Chapter 198

Tessa’s POV

My hands were shaking as I took my journal out of my bag and turned to face Dean Miller. He stared at me with raised brows and then his gaze shifted to the journal.

I glanced at Joseph who gave me an encouraging nod.

“When I first started my blog a couple of years ago, I didn’t get much engagement on it,” I began, stepping forward and closer to Dean Miller’s desk. “I got a few followers within these years, but not many. It wasn’t until I met Joseph that I started to pick up more engagement.”

Dean Miller’s brows rose so high they nearly disappeared into his hairline. He started to tap his fingers on his knee as he leaned back in his seat.

It looked like he was parting his lips to speak, but I quickly spoke again, stopping him from saying anything.

“Between his mentoring, class, and overall advice, I was able to write posts that not only relate to people in my age group but also speak to their hearts,” I said, taking a deep breath before placing my journal on his desk.

His eyes darted to the journal; confusion clear on his face.

“What is this?” He asked, unmoving.

“It’s my journal,” I told him. “Joseph had the idea a few months ago that I should start making my blog more personal. Writing about things that truly matter. I was trying too hard to make my blog a fiction platform, but that’s not what people want in a blog. They expect fantasy in books and stories, but they seek blogs out for relatable content and advice.”

“Okay?” He urged; I could tell his patience was running thin.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat.

“So, I decided to turn my journal into my blog posts,” I continued, fixating my attention on the journal that remained closed on his desk. “If you open it, you’ll see all my journal entries, with dates, that I turned into blog posts. Only some minor editing was done to them, but they are all my words. My blog is entirely mine and I won’t allow anyone else to take credit for writing them. That blog is personal to me; those are my experiences, my feelings, and my hard work and dedication. I earned those followers, and I earned those views. It’s insulting to think that I didn’t….”

I could feel myself getting worked up. Joseph stood behind me and I could feel his eyes burning a hole in the back of my head. Dean Miller’s eyes widened as he studied my face.

“I’ve been at this school for 4 years, Dean Miller,” I continued to say. “I worked my ass off to get that scholarship and I’ve worked even harder to keep my grades up. I have never cheated in my entire life and I’m not going to start now. I’d like to think you know me better than that, but I suppose we have never had real talks before. But I’m a bit hurt that you’d think that I would allow Joseph to help me cheat my way to success…”

Joseph finally stepped beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder to calm me. I hadn’t realized my body was trembling until his touch soothed me.

I looked up at him and saw that he wasn’t looking at me. He was staring directly at Dean Miller who was now looking at him, his lips pressed in a thin line and uncertainty clear on his face.

“Tessa is a great student. She’s earned her place at this school just as she’s earned her place in my class. Any student around this school can vouge for her and if needed I will bring them here myself so they can speak to you on her behalf,” Joseph said, his voice never faltering.

I felt a sense of pride bubbling in my chest as is stared up at Joseph. I felt protected and valued when he was around, and I tried desperately to keep the grin off my face as I turned back to Dean Miller.

He was staring between the two of us like he was waiting for us to continue. But I didn’t have anything more to say and I doubted Joseph did either.

Joseph then cleared his throat and his eyes shifted to the journal that now sat on Dean Miller’s desk.

“Are you going to look at that?” Joseph asked, motioning with his head toward the journal.

Dean Miller’s eyes shifted to the journal and after a slight hesitation, he reached across his desk and grasped it. I fought the urge to flinch as he opened the thin pages of my personal diary and his eyes scanned over each word as if his entire life depended on it.

I didn’t like the idea of anyone reading my deepest and darkest thoughts; not everything in the journal was posted on my blog. But even if it was, it felt different having someone read these entries in my handwriting.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Dean Miller finally sighed and closed my journal, sliding it across his desk and toward me. I was quick to snatch it back and I held it close to my chest with an odd sense of violation.

“I’ve read enough,” Dean Miller sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose and shaking his head slowly. “I apologize, Tessa, for this mess that seemed to have gotten bigger. I should have done a bit more research before accusing you of being dishonest. That is on me entirely.”

I was surprised by this, but I kept quiet. I stared at the ground, resisting the urge to start crying.

“I appreciate the work you’ve both done to help me see the truth,” Dean Miller continued. “Tessa, I’m going to reinstate your blog and wipe your record clean of deceit.”

I finally released the breath of air I hadn’t known I’d been holding. My entire body felt like it was about to fall over, but I managed to stay on my feet.

“Thank you, sir,” I said to him, biting my lower lip to keep from sobbing. “Thank you so much.”

Before another word could be spoken, the phone started to ring, bringing us all about to reality. Dean Miller quickly answered it.

“Yes?”

He paused for a moment, and I knew the voice on the other end belonged to his receptionist.

“Good, bring him in,” Dean Miller said just before he hung up. He turned his gaze in our direction. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be speaking with Jeremy Evan’s now.”

I looked up at Joseph who was still staring at Dean Miller and then he nodded. Before I knew what was happening, Joseph took my hand, shocking me, and he pulled me toward the office door. Before he could pull the door open, it opened immediately, and standing in front of us was Jeremy Evan’s.

He looked all sorts of nervous as his eyes darted around. I stared him directly in the eyes and all I wanted to do was slap him in the face. I swallowed the lump in my throat, clenching and unclenching my fists.

He was the reason I almost didn’t graduate. He was the reason I almost lost my blog. Anger seethed through me.

“Tessa,” my voice was spoken so calmly it was like a whisper against my ear.

Joseph.

I took a breath, turned on my heel, and left the office without a single word spoken.

When we got far enough distance, Joseph grabbed my arm, halting me.

“Are you okay?” He asked me, keeping his tone low in case there were any lurkers. It was still early so the halls were yet to be flooded with eager students ready for their last day of testing.

I nodded, meeting his eyes.

“I’m better,” I told him. “Thank you for helping me prove my innocence.”

His smile brightened the entire hallway as he reached his hands up and gently rubbed my arms with his fingers.

“I’ll always be here to help you,” he assured me, making my entire face flush.

I had to fight to keep the tears away.

He bent and kissed me gently on the lips, but the kiss didn’t last long. He pulled away and studied my face.

“I’m going to grade the exams and then I’m heading home for the day. I’m exhausted. I’ll come back in a couple of hours to pick you up though.”

I shook my head.

“I’ll walk home,” I told him, giving him a small smile. “You can pick me up tonight though.”

He narrowed his eyes.

“Why can’t I pick you up?”

“Because it’d be a pointless trip. I’d like to go home for a little bit today and then come over tonight,” I told him.

He nodded, stepping away from me.

“Okay,” he said softly. “As you wish.”

I smiled gratefully at him and then turned and went toward my locker. I knew Joseph was watching me until I disappeared around the corner. Truth be told, I liked it when he watched me walk away. It made me feel wanted and desired.

Ruby was at our lockers when I arrived and when she noticed me approaching, she looked surprised.

“Oh, you’re here early,” she said, giving me a faint smile. “How are you? Did you talk to Dean Miller?”

I caught Ruby up on almost everything that happened before I fell asleep last night. I called her and told her about Jeremy Evan and how my blog was suspended. She offered to speak to Dean Miller on my behalf and vouched for me. But I declined her kind offer, wanting to deal with this on my own.

“I did,” I told her with a smile. “I got my blog back.”

“Oh, Tess. I’m so happy for you!” She breathed, throwing her arms around me.

I hugged her and chuckled through my relieved tears.

“I just want to get today over with and get some rest. I’m exhausted,” I told her.

She nodded in agreement and with her arm draped through mine, we went to class to complete our last exam.

….

I walked home alone. Ruby offered to give me a ride, but I really wanted to spend some time by myself. I feel like I’ve been putting on a brave face for so long these last few days, that I just needed to take the mask off and cry without anyone judging me.

Joseph was planning on picking me up from my apartment in a few hours; the sun was still up so I knew Joseph was most likely sleeping. This gave me enough time to be by myself and feel my feelings.

As I walked, I passed by a small flower that appeared to be wilting in the hot air. It was a lonely flower, which I found odd because usually grew in bunches. But this was just a singular flower, growing out of the ground on the side of the road.

I crouched beside it, frowning.

“Hey, little guy,” I breathed, my voice coming out as a whisper. “How did you get here?”

I reached out and touched the browning pink petal, running my fingers down its stem until it fell to the ground beside it.

“I suppose we aren’t much different from one another,” I whispered. “I too am wilting…”

Just as those words were spoken, a light gust of wind brushed my hair in front of my face, making it hard to see. I shook my head and swiped my hand across my face to get my hair away.

I furrowed my brows at the wind once I was able to get my hair out of my face.

That was strange.

Looking back at the flower, my eyes grew large, my mouth dropped open, and my entire body froze from what I was looking at.