How am I supposed to look at him with a straight face? I can’t do this.
“It’s probably Trent’s.” Eden hooks her arm through mine as we walk through the park toward the train station. “He’s been hooking up with Jordan’s sister for the last few months.”
“But Tucker was with her, too,” I point out.
“Look at it this way, you only have to keep up this charade until the end of the semester. After graduation, you won’t even remember Tucker Kane.”
I doubt that. Tucker is unforgettable.
“Yeah,” I mutter. “I guess you’re right. What’s a few more months, right?”
She smiles and tightens her grip on my arm, pulling me closer to the street. “That’s the spirit. It will all be over in no time. As long as we do what she asks of us, we have nothing to worry about.”
I hope. Because I’m afraid of what will happen once we’ve outlived our purpose. So, I better make sure I do what I need to do to survive, or I could be next.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tucker
I feel her icy gaze on me, the tension in the air thick. For the last week, everyone on campus has stared at me with judgmental eyes. Sam is no exception. We’ve spoken very little since the latest edition of Dethroned was released. Every time I attempt to explain, Sam cuts me off. She doesn’t care what I have to say.
After I finish with the practice test, I slide it across the table in front of Sam. Her eyes shift to the paper and then meet mine for a second before she steals them away. One look into Sam’s eyes causes my skin to prick with tiny bumps.
She lifts the paper and scans my answers, smirking as she reads.
“Can we talk, Sam?” I reach across the table, hoping she’ll meet me halfway.
She stares down at my hand like I have a disease. “Sure. We can talk about how you didn’t bother to read the material. Even with my help… you’re hopeless, Tucker.” Her cold tone sends a chill down my spine. “You have to take the time to study on your own.”
“I did study,” I admit. It’s the truth.
“Not hard enough, obviously.” She marks the paper with a ton of red ink and shoves it back at me. “You failed, which means you will fail the exam.”
I grab her wrist before she can pull her hand back, and this time she doesn’t fight me. When our eyes meet, she blows out the breath of air she was holding. “You’re mad at me for the wrong reason, and you know it.”
Her eyebrows rise in confusion. “What are you talking about, Tucker?”
“I’m assuming you’ve read Dethroned.” Her expression remains stoic which tells me she did. “Trent is the father, not me.”
“How do you know for sure? You were with her, weren’t you?” Sam pulls away and folds her hands on her lap. “The kid could be yours.”
“I know for a fact it’s not,” I assure her. “I’m not gonna lie to you and tell you I didn’t like Jemma because I did. But Trent’s in love with her. So, I backed off.”
She shakes her head in disapproval. “You both went after the same girl for what reason? For fun? To humiliate her?”
My mouth twists in anger. “Is that really what you think of me? That I’m some pervert who targets women for fun?”
She shrugs. “I have no idea what I think of you. You don’t have the best track record when it comes to respecting women.”
“I love women,” I shoot back.
She chuckles. “And there it is… the same thing all womanizers say about women.”
“I’m not a womanizer,” I growl.
She leans forward, her voice a whisper in the quiet library. “Is that so? Then how come you did the same thing to me that you’ve done to every woman you’ve ever been with? How come you can’t commit to anyone for more than one night?”
“I’m committed to you,” I challenge.
She snorts. “The only reason you’re here right now is to save your ass. This has nothing to do with me and everything to do with you. Because everything is always about you, Tucker. Men like you think the world revolves around you. Do you have any idea what it’s like for the rest of us who live in the real world? Do you even know a thing about me other than I can help you pass this class?”
Her words paralyze me. I’ve never had a woman speak to me this way. The reality of her confession hits me hard, leaving a deep pain in my chest.
“I like you, Samantha, but you’re making it hard for me to get to know you.”
“Because you haven’t tried to know me,” she counters.
“I took you to see the Harry Potter movies.”
“Under false pretenses,” she says, her tone icy. “You lied about being a fan.”