Page 152 of His Reckless Freshman

The policeman nods calmly, scribbling things down while two other officers escort Kieran away in cuffs. His head is hung low, his curls covering his face.

Jolie tenses beside me when he walks into view. I put a protective arm around her shoulders and glare at the asshole’s back.

“Is the drive okay?” Jolie asks. “Did you find it? It’s file… um…” She squeezes her eyes shut. “It’s file 2… um, 219.” Her lips part, a shudder running through her. “All the videos are in there.” Tears start tracking down her face, and my insides clench when she whispers, “Mine included. I watched some of it, but I didn’t watch any of the others. I just saw the little icons and…” Her voice shakes, and she sucks in a quick breath.

“It’s okay, Miss Carmichael,” the officer assures her. “You can leave this with us now.”

“But I obtained it illegally. Is that going to affect the case?”

“I can’t say for sure.” His gaze softens. “But don’t worry. We’ll do everything we can to look after you.”

Relief floods me, and Jolie’s eyes fill with a fresh batch of tears as she nods and whispers, “Thank you, Officer.”

“Right.” He flips his notebook shut. “Now it’s time to take you to the hospital. You need to get checked over properly, and we’re also going to need photos of your injuries. I’m sorry about that, but we have to collect all evidence. I’m assuming you want to press assault charges.”

“Yes,” I answer before Jolie can say anything. She flinches, and I press my lips to her forehead. “It’s going to be okay, baby.”

The officer nods. “Let’s get you down to the ambulance.”

I cradle her against me as we take the elevator downstairs, then walk out into the rain. It pelts our skin, and I try to shield Jolie from it as best I can as we climb into the back of the ambulance.

“We’ll follow you there!” Caroline calls after us, and all I can do is raise my hand in acknowledgment.

I kind of don’t care what they do. I just have to be there for Jolie.

When we get to the hospital, she’s wheeled into a private examination room. Thankfully, they let me stay with her.

As we wait for the doctor, I reply to texts from Jimmy and Mac.

Me: Sorry I bailed. Jolie was assaulted. I’m at the hospital with her.

I get a plethora of replies—lots of questions I don’t have the energy to answer right now. New texts pop up from Sawyer, Darian, and Charli as they get the news, but I ignore them all.

I just want to hold Jolie’s hand and drink her in. Every time my gaze brushes over the bruises on her body, my insides flare with a mixture of anger and fear. I could have lost her tonight.

Shit, that asshole could have killed her.

When they start taking photos of the various bruises on her body, I’m seconds away from losing my shit. The red mark on her cheek, which I didn’t initially notice, has started to swell and puff up beneath her eye. He fucking punched her. He threw her around like a rag doll, and now her skin is blotched and tender.

Each mark on her body is like a blow to my chest.

Fuck.

I want to kill him for what he did to her.

My eyes burn, my throat swelling as this examination takes for-fucking-ever.

But in the end, the doctor clears Jolie to go home.

“It’s important someone stays with her throughout the night,” she says.

“I will,” I assure her.

She nods at me, then gives me some care instructions. Jolie has a mild concussion, and the doctor wants me to monitor her for a variety of symptoms that could indicate things are worse than they think.

I doubt I’ll be able to sleep tonight anyway, so it’s easy to agree to watch over her.

“Okay then. You guys can get going.” She smiles at Jolie. “You take it easy over the next few days, okay? Your body has been through a lot, and you need to give it a chance to heal. I can write you a note to exempt you from classes for the start of next week. I want you to have at least three days off to let yourself recover, then just see how you feel. Listen to your body and contact us immediately if you start to feel worse, okay?”