He immediately stops talking when he spots me coming in. His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows and guilt softens his dark eyes. With a sheepish grin, he shoves his phone and hands in his pockets.
“Hey…” he says carefully.
I sigh and nod. “Hi.”
Strolling closer, he lets his fingers trail over my arm, and the feeling is warm. Comforting.
“I think I fucked up yesterday and should have helped you more. But I… Um… I tried.”
“I know,” I say. “It’s fine. You wanted to watch the Stallionsand?—”
“No, your test is important. So next weekend, I’ll make time to help you.Withoutdistractions.” His hand wanders down to grab mine, and I smile.
“Thanks.”
“So I will try, but I?—”
I don’t let him finish, wanting to get everything off my chest. “I failed. And it wasn’t even my fault.”
That’s when the sobs rip from my throat. I never fail. And I rarely cry. I tried so fucking hard. Studied my ass off. Only to let my ex and his father win?
Apollo pulls me into his thick chest, his taut arms wrapping around me until I feel safe. He rests his chin against my head. “I’m sorry. What happened? This feels like I caused it.”
Soaking his T-shirt, I explain what I just went through.
He stands stoic, unmoving, as I rage on about Ayan Dutta and his father having it out for me. Probably plotting this since the night Apollo kissed me.
I pull back when he hasn’t said anything for a minute. His large thumbs stroke over my heated cheeks.
“So you think Dean Dutta has it out for you because of Ayan? To…go so far as tofailyour exam, even if it could be easily proven to be untrue?”
I take a step back. “Are you saying I’m being ridiculous?”
He shakes his head. “I didn’t say that.”
“But you think I’m being paranoid.”
A long silence stretches until he reaches for me.
“I didn’t say that either.”
“But you didn’t deny it. You’re acting as if you’re not on my side.”
“I am, butI…”
“Butwhat?”
“I know you lost your best friend. And now you’re going through this.”
My body trembles with ire at the word. “I didn’tloseher. She wasslaughtered.”
“Th-that’s horrible. I can’t imagine what you’re going through. And it’s probably adding to the stress of everything. And then the lollipops.” With a sorrow-filled expression, he glances toward the kitchen. “Have you been taking the vitamins?”
My eyes bug out, and my stomach drops.
“I’m talking about my grades, about mydead best friend, and you’re talkingvitamins. What’sthatabout?”
“The president was worried about you. That you hadn’t been wearing your wellness bracelet and not taking your vitamins. They said if you didn’t, we may need to worry about things like, well…paranoia.”
