“Is that what you really think? I just wanted to talk to her and tell her I was sorry about my behavior.”
What a crock of shit. “Sure. Keep telling yourself that.”
I turned to leave, knowing I’d get nothing else out of Jace besides the urge to beat the fuck out of him. Despite my animosity toward him, I actually believed that he was telling the truth.
But if it wasn’t Jace, then who was it?
As far as I knew, I had been beloved on campus, even more so after the Sacrifice. Bella, on the other hand, had been hated by a lot of females. The list of possible suspects could be larger than I originally thought.
The very thought made my blood run cold, and I wondered if I would be better off telling Bella that I had handled the problem and we no longer had anything to worry about.
Just as I was about to disappear around the corner, Jace called out to me. “Livingston!”
I was tempted to ignore him, but something in his voice made me turn around. “Yeah?”
“If I were you, I’d take a look at Kappa. This isn’t the first time some hot freshman’s been run off campus by some of those Kappa bitches. Just sayin’.”
I nodded and turned, breaking into a jog myself. Maybe Jace was right or maybe he was full of shit, but I thought he was right.
Guys like the Alphas, when they’ve got beef, come for you to beat your ass. And after the ass-kickings are finished, they tend to let it go unless there’s another reason not to.
It’s girls who tend to go for this behind the back, mental torture shit.
Chapter 22
Bella
My cravings had spun out of control. I was either always eating something or always thinking about eating something.
It was the very thing I feared when I found out that I was pregnant—gaining weight. Even Stefan had already made a comment on my weight when I disrobed for him out at the pool. While he still seemed attracted to me, what was he going to think when I went up another ten pounds? What about when I went up twenty?
These thoughts continuously hounded me, and I feared that Stefan would eventually grow disgusted by the new me. Coupled with the fact that our parents might know the truth by that time if we didn’t find a way to conceal it from them, I was downright terrified.
Still, even those thoughts couldn't keep me from eating or wanting to eat. I was just too damn hungry. It made me suspect the little one growing inside me was a boy and wanted to grow up to be a powerful athlete like his father.
Due to my constant cravings, I found myself raiding the fridge for something to eat at one A.M. when I heard the front door open and shut.
I quickly closed the fridge and spun around as footsteps approached the kitchen doorway.
It was Stefan, dressed in black sweats and a black hoodie, and he was staring at me.
“Stefan?” I asked with surprise. “What are you doing out so late?” The last I knew, Stefan had gone to bed hours ago. Immediately, I was hit with suspicions of him going out to clubs to pick up girls . . . until I saw his face.
A purple bruise shadowed his right jaw and his face looked swollen.
“And what the hell happened to you?” I gasped with horror.
Stefan’s eyes flashed down to my flimsy gown and to the curves it barely concealed before going back to my face. “I just got back from NSU.”
I made a face. “NSU? What in the world for?”
“To see Jace.”
I grew silent for a moment, immediately knowing what that meant. “Jace did that to you?” I ventured.
Stefan nodded. “It wasn’t much of fight though. He caught me by surprise with a few lucky punches, but I got in a few as well.”
I turned and began searching through the cabinets. “Let me see if I can find something to put on your bruises.”
Stefan approached me from behind and pulled my hands away from the cabinet, turning me around to face him.
“I’ll be fine,” he told me, his voice deep and commanding. “Nobody can hurt me when I’m trying to help you.”
My pulse began to race and I felt heat from being close to him. I swear that every time he was near, the temperature in the room went up by several degrees.
I stared at his bruises, wishing I could heal them with a simple touch. “But your face—“
“I’m fine,” Stefan reiterated firmly. “But I have to tell you something.”
Judging by the tone of his voice, I knew it was bad. I tensed up, preparing for the worse.
“Jace didn’t send the video.”
I gaped, stunned. “If he didn’t, then who did?” I finally managed.
“I don’t know.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t him? Jace hates your guts so I wouldn’t put it past him to lie.”