Page 19

Wylder

I’m a firm believer in the theory that everyone has secrets, even the nicest people. But I have so many fucking secrets that most of the time I feel like I’m drowning in them, only right as I’m about to succumb to the lack of oxygen, I manage to take another breath right before the cycle begins again.

It’s fucking exhausting.

I wish I could get rid of some of them. Or at the very least stop accumulating them. But I’ve added even more to my list recently, one being about Harper.

I know who she is, have known since the first day I saw her at school.

When I recognized her at first, I didn’t know what to do. How could she be here at the same school as me? I hated it. Hated the connection she had to my old life.

The life I ran away from.

It’s one of my secrets, who I used to be.

I was a little worried she’d make the connection of who I am. But what I’m pretty convinced of is that she was never aware of my name back then or else she would’ve said something by now.

It’s weird not to be known by someone in this school. Being the quarterback on the football team comes with star-like status. I had that in high school too. I also could’ve gone to a bigger college—I had plenty of offers. But I was looking for a restart from my old life.

From my fucking twisted past and everyone in it.

But then Harper showed up.

I’d only seen her a few times before, but she was just as beautiful as I remember.

And so the new obsession began. I kept my distance on purpose until now, but it’s not my fault.

Although it is my fault that I can’t stop staring at her as the professor yammers on about who knows what. I’m not paying attention at all. I’m thinking about Harper’s eyes, how pretty they are. I’m thinking about that mouth of hers that smarts off, and how much I like it. I’m thinking about⁠—

Someone smacks me in the back of the head.

“What the hell is your deal with that bitch?” Brooks hisses at me from the desk beside mine.

I glare at him. “Don’t call her that.”

I know Harper can hear him, she’s within hearing range, however, she chooses to continue to type notes down.

Brooks raises a brow. “Are you trying to fuck her? Because she seems like a cock tease?”

Heat floods my body. I rarely get embarrassed. But I am right now.

“Shut up,” I hiss at Brookes, then glance at Harper.

She’s looking at me, and not in a good way. But the moment our gazes connect, she looks away from me.

I want to apologize for Brooks.

I want to tell her the truth about our past.

I want to tell her a lot of things, but in the end I decide that it might be better to just go back to how it was before the other night when I finally got the chance to speak to her.

Yeah, it’s definitely better if I keep my distance, otherwise she might make the connection and never talk to me again.

Or worse, call the cops on me.

Chapter 7

Harper