I nodded, eyeing her expression. She wouldn’t meet my eyes.
God, she knows. Fuck.
I followed her into her office, all the classic signs of a panic attack beginning to manifest inside me: the shaking hands, the rapid heartbeat, and the pit in my stomach. I took a seat at her desk, trying to hide my shaking hands by positioning them under my thighs.
What was my best move here? Wait for the accusations to begin, or get everything on the table now, first?
“Dalton, there’s no easy way to say this . . . ” She sighed as she sat down, her hands clenched together on her desk. “There has been an accusation made against you.”
“An accusation?” I repeated, shocked. My mind wandered to Wrenn. There was no way in hell . . . would she? I mean, she was confused about us right now, but she would never do that.
“A student has made a claim against you . . . ” She stopped and took a breath. “Gosh, I don’t even know how to phrase this. H
ave you had any inappropriate dealings with Paige Warner?”
“Paige?” I almost shouted. Part of me felt relief. The rest of me wondered what the fuck Paige had told her. “Never. I’ve never even been alone with her, other than a minute or two before or after class. What is she saying I did?”
“Ms. Warner is saying that you asked her to your room last night. She claims that you forced yourself on her.”
“She told you that I raped her?” I said, incredulous.
What the fuck? Last night I had been with Wrenn, fifty miles from this place. I’d worked myself up so much expecting this to be about Wrenn that my body was in panic mode. It was Paige’s word against mine, and the only way to clear my name would be to admit my relationship with Wrenn.
Fuck. Once these things got out, it didn’t matter if I was innocent or not, my career would be in the shitter.
“She said that you intimidated her into having sex with you. She is not saying you raped her, but she is saying she felt she couldn’t say no, given your position.”
“And that’s not rape?” I asked sarcastically. “What happens now?”
“I need to notify the school board and let them know. Then I will have to inform the police.”
Holy shit.
This was crazy. I had no idea what the fuck was going through that girl’s head. Why the hell would she make up such lies? Was this all because I shot down her advances?
“Dalton, if this isn’t true, we will get to the bottom of it.” Layna looked at me sympathetically.
“Right, because an indecent assault investigation will have no influence on my future employment prospects at all,” I growled. I felt bad for snapping at Layna. She was just doing her job. “I’m sorry. I understand that you’re in a difficult position.”
She smiled at me and nodded. “We will sort this out, Dalton. Try not to worry. In the meantime, I’m going to have to suspend you. It might be an idea for you to stay off campus for a few days while the police complete their investigation.”
I nodded curtly, and stood up. “If that’s all, I will go and collect some of my things.”
***
“She what?” Wrenn squeaked. Her reaction was the same as mine: horrified and angry. “What the . . . I mean, you were with me . . . oh, that bitch.”
“What?” I said, balancing the phone on my shoulder as I packed my bag.
“That little slut! I know exactly what her game is, Dalton. She doesn’t want to rat on us, so the next best thing is to make us expose ourselves.”
Holy shit, Wrenn was right.
Paige knew the only way for me to truly clear my name was to admit my affair with Wrenn. She knew I was with Wrenn the night before. How, I don’t know, but it all made sense: she was so threatened by Wrenn that she would do anything to destroy her—and me, it seemed.
“I can’t believe it,” I muttered.
“So what now? You just leave?”