Chapter 6 Kingdom Come...

"Sixty thousand dollars?" I stepped forward until my shaking legs hit the mahogany desk. "I don't have that kind of money! You know I don't!"

"Then I suggest you start packing," Mr. Davis said with a cruel, victorious laugh. He reached back and patted Liam on the shoulder.

Liam smirked at me from behind his father's expensive jacket. His eyes gleamed with pure, arrogant satisfaction. He had won.

"Please, Dean Aris, you can't do this," my voice broke, and the tears I’ve been trying to hold back all morning finally spilled down my cheeks. 

"My stepmother just drained my entire savings account. That money was the only thing paying for my grandmother's life support in the ICU. If you revoke my scholarship now, I can't even apply for an emergency student loan to cover her bills. I'll have nothing. If I can't pay the hospital by tomorrow morning, they will kick her out. She will literally die."

"I am truly sorry for your family troubles," the Dean said smoothly, fixing his tie. "But this is an elite college, not a charity ward. Your tuition balance is due on Friday."

"She didn't do it!" Coach Miller tried one last time, looking completely defeated.

"Actions have consequences in the real world." Mr. Davis said, adding insult to injury.

I took a slow, unsteady step back from the desk.

My legs felt like solid lead, and the air in the room suddenly felt way too thin to breathe. 

It was over. 

All those late nights studying, all the sacrifices, all the verbal abuse I endured from my stepmother just to keep a roof over my head… it was all for nothing. 

I was broke, I was expelled, and my Gran was going to die.

I stared down at my cheap sneakers, and a hot tear dropped onto the carpet. 

I didn't even bother wiping my face. I just went totally silent, letting the crushing weight of defeat swallow me whole.

Across the quiet room, a heavy boot shifted on the floorboards.

Ryder Kingston finally moved away from the bookshelf and walked slowly to the middle of the office. His heavy leather jacket creaked loudly in the quiet room. His face wasn't blank anymore. 

His jaw was clenched tight, and a muscle ticked in his cheek. His eyes were dark and stormy as he stared at Mr. Davis with pure hatred.

He stopped right next to me, his massive frame practically shielding my smaller body from Liam and his awful father.

Looking down at the Dean’s desk where my academic file lay open right on top of the messy pile of papers, I’m pretty sure he saw the bright red '4.0 GPA' printed clearly at the very top.

He stared at the paper for a second. Then, a slow, dark smirk spread across his bruised face.

He looked up slowly, pulling his dark gaze away from the file to lock eyes directly with Liam's father. "Nobody is getting expelled today," Ryder stated. 

His voice wasn't loud, but the certainty in his tone instantly commanded the room. "She didn't orchestrate a hit. She’s my new, university-approved academic tutor. And also my girlfriend. I saw your son cornering her in the library, and I stepped in to handle it. It was self-defense." 

The entire room went completely, utterly silent. 

Mr. Davis’s face turned an ugly, dangerous shade of purple. "This is a farce!" he roared, pointing a shaking finger at Ryder. "You are making this up to save your own skin! You don't even know this girl!"

"Are you calling me a liar, Mr Davis?" Ryder challenged. “You also don’t know me… or her.”

"Actually, Richard, this makes perfect sense!" Coach Miller practically shouted. 

He jumped to his feet, and you could physically see the lightbulb going off in his head. "Dean Aris, the athletic department has the Academic Liaison program. I still have my one discretionary tuition waiver left for the year! I will submit the paperwork to the athletic board this afternoon to make Miss Evans his official, full-time handler. The board will approve it if it means keeping Ryder eligible!"

"This is unacceptable!" Mr. Davis slammed his hand on the desk. "He assaulted my son unprovoked!"

"Except he just told you it wasn't unprovoked," Coach Miller countered with a massive, victorious grin. "He was defending his girlfriend from a threat. That completely changes the legal liability of the hit, Richard. You don't have a case anymore."

Mr. Davis looked like he was going to explode. Liam shrunk down behind him, realising his perfect plan to ruin my life had just totally backfired.

Dean Aris folded his hands on the desk. 

He didn't care about the truth; he only cared about the university's television funding and avoiding a lawsuit. And Coach Miller had just handed him the perfect, shiny loophole to make everyone happy.

"Very well," Dean Aris said, adjusting his glasses. "Miss Evans, I will place a temporary administrative hold on your tuition deadline, pending the athletic board's approval of your liaison contract."

The Dean then turned his cold eyes to Ryder. "Mr. Kingston, your permanent suspension is reduced to a one-game penalty. You will sit out this Friday's match. Furthermore, you are both on strict, monitored probation. If I hear even a whisper that this relationship or the tutoring is a fake, I will bypass the board and expel you both myself. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Ryder said lazily.

Before the Dean could even dismiss us, Ryder turned to me and stepped directly into my personal space.

Without asking, he reached down and grabbed my cheap backpack from the floor, casually slinging it over his broad shoulder like it weighed nothing. 

Then, his large, heavy hand wrapped securely around my waist, pulling me flush against his side.

"Let's go," he muttered in a low voice, though it was firm enough to carry across the room.

My heart was beating so fast I felt dizzy. The heat radiating off his body was overwhelming, and his grip on my waist was firm. I was too stunned to even try and fight him, so I just let him guide me toward the door, desperate to escape the toxic air in that room.

The heavy wooden doors clicked shut behind us, cutting us off from the Dean's office.

The second we were out of sight, Ryder dropped his hand from my waist and shoved my backpack into my chest.

Skylar was off the hallway bench in a flash. She sprinted over to me, practically vibrating with nervous energy. "Well? What happened? What did they say? Tell me I don't have to go slash Mr. Davis's tires!"

"I still go here," I breathed out, leaning against the cool wall of the corridor. "And my tuition is covered."

"Oh my god, yes!" Skylar squealed, throwing her arms around my neck.

"Give us a minute," a deep voice rumbled.

Skylar let go of me and turned around. Ryder was standing a few feet away, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his leather jacket. He was staring at me with those intense, dark eyes.

"Excuse me, giant?" Skylar put her hands on her hips, completely fearless. "She's had a really traumatic day, so maybe back up."

Ryder didn't even blink at Skylar's threat. He just kept looking at me.

"It's okay, Sky," I told my roommate softly, stepping between them. "I'm fine. But you are going to fail your textiles midterm if you don't sprint to the lecture hall right now."

"I don't care about the midterm," Skylar argued stubbornly, though she glanced nervously down the hallway.

"I care," I said, giving her a gentle push. "You can still make it for the second half of the test. Go. I'll meet you back at the dorm later."

Skylar narrowed her eyes at Ryder, gave him the classic 'I'm watching you' hand gesture, and finally sprinted away down the hall.

Once we were alone, Ryder took a step closer to me. He was so tall I actually had to tilt my head back to look him in the eye.

"Listen, Cleo…"

"Chloe," I snapped, my exhaustion instantly turning into pure irritation. "My name is Chloe. You just stood in that office, told the Dean of the entire university that I was your girlfriend, and you don't even know my actual name?"

"Cleo, Chloe, whatever," Ryder muttered, totally unbothered by my anger.

"It's not 'whatever'," I shot back, crossing my arms tightly over my chest. "Why did you do that? I don't want anything to do with you! Not knowing you has already landed me in enough trouble today to last a lifetime. If you're expecting some massive thank you for saving me in there, you can wait until kingdom come."

Ryder let out a short, rough laugh that lacked any real humour.

"Don't flatter yourself, Cleo," he said smoothly. "You think the world revolves around you? I didn't hit him to defend your honour. I didn't even notice you were standing there crying."

"Then why did you do it?" I demanded.

"Because your ex was being loud, and he has a highly punchable face," Ryder said with a straight face. "It was entirely for my own personal peace and quiet. The fact that your perfect GPA was sitting on the Dean's desk right when I needed a get-out-of-jail-free card is just a happy coincidence."

I stared at him, completely bewildered. He really was just as arrogant and impossible as his reputation suggested.

Ryder pulled a folded piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and casually held it out to me.

I hesitated for a second before snatching it from his fingers. I unfolded it. It was an address for a house off-campus.

"Well, we have to sell the whole dating and tutoring stuff now, and we need to talk terms," Ryder said, turning away to walk down the hall. 

He looked over his shoulder one last time, a dangerous smirk playing on his bruised lips. "Come to my house tonight. Don't be late, Nerd."