Chapter 156

Tessa’s POV

“Why does he have to play with my feelings like that?” I cried as Ruby wrapped her arms around me.

“Because he’s a jerk,” she said, rubbing my back gently. “Most men are nowadays. Maybe your post wasn’t far off.”

I looked up at her, sniffling and wiping my eyes.

“No… my post was wrong,” I told her, shaking my head. “I shouldn’t have written it. Not all men are like that…”

She sighed and held me tighter, allowing me to cry into her shirt.

“What even happened? He just kissed you and that was it?”

The memory of Joseph’s lips on mine surfaced in my mind. His arms around my waist and the feeling of his warmth sent me into turmoil. I hated that I was weak when it came to him. I hated that he still made me feel like this.

“He asked me about my relationship with Brian,” I told her through my tears. “He saw me with him the other night.”

“He broke up with you,” Ruby said, furrowing her brows together. “Why does it matter who you see?”

“I don’t know,” I murmured. “But then we got caught up in the moment and kissed.”

“And then what happened?”

“Nothing,” I answered, lifting my head off her shoulder. “I told him I couldn’t do this and left.”

“Did he try to stop you?”

“No,” I murmured, staring down at my hands. “He let me go…”

I don’t know why it bothered me so much that he let me go. Maybe because there was a large part of me that was still hopelessly in love with him, and I was hoping he loved me too.

I didn’t say that out loud though. I had to wipe my tears and get to class before I was late. Then, I had to get to the library and start on the assignments for Joseph’s class tomorrow night. I shuddered at the thought of seeing again; it was going to be painful pretending he meant nothing to me.

I managed to get through the rest of the day in one piece. Finals were only a few weeks away, which meant this entire school would be cramming and studying. I wasn’t surprised that the library was packed full of students who were worrying and stressing about these finals.

If we fail a final, we won’t be able to graduate.

Depending on the scholarship and its limitations, some might not be able to reattend.

“Well, look who it is,” I heard a familiar and very annoying voice coming from one of the couches in the library.

I turned to see Amanda curled up on the couch with Liz seated beside her. There was a nice lit fireplace that sat behind them and a coffee table in front of them. The library was always a cozy place; sections of it reminded me of a living room.

On the coffee table, I noticed a bunch of books and notebooks, along with a variety of colored pens and sticky notes.

It surprised me because I didn’t take either of them as studiers. I assumed their fathers would pay for their degrees.

Then I saw a frazzled-looking Cara running out from one of the aisles with a bunch more books and she scattered them across the table.

That made more sense.

“Watch it, Cara,” Liz scolded, narrowing her icy blue eyes at her supposed friend. “You almost spilled my Chai tea.”

Liz picked up her cup to sip it.

“Sorry; but we have to make sure we have all the material needed,” Cara explained, breathlessly. “Finals are right around the corner. They are important.”

“Not sure why you are worried,” Amanda said, furrowing her brows together. “You got this in the bag.”

Cara frowned and looked at the coldhearted bitches.

“It’s not me I’m worried about.”

I bit my lower lip to stifle a laugh but then Cara noticed me standing before them and her eyes widened.

“Oh… hey Tessa,” she said, giving me a kind, yet obviously forced smile. She almost looked a little nervous. I’m sure the incident at lunch left her feeling unsettled and didn’t expect me to be standing in front of them. “Are you here to study too?”

“I actually have some coursework I need to catch up on,” I told her. But then I looked around the library. “But it looks like I’ll have to do it somewhere else. There’s nowhere to sit.”

“Coursework for your boyfriend’s class?” Liz asked with a glimmer of humor in her dark gaze.

“Professor Evergreen is not my boyfriend,” I said sharply.

“Oh, right. He would never make things official with a reject like you,” Amanda sneered. “He’s just the guy you’re fucking. Because that’s all you are good for.”

“And what exactly are you good for, Amanda?” I asked, raising my brows. “Oh right… kissing other people’s boyfriends.”

Her face fell into a dark scowl.

“Maybe if you were better at it, your boyfriend wouldn’t want anyone else,” she shot back.

“We really have to study,” Cara interrupted; her voice loud and firm.

“Then, I’ll let you do that,” I said, plastering a smile and turning away from them.

“Will we be seeing you at the game tomorrow night?” Liz asked, making me pause.

“Lizzie, if she knew what was good for her, she wouldn't bother showing her face,” Amanda told her best friend, making her laugh.

I didn’t bother responding to either of them. I continued to walk away, and I didn’t turn back around.

I ended up going to my favorite spot in front of the Oaktree, overlooking the campus fountain. I curled up on the stone bench and breathed in the fresh and cool air. The peace was nice; it was exactly what I needed. I opened my notebook and my writing textbook so I could take some notes for the assignments.

Within the hour, I was able to get enough notes to complete both worksheets. Now all I had to do was do my missed assignments, and then I’ll be finished by class time tomorrow. After that, I will be all caught up.

…..

The next day at school was extremely hectic; even in college, everybody acted as if football was life or death. It was like a high school pep rally.

It was obnoxious.

The players wore their jerseys, and the cheerleaders wore their uniforms. As soon as soon as I walked into the school, I could hear the cheerleaders, specifically Amanda, telling everybody to come to the game.

“It’s going to be the game of the year!” Amanda shouted happily, while the other cheerleaders cooed and cheered.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

“Do we seriously have to go?” Ruby asked, staring at the crowd of eager students.

“Amanda and Liz don’t want us there,” I told her, glancing at her. “Which means we have to go.”

We both burst out laughing.

“Well, when you put it that way,” she chuckled. “Oh hey, did you finish your assignments for Professor Evergreen?”

I nodded.

“I spent most of the night finishing them,” I told her. “I’m exhausted.”

“Are you nervous about seeing him tonight?”

I was terrified. My stomach was tied in a thick knot, and I thought I was going to get sick every time I thought about Joseph and his class tonight. But I didn’t want to admit that out loud, so I gave her my best-plastered smile.

“In class, he’s just my professor,” I told her. “There’s nothing to be nervous about.”

I kept that mindset with me for the rest of the day. As the hours passed, the knot in my stomach seemed to have loosened.

While in class, he’s, my professor. I kept telling myself. There’s nothing more to it than that. I stood outside his classroom; Ruby must have already been inside. Miss Emily stood near her classroom door, assessing me carefully.

I wasn’t in the mood to talk to her but when we met eyes, she gave me a kind smile.

“Is everything all right, Tessa?” She asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Yes,” I answered a little too quickly, making her frown deeply. “I’ll see you later,” I added as I rushed into the classroom.

There were only a few students in the class, Ruby included. It was still early.

Joseph sat at his desk, scrolling through his computer. But he looked up when I entered. Our eyes met and my entire heart flipped in my chest. My stomach clenched as I approached his desk. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he refrained from doing so.

“I finished the assignments,” I told him, placing them on his desk.

“Very good,” he said, giving me a nod. “I’ll take a look at them after class.”

I nodded and turned to walk to my desk.

“Tessa,” he said, making me stop. I didn’t look at him, but I felt his eyes on the back of my head. “Stay after class so we can talk.”

It wasn’t a question; I felt like an order.

I didn’t respond; I scurried to my desk and sat beside Ruby.

“Are you okay?” She whispered.

I shook my head; I wasn’t okay. I felt like I was never going to be okay again. She knew this and didn’t hound me for anything else.

For most of the class, I was quiet; Ruby did a great job at catching me up on everything he spoke about during the class that I missed, so I felt like I didn’t miss anything. By the time class ended, only a few students stayed behind to ask some questions.

“Want me to stay?” She asked.

I shook my head.

“No; it’s okay. But don’t go too far. We are going to the game together, remember?”

“How could I forget,” she muttered.

She soon left the class and I waited at my desk while the other students finished their conversations with Joseph and then they soon left as well.

Joseph remained at his desk, leaning against it with his arms across his chest and his eyes fixed on my face.

“Hey,” he finally said, breaking the awkward silence between us.

“Hey,” I said in return, standing to my feet and slowly approaching him. “What did you want to talk about?”

“I wanted to talk about what happened yesterday,” he said, making me pause.

“Here?” I asked, my face feeling incredibly hot.

“Yes,” he said, shrugging. “Nobody is around, so why not?”

“There’s nothing to talk about. We kissed. That was it,” I said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“My reaction to seeing you with Brian wasn’t fair to you,” he said, folding his arms from his chest. “I shouldn’t have gotten upset. I had no right.”

“No, you didn’t,” I said sharply.

He nodded,

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “You have a right to see whoever you want.”

I felt cold from his words.

“I’m not seeing Brian,” I made it a point to tell him.

He lifted his gaze to meet my eyes.

“It still isn’t my place…” he breathed.

My heart was pounding in my chest, and I had no idea what I was doing. But he looked so vulnerable and defeated. My heart ached and I just wanted to provide him with some kind of comfort.

“Joseph…” I said, stepping closer to him and closing the gap between us.

He met my eyes again, and this time, I knew I was going to get lost.

…..

Third Person POV

“Holy shit, Lizzie,” Amanda spoke in a loud whisper as she peered into the little window that rested on Professor Evergreen’s classroom door.

“What?” Liz asked, trying to shove her out of the way. “Let me see.”

Amanda reluctantly stepped aside so her BFF could see the scandalous scene in front of them.

“Oh, my god!” Liz whispered, stepping away from the door. “We were right this entire time!”

Amanda reached into her purse to grab her phone.

“And soon, the entire world will know it as well.”