Chapter 7

Tessa’s POV

“Get out of here, Brian. Nobody wants you around,” Ruby hissed to him, narrowing her icy eyes in his direction.

“He insisted that we came here,” Amanda, who was leaning against the lockers, said while rolling her eyes.

“I just want to talk to—” he began to say until his eyes finally found mine. “Tessa!”

I glanced back at the closed door to Joseph’s classroom before looking at Brian with wide and alarmed eyes.

“Just let me talk to you for a minute,” Brian said, stumbling towards me.

I stared up at him with a frown. I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

“Brian, what are you doing here?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

“I want to explain myself,” he said, lowering his tone. “Tessa, you know I love you more than anything. You were the first girl I’ve ever loved. Don’t throw that away because—”

“Because you cheated on me?” I asked, filling in the blanks. “I can’t be with a cheat, Brian.”

“I didn’t cheat on you, Tessa!” Brian said desperately. “Amanda was drunk, and she was the one who kissed me.”

“That’s not what it looked like from where I was standing.”

“I might have been a little drunk too,” Brian confessed.

“Smells like you still are,” Ruby muttered.

I knew it was taking her a lot of restraint to not yell at him.

“I might have had a few drinks tonight,” admitted Brian. “But it’s only because I’m so upset that my girlfriend of 3 years won’t talk to me.”

“I can’t trust you, Brian. It’s as simple as that. I don’t plan on returning to our apartment. Ruby will be there later to grab my things.”

I turned away from him, but he grabbed my arm, stopping me.

I immediately pulled my arm away from him.

“Don’t touch me,” I ordered firmly.

“Tessa, baby…” he said in that low and sexy tone I’ve always loved so much. He knew he could always get me to do what he wants when he uses that tone on me. “I know I haven’t been the best boyfriend. But I care about you deeply. I care about your future, so I’m always on you about stuff. You have to believe that.”

My heart ached in my chest as I stared up at the man that I had loved so much and for so long.

Walking away from this relationship was proving to be difficult.

“If you cared about her, you wouldn’t have kissed your best friend,” Ruby’s voice broke through my thoughts.

“As I said, Amanda kissed me!” Brian shot back.

He glanced over at his shoulder and Amanda, who remained leaning against the lockers.

“Tell her you kissed me,” Brian demanded of her.

“I kissed him,” she scoffed.

“Now, apologize to her,” he ordered.

She stared at him for a moment, seemingly stunned. Then, her arms dropped to her side as she looked at me.

“I’m sorry…” she said in a low and annoyed tone.

“Say it louder with more sincerity,” Ruby said, narrowing her eyes at her.

Brian was also keeping his eyes locked on her.

“I’m sorry,” Amanda said louder.

Brian turned back to me. His eyes were pleading.

“You see? It was just a misunderstanding. Don’t throw our relationship away over that.”

“I’m sorry, Brian, but I don’t think we are suitable for one another. It’s best if we just went our separate ways,” I said, biting my bottom lip.

My voice trembled only slightly.

“Don’t you remember when we made our vows to one another?” Brian asked with sadness lingering in his tone. “We promised to always love each other… can you really imagine your life with another person? Without me?”

I couldn’t be persuaded by him. I had to keep strong. He hurt me once and I wasn’t going to let him do that again.

I know what I saw, and it wasn’t pleasant. Brian was kissing her deeply and passionately right before my eyes. He kissed her like he’s done it a thousand times before and the very sight of it shattered my heart.

When I opened my mouth to say that to him, Ruby’s voice appeared.

“She’s already moved on. So, maybe you should do the same thing,” she sneered.

Brian’s eyes darkened as he looked at her.

“What are you talking about?”

“Tessa met a very handsome man at the bar last night and let’s just say… I didn’t see her again until this morning,” Ruby said, glancing at my displeased face.

Brian looked at me.

“You spent the night with this man?” He asked, his tone hardening.

“So, what if I did?” I said in return. “It doesn’t matter. We aren’t together anymore.”

“You broke up with me and then spent the night with somebody else?” Brian asked, shaking his head in disgust.

I didn’t want to talk about this so close to Joseph Evergreen's classroom door and I tried to get him to move the conversation elsewhere.

I looked at the door to make sure it was still unopened.

“Wow, I never took you for the type, Tessa,” Amanda said with a laugh. Her tone was oozing with sarcasm.

“It’s not your business,” I said to her in return, before turning back to Brian. “Can we talk about this somewhere else?”

“Who is this man? Is he richer than I am?” He asked, his voice rising. “I know deep down that’s all you ever wanted from me. It was always about the money. So, tell me. Is he richer than me?”

“You are acting stupid Brian,” I said, trying to keep my eyes from betraying me again.

His cruel words had cut deeply into my heart. After all this time, he thought the one thing I wanted from him was his money.

It was as if money was the only language he knew.

I should have seen the signs sooner.

“I’m acting stupid?!” Brian asked, raising his voice again. “At least I’m not pretending to be somebody I’m not. Acting like you are so boring around me but in reality, you are nothing but a slut.”

I was struck hard by his words.

“I’m going to make you pay the price for betraying me,” Brian growled, grabbing onto my arm hard.

He forcibly pulled me down the hallway. Ruby ran to catch up to us, grabbing onto his arm, and trying to get him to release me.

“Let her go, Brian!” She hissed.

With one quick motion, Brian used his other arm to shove Ruby away from him, landing her on the ground.

I gasped as she fell.

Brian was far drunker than I thought he was initially. He was acting completely out of character.

He tightened his grip on my arm and pulled me even harder, but before we could get far, a pair of hands were placed on Brian’s shoulders, startling us both.

The hands pulled Brian away from me and sent him flying across the hall. Amanda, Ruby, and I gasped when Brian hit the wall.

I looked up to see Joseph Evergreen standing behind me, staring at Brian who was dazed and confused.

Had Joseph been the one to do that to him?

I looked up and down the hallway before fixating my eyes on Josephs.

How had he gotten here so quietly?