Chapter 90

Third Person POV

“Brian?! Where the hell have you been? You barely spoke to me all week and I haven’t been able to find you,” Amanda seethed storming over to the computer Brian was sitting at.

Without looking up at her, he responded with, “Here.”

He was in the library, and he had been for most of the week. Amanda and he don’t share any classes together. The only time they really see each other now is between classes and lunch, which he’s been AWOL for both.

He understood why she was frustrated with him, but at the same time, she didn’t really have a right to be upset. They weren’t dating. They were nothing more than friends and he’s made that painfully clear to her.

“All week?” She asked, folding her arms across her chest. “You never come to the library. Is it because that slut’s been here?”

Brian snapped her a look, a wave of fury washing over him.

“Don’t call her that,” he hissed.

Her frown deepened and the anger that was once written on her face was replaced with genuine hurt.

He sighed and looked back at his computer.

“No, she hasn’t been here,” he answered in a calm tone.

“Then why have you been here?” She asked, her tone softening as well.

“Studying.”

He didn’t want to tell her the truth about what he’s actually been doing. Brian has been doing extensive research on Professor Evergreen. He’s a famous author so there should be plenty about him. He wanted to find out who this mysterious author really was.

He had special connections, was seemingly rich, and most importantly, he had Tessa’s undivided attention.

The thought of Professor Evergreen made Brian’s skin crawl and he wanted to find out everything he could to prove to Tessa that he wasn’t any good.

However, he wasn’t able to find anything.

And by anything… he means ANYTHING.

It’s like he doesn’t exist outside of the books he’s written. There’s nothing about his home life, his family, no social media.

What kind of person doesn’t have social media nowadays?

Brian has spent days trying to dig up information, but he found nothing, and that infuriated him even more. So, whatever bullshit Amanda had in store this evening, he wanted no part in it. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with her today.

“You’re lying,” Amanda said between her teeth. “I know you are lying. I always know when—”

“Amanda, enough,” Brian said in a low and threatening tone, stopping her words. “If you don’t leave, I will make you wish you were dead.”

He watched as the color drained from her face. She knew that he would do just that too because she had witnessed some gruesome things Brian had done to those who pissed him off.

There was another flash of hurt in her eyes. Brian kept his eyes locked on hers to show just how serious he was.

She soon turned on her heel and left.

Brian turned back to the computer, sneering at the picture of Professor Evergreen. He was obviously hiding a secret, and Brian was determined to find out what it was.

Joseph Evergreen’s days are numbered.

…

Joseph’s POV

Fuck.

Tessa ran away so fast I was hardly able to say a single word to her. As soon as Emily appeared in the doorway of my office, I watched as Tessa’s face fell into despair and her eyes showed sadness.

It broke my heart to see her like that, but there wasn’t much I could do with Emily standing there. Maybe it would have been a better idea if I had kept my mouth shut and not had Emily come in. I didn’t know it was her though. I don’t smell her scent as strongly as I do with Tessa. At least Emily’s scent isn’t as obvious to me.

Most people have the same scented blood, nothing really separates them from one another. But Tessa’s blood is different. I couldn’t smell hers for miles and knew exactly who that blood belonged to.

I invited her to my office for lunch today because it was time that we had a long overdue conversation about that kiss and about the sex. I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do about it, but I knew I wanted Tessa to have a better life. She deserved so much better than a vampire like me. This wasn’t the life for her.

But my feelings for her were so strong that letting her go was proving to be impossible. But I would do it… for her.

I knew it wasn’t something she personally would want though. She’d be happy accompanying me to the mountains over spring break and it’s almost tempting for me to say, “fuck it” and take her with me.

Maybe then she would understand how dangerous this life can be.

Spring break was two weeks long. The thought of having her to myself for those two weeks… my heart thudded against my chest. A feeling I would never get used to.

So much I wanted to say to her during this lunch break but wasted my time with small talk. Asking about her blog and her apartment. I should have cut straight to the point, but instead, I wasted time.

Now she was gone, Emily stood in her place with a small pink Tupperware of food. It smells appetizing. Emily’s cooking wasn’t nearly as good as Tessa’s.

“I was just stopping by to see if you wanted to have lunch,” Emily said again, a little nervousness seeping through her voice as she stepped further into the office. “I’m sorry for bothering you. I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything important.”

“Any time I have a student in my office it’s important,” I said, my tone coming off slightly harsher than I meant.

She frowned deeply.

“I didn’t mean it that way. Of course, it must have been important,” she said, giving me a small smile, but I couldn’t hide the frustration I was feeling. I still needed to talk to Tessa desperately and my chance to do so today is now gone.

All because Emily wanted to have lunch.

I clenched my fists, digging my nails into my flesh to calm myself.

Emily cleared her throat when she searched my face with her eyes.

“I see you also already have lunch,” she said. “I guess I was a little late. But maybe we could do dinner tonight instead? I can cook for you—”

“Emily, I have told you previously that I’m not looking for anything specific right now. I don’t have time for women. My main focus is on writing my next book and teaching my writing course. “I’m sorry if that’s not something you want to hear. But I’d appreciate it if you respected my wishes and stopped with the advances.”

She looked hurt by my words, and I sighed.

“Dating a coworker doesn’t usually work out anyway,” I added, my tone softening.

“I’m sorry…” she breathed glancing at the ground before bringing her eyes back up to meet mine. “I’ll stop trying… I’m very embarrassed.”

She took a step toward the door just as tears filled her eyes.

“Please, don’t be,” I said calmly. “I’m sorry for being blunt.”

She shook her head.

‘It’s okay…” she said between tears. “I’ll see you around, Joseph.”

She turned and left, and I let her.

Why was it so easy for me to hurt her like that?