Chapter 2 The Feeling is Mutual...

"Who threw that?!" Mia’s loud voice echoed loudly across the quiet library.

"Oww! My head! I think I'm bleeding! I am bleeding!" Liam whined, rolling on the carpet like a kid.

"I said, who threw the damn book?" Mia yelled again looking at the crowd of students peeking through the tall wooden bookshelves. "Show yourself now! You can't just throw things at people! I'll have you arrested!"

"I did."

The deep, rough sent an instant shiver down my spine.

"Who said that?" Liam groaned, sitting up slowly and holding his head. "Come out so I can see you!"

"Gladly," the voice replied.

A huge figure stepped out from the corner of the history aisle.

It was Ryder Kingston.

Everyone on campus knew who he was. He was the terrifying and very wealthy captain of the university hockey team. 

He stood at around 6’4” with broad shoulders that looked like they were going to rip through his black leather jacket. He had dark, messy hair and eyes that were as cold as ice. 

Whenever he walked down the hallway, people parted like the red sea. He was dangerous, and right now, he looked really angry.

"You?" Liam choked out, his eyes widening in pure fear as he scrambled backwards on the floor. "Ryder? What's wrong with you man? I didn't even do anything to you!"

Ryder didn't say a word to him; he didnlt even look at me. He just walked past me like I was invisible.

"I asked you a question!" Liam yelled, trying to sound tough but failing miserably. "Why did you hit me with a book?"

"Because you talk much," Ryder said in a low, dangerous tone.

Ryder reached down grabbed Liam by the collar of his polo shirt and pulled him up to his feet like he weighed nothing.

"Hey! Let him go now!" Mia screamed, rushing forward and hitting Ryder’s arm. "Don't touch him!"

Ryder ignored her entirely. He didn't even flinch when she hit him. He just pulled his fist back and punched Liam in the jaw.

CRACK.

"Oh my god!" a student in the crowd yelled out.

"Holy crap!" someone else shouted.

Liam hit the floor again, out cold for a second before he started groaning and spitting blood onto the carpet.

"Liam! Baby!" Mia dropped down next to him, her hands hovering over his bleeding mouth. "Someone call the police! He's crazy! He's a lunatic!"

"Shut up," Ryder told her coldly, shaking his hand out.

"You broke his jaw! I think you broke his jaw!" Mia cried out looking up at Ryder with terror.

"It'll heal " Ryder said, flexing his knuckles. "Or maybe it won't. I don't care either way."

"Why did you do that?" I whispered in a shaky voice.

Ryder turned his head slowly and looked at me. His dark eyes were unreadable. He stared at me for a few seconds but he didn't answer my question.

"Hey, what’s going on here?" a loud voice boomed from the end of the aisle.

Three campus security guards rushed down the path their belts jingling and their walkie-talkies buzzing loudly with static.

"He attacked us!" Mia pointed a shaking finger at Ryder, her fake tears flowing instantly. "He threw a book at Liam’s head and then he punched him in the face for no reason! Look at my boyfriend! He’s bleeding everywhere!"

"Stand back, son," the head security guard said, pulling out a pair of plastic zip-ties from his belt. "Put your hands where I can see them. Don't make any movements."

"Relax, Paul " Ryder said dryly holding his hands out casually. "I'm not going to fight you guys. I'm done."

"Mr. Kingston. Again?" The guard named Paul sighed heavily, looking really tired of dealing with him. "This is the third time this semester we have had to deal with you fighting on campus."

"He slipped and fell," Ryder said with a completely straight face, not even trying to make it sound believable.

"He punched me!" Liam managed to mumble through his swollen jaw, blood dripping down his chin. "I want to press charges! I want him in jail!"

"Get up," the guard told Ryder, securing the zip-ties around his wrists. "You're coming with us to the Dean’s office. Right now. The administration will hear about this immediately."

Paul then turned and glared at the crowd of whispering students peeking through the shelves. "And the rest of you, keep it down! This is a library, not a wrestling ring. Anyone else caught shouting is getting dragged out of here too!" 

The guards grabbed Ryder’s arms, though they looked a bit scared to handle him roughly. As they started to drag him toward the stairs, Ryder stopped walking and looked over his shoulder directly at me.

I was still standing there frozen in shock, crying silently. I looked like a complete mess. 

"Stop crying over trash " Ryder said in a flat and emotionless voice.

"What?" I asked, confused sniffing loudly.

"You heard me," he said, holding my gaze. "Tears are a waste of time. Especially on garbage like him. He's not worth it."

Before I could even reply to that, the guards pulled him away, leading him down the stairs and out of sight.

The library was in chaos now. Dozens of students had gathered around, whispering loudly, pointing their phones at us and taking pictures and videos of Liam bleeding on the floor.

"This is all your fault!" Mia turned on me looking like a rabid dog.

"My fault?" I asked, wiping my face with the back of my hand. "How is this my fault? I didn't tell him to do that! I don't even know him!"

"Liar!" Liam spat, leaning against the bookshelf for support as he tried to stand up. "You planned this Chloe! You couldn't handle me dumping you so you got the school bully to jump me!"

"Are you insane?" I yelled back at him. "I was just as surprised as you were! Why would I tell someone to hit you?"

"Don't play dumb with us," Mia sneered, stepping closer into my space. "Everyone knows you tutor them for cash. You probably promised him something just to beat up my boyfriend!"

"That is disgusting!" I shouted, feeling my face burn with anger and embarrassment. "I never tutored Ryder Kingston in my life! I have never even spoken to him before today! You guys are crazy!"

"Save it," Liam said, holding his mouth with his hand. "I'm reporting you to the Dean too. You're going down for this Chloe. I'm going to make sure you get expelled from this university."

"You can't do that!" I cried out. "I didn't do anything ! You were the one cheating on me! In the library! With my stepsister!"

"Who cares about that?" Mia laughed cruelly tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Cheating isn't against the school rules. Assault is. And you just orchestrated an assault on another student."

"You both know I didn't!" I stepped forward my hands shaking with rage.

"We don't know anything," Mia said with a smile. "All we know is that your friend attacked Liam and we are going to tell the administration that. They will believe us over you. We have money. You have nothing."

"Everyone saw him act alone!" I pointed at the crowd of students still watching us. "Right? You guys saw him! Tell them he did it by himself!"

The students immediately looked away pretending to read their books or check their phones. Nobody said a word. Nobody wanted to get involved with Ryder Kingston's mess or Mia's wealthy family. They were all too scared.

"See?" Mia chuckled softly. "No one is going to help you Chloe. You are completely on your own. Just like always."

"I hate you," I whispered, feeling everything fall apart again. My grandmother, my money, my boyfriend and now my education. All gone.

"Quiet back there!" a sharp voice snapped. The librarian marched to the edge of the aisle, looking red with anger. "Security already took the violent one! If you three don't pack up your things and leave this instant, I am revoking your library cards for the entire semester!"

"The feeling is mutual, sis," Mia whispered back happily, completely unbothered by the librarian. "Come on Liam. Let’s get you to the campus clinic. The smell of poor people in here is giving me a headache anyway."

"You will pay for this Chloe," Liam mumbled, shooting me one dirty look before he limped away with Mia holding his arm.

I stood there in the middle of the aisle alone. The crowd slowly dispersed, leaving me standing next to the pool of blood, on the carpet.

I couldn't breathe. Everything was spinning. I felt like I was going to throw up. With everything so far, now I might be getting in trouble for something I didn't do.”

"How could today possibly get any worse?" I ask the room, letting out a dry bitter laugh.

As if the universe is answering my question, my phone suddenly starts ringing in my pocket.

I flinched as I pulled it out with shaking hands.

The caller ID shows on the screen. It's the hospital. Again.

My heart drops into my stomach. I hit the green accept button and pressed the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Miss Evans, this is Nurse Jenkins from the intensive care unit," a woman’s voice said quickly. She sounds really stressed.

"Is it my grandmother? Is she okay? Please tell me she is okay!"

"Her condition has suddenly gotten worse, Miss Evans," the nurse explained, sounding serious. "Her breathing dropped dangerously low a few minutes ago. We had to put her on the emergency ventilator."

"Oh my god," I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand. Tears start pouring down my face. "Can I come see her? I will be there!"

"You can come, but I need to tell you about the hospital’s decision " the nurse said, sounding a bit sympathetic but mostly professional. "Because of the bounced payment this morning and now the need for the breathing machine the cost of her care has just doubled."