Chapter 80
Chapter 80
Nicole POV
I was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling. My mind kept replaying what I saw yesterday in the cafeteria–Eric and Lexi together, laughing, it hurt mor than I wanted to admit. I kept reminding myself that Eric wasn’t really my boyfriend. It was all fake, But still, the way he looked at he, the way sta whispered in his ear… I couldn’t get it out of my head.
Suddenly, there was a knock on my door. I frowned, looking at Brie, who’s sitting on her desk, studying. We weren’t expecting anyone,
“Can you get it?” I asked Brie, feeling too drained to get up.
Brie got up and opened the door. I heard her gasp softly, and then she turned to look at me, her eyes wide with surprise. “Nicole,” she said slowly. “It’s Eric.”
I sat up quickly, my heart skipping a beat. Eric? Here? I wasn’t expecting to see him after ignoring all his calls and texts. I thought he’d given up. But now, he was standing in the doorway, looking right at me.
“Nicole, I need to talk to you,” he said, his voice serious. He looked tired, like he hadn’t slept in days. There was a shadow of worry in his eyes.
I crossed my arms, not saying anything because I was still upset. I didn’t want to hear his excuses. Brie seemed to sense the tension and stepped forward.
“Maybe you should leave, Eric,” she said, her voice firm. “I don’t think she wants to talk to you right now.”
But Eric shook his head. “Please, just give me a minute. I need to explain something to her.”
I looked at him for a long moment, trying to decide if I should listen. Finally, I let out a small sigh. “Fine. Come in,” I mumbled.
Brie glanced at me, and I gave her a tiny nod. She hesitated, then grabbed her bag. “I… uh, I need to go get something from the library,” she said awkwardly. “I’ll be back later.”
As soon as Brie left, the room felt smaller. It was just me and Eric now. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He looked at me, his eyes filled with something I can’t quite read. Was it regret? Sadness?
“What do you want to talk about?” I asked, keeping my voice dry.
Eric took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. “It’s about Lexi,” he started. “I need to tell you the truth about what happened.”
I narrowed my eyes, not sure if I believed him. “What truth?”
“She wasn’t hurt by accident,” Eric said. “She jumped in front of my car on purpose.”
My jaw dropped. “What? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Eric pulled out his phone and showed me a video. I watched it carefully. It was security footage from the parking lot. In the video, I saw myself walking with Brie. I saw Eric’s car stop for a moment, and then… I saw Lexi appear from the side, running in front of his car just before he drove forward.
I stared at the screen, my mind struggling to process what I was seeing. “She did it on purpose?” I whispered, shocked as hell.
“Yes,” Eric said. “She wanted to make it look like I hit her, so she could blackmail me into staying away from you.”
I look up at him, my eyes wide. “Why would she do that?”
“Because she hates you,” Eric said quietly. “She told me she would press charges against me unless I stopped seeing you.”
My heart felt like it was going to burst. I was surprised, but at the same time, a small part of me was relieved. Eric didn’t choose to be with Lexi. He came here to tell me the truth, to prove that he didn’t want to be with her.
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Chapter 80
You came all the way here to tell me this?” I asked softly
He nodded. “I didn’t want you to think that was with her willingly, I needed you to know that I never wanted any of this?
I swallowed hard, feeling a stinge mix of emotions anger at Lexi, relief that Eric cares enough to explains, and a flicker of happiness that he was trying to make things right.
“Thank you.” I whispered. “For telling me.”
Eric stepped closer, looking at me with hopeful eyes. “Does this mean you’ll keep teaching me? I really need your help with sociology. I want to improve my GPA.”
Hlaughed. “Yes, I’ll help you.”
Later that evening I went over to Eric’s place, carrying my textbooks. It felt a bit awkward at first, but I reminded myself that I was here to tutor him, nothing else. His house was quiet when I arrived. No one else seemed to be home.
Eric opened the door and gave me a small smile. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I said, stepping inside. The living room was empty, and it felt strangely cozy with just the two of us here.
We sat down at the table, and I spread out the books. I tried to focus on explaining the sociology topics, but I could feel Eric’s eyes on me the whole time. Every time I looked up, he quickly looked away, like he was trying not to get caught staring.
I cleared my throat, feeling my cheeks warm up. “So, about this theory… um…” I lose my train of thought when I see him smile.
“What?” I asked, feeling flustered.
“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s just… you’re cute when you’re serious about teaching.”
I laughed softly, feeling a bit shy. “Stop it.”
He reached out, brushing a strand of hair away from my face. His touch was gentle, and it sent a shiver down my spine. I looked up at him, and suddenly, the air felt thick with tension. It was like everything around us disappeared. There was only him and me.
And then suddenly it happened.
Before I could say anything, Eric leaned in and kissed me. It was soft at first, but then it grew deeper, more urgent. I kissed him back, feeling my heart race. His hands slid to my waist, pulling me closer. I wrapped my arms around his neck, getting lost in the moment.
We stumbled back towards the couch, not breaking the kiss. I felt his hands exploring my back, my sides. It felt like a dream. I could hardly believe this was happening. I wanted more. I wanted to keep going.
But then we heard a voice from the doorway. “Oops, did we interrupt something?”
I jumped away from Eric, my face turning bright red. I looked up to see Aaron and Venus standing there. Venus had a playful smirk on her face, while Aaron looked amused.
“We didn’t know we’d be walking in on a make–out session,” Venus teased, winking at me.
I was so embarrassed. I didn’t even know what to say. Eric cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair awkwardly. “It’s… uh, not what it looks like,” he said, but even he didn’t sound convincing.
“Sure,” Venus said, laughing. She gave me a friendly smile, like she was not judging me at all,
Chapter 81
