A persuasive essay for English.”

“I can proofread it for you when you finish.”

“Thanks.” She doesn’t look like she’ll be taking me up on that offer anytime soon.

Her phone lights up with a FaceTime request from Banks, but to my surprise she declines it. It’s the perfect opening to ask her about him. If something has happened between them, I need to know for safety purposes in case the three of us can’t be with her.

“What’s going on with Banks? Cy told me he was sleeping on the couch this weekend.”

“Is that all he told you?”

“Yes. But if there’s more I’d like to know.”

“It’s not important.”

“If it involves you and could involve your safety, I think it is important.”

“How would something between Banks and me affect my safety here?”

“If I need someone to be with you another time.” I hold my hands up to stop her from arguing. “Just until my dad’s investigator figures out what’s happening and who is behind the creepy letters.”

She looks at me like she’s weighing something internally. “Banks and I didn’t break up or anything, but I’m not sure what we are now.”

“Okay,” I draw the word out, not entirely understanding. “I’m going to need a little more than that.”

“He told me something about his sexuality that affects our relationship.”

“He’s gay. ”

“No.”

“He’s trans?”

“What? No.”

“He’s a furry.”

“What the heck is a furry?” She shakes her head. “You know what, I probably don’t want to know. He’s asexual.”

“He’s ace? Huh. I cannot relate.” I push some books out of the way and sit down on the edge of her bed. “Has he tried it?”

“Tried what?”

“Sex.”

Her cheeks turn pink. “No. All we’ve ever done is kiss. He said the thought of doing more is repulsive.”

“Repulsive?” I wince.

“Essentially, said the thought of it makes his skin crawl. Did wonders for my self-esteem.”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean you were repulsive. There’s no one on the planet who would say that.”

She shrugs. “Maybe.”

“And you didn’t break up? Even though he’s not interested in the physical aspect of a relationship.”

“Yeah, but I am. He said he’s okay if I look for that with other people.”

No wonder she hasn’t been herself, or at least the way we’ve become familiar with her. I’m not entirely sure she's ever been who she really is around us. “That’s a lot to handle.”

Her eyes are glassy when they meet mine. “I know.” She waves her hand in front of her eyes. “I don’t want to cry again. All I ever do is cry. I’m sick of crying.” She jumps off the bed and runs to the bathroom.

I stand and follow her. She’s blowing her nose when I wrap my arms around her from behind. “It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to feel feelings. You’ve been going through a lot.”

“I don’t want to be more of a nuisance than I already am. Being stuck with me here has to be an inconvenience.”

“Wait.” I spin her in my arms and cup her face, tilting it back so I can look down into her eyes. “Is that why you’re always up here alone? You think we don’t want you around?”

“Yes.”

“We’ve told you otherwise.”

“I know. I just thought that you were being nice because you had no other choice.”

“When have I ever been nice?”

Her eyes move back and forth between mine as she thinks about it. “Good point. Although you’re being nice now. ”

She wouldn’t think I was being nice if she knew how much I want to push her against the wall and give her the best first sexual experience she could ever have. She would run from me if she had any idea.

“Don’t get used to it. But also come out of your fucking room from time to time. Better yet, come out of your shell.”

“Once I get the hang of these classes. I wasn’t exactly the best student in high school. I don’t feel very prepared for this at all.”

“We’ll figure something out. Something that doesn’t include asshole tutors who can’t keep their eyes to themselves.”

“Look at you, being all brotherly.”

“Not even close.” I give her a smirk and walk out the door before I do something to prove how very not brotherly I feel toward her.