Chapter 169

[Ella’s POV]

Had it not been for the extensive weight of my exhaustion, I would have gone with Liam and Arthur. Although I had no special regard for Mrs. Shields, I didn’t want either one of them going after her.

“We’re just going to have a little chat,” Arthur said with a familiar, menacing glint in his eye.

Bullshit.

If I knew Arthur, there was no way that he was going to have a civil conversation with Shields after finding out what she’s been up to these past few weeks. And...I honestly couldn’t blame him.

The way Mrs. Shields had been acting toward me since I first transferred went against everything a real teacher was supposed to stand for. She was supposed to stop bullying—not initiate it.

And to hear that she’d been keeping some sort of watch on me while reporting her findings to Aaron Winslow was something I never would have expected. It frightened me more so than it angered me. Aaron was an unpredictable person who would go to any lengths to get what he wanted.

Evening pinning his own sons against one another...

Regardless, I wished I had gone with them when they practically bulldozed out of the room. My heart had been pounding in my chest from the unexpected kiss Arthur placed on my lips right before he headed out.

I was merely waiting for Liam to lose it and snap; however, he surprised me by showing a look of indifference. Maybe he was growing used to the idea of Arthur being around. I hoped so. Part of me still felt extremely guilty for not having told Liam about the more intimate kiss Arthur and I shared when he saved me from the hunter.

I promise once the two of them get back from talking to Shields, that we are going to discuss this growing dynamic between the three of us.

My eyes grew heavy and soon I found myself succumbing to the exhaustion once more.

...

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

“Ugh! God, what?” I groaned.

My eyes were barely opened as I was still buried under Liam’s blankets. I felt a bit disoriented, not having a clue where I was at first.

That wasn’t the first time I heard my phone go off within the hour, but I’d been fast asleep, shockingly without a single nightmare.

I struggled for a moment before being able to reach for my phone. My heart leaped into my throat when I saw the amount of missed calls Bonnie had left me, not to mention the dozen text messages that came afterward.

The cold shiver of fear raced down my spine as I thought about what could have been going on that would elicit such a frantic reaction from her. As much as I wanted to close my eyes again, I knew I had to call her back and find out what was happening.

I pressed the call button and was immediately greeted by a frantic-sounding Bonnie.

“Hey—”

“Oh my God! Where have you been? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for hours!”

I pressed a hand to my head and sighed. “Yes, I know. I’m sorry. I’m actually up in Liam’s room right now, resting.”

“Oh, shit,” she hissed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your resting time.”

“It’s okay, you didn’t know. I should have told you that I was up in here in the first place. You know how you told me that I wasn’t looking too well before?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I should have listened more to you and Liam. I tried going to class this morning and ended up collapsing outside of my English class,” I told her.

Bonnie gasped. “Oh my God, Ella!”

“I know, I know. I was just lucky that I ran into Ben and he was able to get me back to the dorm,” I said.

“Ben? Oh! Your partner for your English project, that’s right,” she said.

“Anyway, what is it that you’ve been trying to talk to me about?” I asked.

“Right, about that...Have you been online at all today?” she questioned back.

My head slightly shook. “No.”

“You need to check that media account,” Bonnie told me.

My stomach churned at the thought of checking that damn account. I placed the call on speakerphone and proceeded to pull up the media page. The moment it fully loaded on my screen, I was stunned.

“The photo...The one of me shifting...It’s gone,” I muttered.

“Exactly!” Bonnie squealed. “This account, from the moment I first came across it, has never had any adjustments made to it. Photos have only ever been uploaded—never taken down.”

And why that photo specifically?

“What the hell?” I whispered.

“It was literally taken down a few hours ago,” she said. “Do you have any idea why?”

“No.”

I wished I did, though. Hell, after the week I’d been having I should have been grateful, relieved that something like this had happened. But what I wanted to know was why.

The timing was far too suspicious for my liking.

“So, you’re still in Liam’s room, right?”

“Yeah, I’m up in his dorm for the time being. He and Arthur went off to find Mrs. Shields.”

“Mrs. Shields? Why?”

“It’s a long story,” I mumbled. “Apparently, she’s had it out for me since I transferred here.”

“What?! That’s insane!”

I knew I couldn’t go into too much detail without raising more questions. I wasn’t willing to get any more of my friends involved in this damn mess that was my life.

I stole a quick glance at the time on my phone. “Are you finished up with classes for the day?”

“Yeah, I’m making my way back from History right now.”

“Do you want to meet up? I feel like there’s so much going on right now, I could really use your help trying to sort it out. We could meet up at the library.”

“Sure thing! How about I meet you back in our dorm in a few minutes?”

After I ended the call, I sent a quick message to Liam, letting him know that I was heading to the library to meet up with Bonnie and reassuring him that I was feeling a lot better.

...

I was glad Bonnie was willing to meet up with me because I was desperate to get out for a little while. I grabbed my bag and headed out of the dorm.

The moment the late afternoon air hit me, I was glad to take in a few deep breaths before heading toward the library. With any luck, I would also be able to get some work done, considering my absence from my classes recently.

I spotted an empty, secluded table off to the side and quickly snagged it for Bonnie and me. A couple of minutes passed before I spotted her walking through the main doors with a wide smile on her face.

“Hey! How are you feeling?” she asked.

I gave a slight shrug. “Not too bad. I somehow managed to finally get some sleep. Unfortunately, I’m way behind with all of my classes.”

Right as I got my books out of my bag, I heard my phone go off again. At first, I thought it was Bonnie or even Liam...But I was wrong.

Unknown ID: Miss Belmont, your presence is requested at the Winslow Manor tomorrow evening. Alone.