Page 23 of Coveted

“Always nice to pay your respects.” Chuck taps a pen against his palm. “Witnessing a murder on your first day at Darkbloom though. I’m so very sorry that’s been your experience.”

“I didn’t actually witness much.”

Chuck clears his throat, his mouth turning down at the edges. “Rather an understatement, I should think.”

“I meant, I mostly saw the aftermath, not the murder itself. What happened to Parker was awful. But you don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine, I swear.”

“Sure. Sure. It’s just, you don’t strike me as someone who asks for help. I’d hate to see you fall between the cracks here at Darkbloom. Forgive my concern, and tell me if I’m wrong?”

My eyes stray to the clock on Chuck’s office wall. Classes start today. If I don’t leave soon, I’ll be late for my first.

“I appreciate it, I really do, but people have been asking me for details all week.” A note of pleading enters my voice. “Keeping it fresh in my memory isn’t helping. Now that semester has properly begun, I want to focus on studying.”

He digests my words, his head nodding slightly. “That can be wise, yes. Throw yourself into your passion. It’s why you’re here, after all.”

Sensing him relent, I slip my bag strap over my shoulder. “Absolutely.”

Chuck regards me for several more moments, while I resist the impulse to say I’m fine again.

Finally, he stands to open the door for me. “Very well. If you need to discuss the events of that night or if you remember anything, please let me know. I can come with you to give a police statement next time. I don’t like that the detectives hauled you to the station without a chaperone.”

“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

There’s nothing else to remember because I didn’t see anything else. I wish I had, so I could help the case.

Chuck leans in the doorway, staring after me while I rush off to find my classroom.

I round a corner into the correct hallway and scan the room numbers. As I count under my breath, I realize I just passed my room.

Glancing at the time on my phone, I whirl around and collide with a very solid human being who definitely wasn’t there a second ago. The books in my arms tumble to the floor in a heap.

Even if I couldn’t see Lucan Hale—and he’s impossible to miss with my nose nearly touching his broad chest—I would know it’s him by the way my body electrifies with alarm.

He stands in the middle of the hallway like he owns the place, students weaving around him. The glare he gives me is derisive, despite the fact that he plainly blocked my path on purpose.

“First day’s always rough,” he says in a dangerous voice that makes my ribs contract.

My eyes track the students entering my classroom, wishing to be one of them.

Scowling, I step back. “So is running into you.”

His eyes glitter with cruelty. “In the forest, you seemed to enjoy rough.”

“Asshole,” I mutter.

To hide my flushed face, I bend to pick up my scattered books.

All week, I’ve tried to avoid him, yet he’s haunted me like a surly shadow.

Juliette and Clara have stayed with me as much as possible, not giving him a chance to catch me alone. We figure he wants to find out if I gave evidence against him to the police.

Everyone agrees that Lucan probably killed Parker, including me.

If he did, we all know he’ll get away with it though. His father will make sure of that. The best I can do is stay away from him.

I’m also petrified about what he said right before vanishing into the forest.

Why aren’t you wearing it?