Who Falls Hardest (Clearwater University)

Guilt tightens my chest, making it hard to breathe, and I grit my teeth. After spending a semester going to school with Emma, it’s still an ingrained habit to look for her on campus. But she’s not here.

She’s actually at her new job today, which is a good thing. She’s been downplaying it a little, but I can tell she’s happy to have something productive to do with her days, and although it doesn’t alleviate any of my guilt, it makes me happy to see her excited and energized.

As I head toward my car, my phone vibrates in my pocket. When I pull it out, I can’t help the shit-eating grin that spreads across my face.

Speak of the devil. Or the angel.

Emma’s name flashes across my screen, and I quickly swipe to answer it, raising it to my ear.

“Hey, Ems. How’s your first day on the job been?”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s been great. I’m surprised she managed to get hired at all after the tweaks I made to her resume.”

The smug drawl sets my teeth on edge, and I grip the phone so hard it’s a miracle it doesn’t shatter.

“Leslie. What the fuck do you want?”

Shit. Whatever she did to make it seem like Emma’s dad had texted her at the police station that night, she must’ve done the same thing to me. I’m fucking positive the contact name said “Emma” before I answered.

“So much hostility.” Leslie laughs. “You should think about taking up meditation or something, Trent. All that anger can’t be good for you.”

“What. The. Fuck. Do. You. Want?”

I speak each word slowly and clearly. I’ve stopped in my tracks, allowing the flow of students to continue around me as I focus on the phone. My mind starts churning, trying to piece together a puzzle with missing pieces. Why the hell is Leslie calling me? How is she calling me? Is she still in the facility? We’d know if she had been released, so she must be.

“You’re so touchy.” She laughs again. “You know, Trent, I think we could’ve gotten along very well, if you hadn’t decided to take Emma’s side. Why would you do that, anyway? You know what she planned to do to you all, right?”

My free hand curls into a fist. I’ve always been opposed to violence against women, but if Leslie were here right now, I’d be hard pressed not to fucking deck her.

“Yeah, I do know. And it’s better than we fucking deserved,” I growl.

“Well, then I don’t know why you’re so pissed at me for making sure you got what you deserved,” she shoots back, a teasing lilt to her voice. “I just made sure Emma got what was coming to her too. After all the lying she did, playing both sides for so long? She fucked with you all, and you were too blind to see it.”

“Yeah?” I start walking again, my long strides eating up chunks of ground. I’m half tempted to drive over to the facility Leslie is being held at right now and have this conversation face to face. “You think if I’d just been smart enough to see what Emma was doing I would’ve picked you, is that it? That me or Reese or West—or hell, all three of us—would’ve fallen for you once you made sure things were over between us and Ems? Well, let me tell you something, sweetheart. You’re not even a fraction of the woman she is, and you never fucking will be.”

There’s a moment of silence on the other end, and when Leslie speaks again, all humor is gone from her voice. “You’re an asshole. I used to think Emma didn’t deserve you. But maybe you all deserve each other.”

“No.” My tone is deadly serious. “I don’t deserve her. But I’m doing everything I can to change that. Including taking your ass down. There’s not a single thing in the world I want more than to deserve someone like Emma Holloway.”

There’s silence again for several long beats. And then the line goes dead.

I pull the phone away from my ear, glancing at it. Yup, sure enough—the contact that shows up on the screen makes it look like Emma just called me. Leslie must’ve known I wouldn’t pick up if I had any clue it was her.

What the hell did she want? Why did she call?

I take some grim satisfaction in knowing that whatever she called for, I don’t think she got it. She sounded pissed the last time she spoke, and there was something petulant in her silence before she hung up. Maybe she was still hoping for some insane reason that if she called me, she could talk me into being on her side, somehow turn me against Emma and my best friends.

Yeah. Nice fucking try, you bitch. That’s never gonna happen.

A sudden sense of purpose floods me, and when I reach my car, I hop in quickly and crank the key in the ignition.

I still don’t know exactly how to keep Emma safe from that crazy hacker, although I’m doing everything I can. But I meant what I told Leslie. The singular focus of my life right now is making sure Ems is taken care of. Trying to make amends for what I did in the past. Trying to deserve her.

There are more ways I can do that than just by protecting her. And I know just where to start.

It’s just a little after three o’clock, so I know where Paul Holloway will be. I punch in the name of his company on my phone and let the maps app pull up directions. It’s only about a twenty minute drive, and I use that time to get my thoughts in order. There’s a chance what I’m doing could backfire, but I need to take that risk. My vendetta against Emma affected more than just her life, and I can’t let that stand any longer.

When I reach the offices of the Wex-Tech Corporation, I park and head inside. A middle-aged woman greets me at the front desk and points me toward Paul’s office. Giving her a curt nod, I head in that direction.