“That’s not your seat, Mr. Underwood.”
Isaiah gave her the warmest smile I’d ever seen. “I know Mrs. Fitz, but during my last tutoring session with Gemma, she was teaching me a little about the components of drawing. Would it be okay if I sat beside her so we could resume our lesson? I’m not sure how many more tutoring sessions we will have since my grades are drastically improving.”
What was he doing? I watched Mrs. Fitz’s disapproving glare soften. She looked over to me and then back at Isaiah, placing the backs of her hands on her full hips. “I suppose that’s fine. Gemma is doing a wonderful job tutoring you. I’m very glad she is helping you. The SMC is impressed with your overall change, Isaiah. We just discussed it Monday night during the bonfire.”
I jumped as Isaiah’s hand swiftly fell to my bare thigh underneath the table. I swore my leg caught on fire. My shoulders flew back, and I fought to keep my breathing in check. I snuck a peek at him, and he was looking straight ahead, completely unaffected.
“I’m glad to hear that. Tutoring with Gemma has been nothing less than a godsend.” There was a slight shift in his tone, and my brow furrowed as he erased some of the space between us, pushing his hand up higher on my leg. Was he serious right now? I almost pushed it away, but I enjoyed it a little too much. “Oh, and Mrs. Fitz? I meant to tell you how nice your desk looks today. Did you reorganize it?”
I snapped my head straight ahead and clamped my legs shut. My hand grabbed onto his, and I squeezed the life out of it, causing his shoulders to shake for a moment. I was pretty sure I heard Cade snicker from behind, and I threw a glare over my shoulder at him too.
Embarrassment flooded me as I remembered everything flying off her desk last night, but then came the laughter. My own lips started to tremble, and I hated myself for finding it so funny. It could have been catastrophic if Mrs. Fitz had found Isaiah and me half-asleep with our clothes undone. He might have gotten expelled, and Richard would have found out. We were being so careless, but part of me loved taking that risk with him. I liked breaking the rules.
Mrs. Fitz scoffed as she looked over at her desk, and I slowly shook my head, knowing that Isaiah could see me. “The strangest thing happened. I walked in here this morning, and all of my things were completely scattered on the floor. Nash had walked in before breakfast and asked if I had seen the raccoon that had somehow gotten loose in the school. Apparently, it came in here and dismantled things!” She gave a little laugh, and a few of our classmates began murmuring.
A raccoon?
Really? That was what Shiner had told her? And she believed that? I thought for a moment… Shiner could be very persuasive. Or at least that was what he thought, anyway.
“Is that so?” Isaiah’s thumb began rubbing circles on the inside of my leg, and even though my hand was still clamped over his, I let him. I felt the rush of warmth. He whispered down into my ear. “Now that would have been a good headline for Mary’s Murmurs, yeah?”
I snuck another peek over at him as he peered down at me. His thick lashes were full of life along with the chiseled smile on his face. We both knew what was on Mary’s Murmurs this morning, and I was beyond thankful that Cade had gotten it shut down before anyone had seen it—except the one person who had put it on there, which was likely Bain.
But why was Bain sneaking out of bed in the middle of the night and taking pictures of Isaiah and me? That was beyond creepy. Was it just to get Isaiah expelled?
“Stop worrying about it,” Isaiah whispered just as Mrs. Fitz started to gather the rest of the supplies for class. “I’ll take care of Bain.” I went to nod, but the rest of Isaiah’s sentence stunned me. “And I’ll take care of you, too.”
My chest locked as I turned fully toward him. The amusement that was there seconds ago was replaced with a steep determination, and the tick of his jaw had my heart thumping louder than I wanted. He raised his brows, and I briefly nodded, turning back to focus on the rest of class.
Chapter Fifty-One
Isaiah
The final bell had echoed in the hall fifteen minutes ago, and all of our lacrosse gear was already being loaded onto the one bus that St. Mary’s owned. My jersey was resting along my tense shoulders as I waited for Gemma to come around the bend in the hallway.
It was torturous not slamming my mouth to hers every chance I saw her today. Every time I turned around, a member from the SMC seemed to be near, and although I had every intention of kissing and touching her every second I could, I had to remember that if I needed an excuse as to why I was out of my room after curfew, I needed to use Gemma as my scapegoat. If they knew things had shifted for us, it was unlikely they’d believe our tutoring gig, and I was so fucking close to being off probation that I couldn’t risk it. I’d save the touching for behind closed doors and hidden nooks in the school.
The thought made me feel wrong. A girl like her didn’t deserve to be shoved into closets and kissed behind stacks in the library. It probably made her feel like my dirty little secret, and although that was what she had to be—for now—it didn’t sit right with me. She was so much better than that, and I wanted everyone in this fucking school, even the teachers, to know she was mine.
After everything she’d learned Monday and seeing me lose myself to anger and resentment, she still stood there, accepting me. She felt for me. I could see it. It was like we had some tangible connection that made me stop in my tracks. I was so fucked up over her that I had myself coming up with crazy reasons to explain why we were so drawn to one another. Had we been soul-mates in another life? Was she a past lover reincarnated to become just that again? Why couldn’t I breathe when she was near? Why couldn’t I stop searching for her within every room I stepped into? Was I just that afraid she’d leave without saying goodbye?
I didn’t even want to think of the moment that was soon approaching. I wouldn’t stop her from leaving. I knew it was the only logical thing to do, not only because of the shit I had going on but for her too. That was another thing added to my shoulders. What did he do to her?
Gemma’s need to keep her secrets close was understandable. I understood. How could I not? I was the same way. But that didn’t lessen the need to know. That didn’t take away the burning stake that was driven into my chest every time I’d come up with a scenario in my head as to why she was running.
I had every intention of finding out what was really going on, whether she was gone or not.
“There she is.” Cade nodded down toward the end of the hall and stepped away near the side door of the east wing. Coach would be wondering where we were if we didn’t get out there soon, and the last thing I wanted was a fucking search party for his star players, only to find me with Gemma.
Her soft voice floated down the hall with as much sweetness as a mouthful of sugar. “I can definitely study with you in a few. I don’t have to tutor tonight because of the big lacrosse game. Isaiah won’t be back until late, so I’m free.”
Another voice. “Oh, thank God. Do you want me to just meet you in your room? Or mine?”
“Just come to my room. I’ll let Sloane know. She won’t mind!”
“Awesome! Thanks so much, Gemma.”
“You’re welcome!” I could hear the smile in Gemma’s tone, and it gave me an unwelcome fluttering in my core. My hand shot out at the last second, and I grabbed onto her arm.