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I’m barreling through the camp, nearly knocking campers over in my haste to catch up to Bryce. I don’t know where he went, and I don’t know exactly what he’s thinking. All I know is that Jarred is freaking out, and I’m about ready to do anything to make it all better.
With a sigh of relief, I spot Bryce by the chapel just talking to Joshua. Before I can think better of it or try to come up with some reasonable way to approach him, I’m marching up to him and yanking him away by the back of his polo.
“Bro, what the fuck!” Joshua yells, but he doesn’t do anything to help his friend.
“We need to talk,” I say to Bryce as I drag him away. I go to the first relatively private spot I see which is in the woods near the edge of the clearing. He tries to fight me as I take him there, but he’s speechless. I think he might know better than to try and test me right now, especially with how pissed off I must look.
He finally finds his words when I shove him up against a tree, still holding onto the back of his collar as I move into his space. “Noah! What are you—”
“Shut up,” I snap, digging my nails into the side of his neck, feeling his erratically pulsing heartbeat. “Why did you come to the studio?”
He gulps, straining to get out of my grip. “Sarah said she left her bracelet there, and I was going to check.”
It sounds reasonable enough. Sarah, one of the younger elementary school campers was in that class earlier today, but I don’t trust a single thing that comes out of Bryce’s mouth. He could have been coming in there to fuck me with, God knows he’s been itching for the chance since our last altercation.
“What did you see?” I ask, cutting to the chase. I just want to get to the bottom of what he saw. I want to establish where we’re at. The way he blinks up at me seems clueless enough, but I know better than to fall for that act.
“I didn’t see—”
“What did yousee?”
His eyes widen and I fucking notice. I notice the little knowing flash in his beady eyes. So, that was an act. He was trying to play off being an oblivious idiot. Well, I’m not one of those and I know how to call bullshit. He’s lying. This act isn’t fooling me.
I know guys like Bryce. I was surrounded by them growing up in the privileged family I had. When they can’t get something by sheer force of will, they’ll resort to any method to get their way. Bryce has put a target on my back for a while now, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s because of more than just the beating I gave him.
I shift my fingers to close around the front of his throat and he gulps. “You and Jarred looked…”
He trails off and I press harder. “Finish your fucking sentence.”
“You looked close.”
I hide the way my breath hitches. It’s confirmation of what I already knew, but I hate hearing it all the same. I shake my head, my jaw clenching and my molars grinding with each word. “That’s where you’re wrong. I want to set the record straight. All you saw was him helping me clean up after a session at the studio. He tripped and fell all over the paint. Right?”
“It’s disgusting that you want me to believe that,” he says. He gulps again when I wrap my other hand around his throat. “I could tell everyone.”
“There’s nothing to tell,” I say.
“I think there is.”
“Listen to me very carefully. You think what I did to you that first night was rough? It’s not. Don’t underestimate me. I will beat the living shit out of you and enjoy it if you even breathe a word of what youthinkyou saw.”
“You’re awfully defensive right now,” he notices, raising his eyebrows with something so close to fucking smugness that I want to punch right off him. “You’re not making your situation any better.”
Fuck, I’m really not. If there was going to be a doubt about what happened between Jarred and me in that studio, it’s gone. But I already knew that. I already knew that this situation was shit because Bryce might be an idiot but he’s not dumb. He saw what he saw. He saw my handprints around the front of Jarred’s pants. He saw our kiss-swollen lips. He saw it all.
So, if I have to confirm even an ounce of it to get him to cooperate, I will. Because, scarily enough, I don’t think there’s anything I wouldn’t do to protect Jarred.
I level him with my best stare, my lips curling into a snarl as his cheeks turn pink by the force of my hands. “Look me in the eyes right now. Think about the worst thing that could possibly happen to you. Not just bodily harm. Think about what would ruin you, break you, and destroy you. I will figure out what it is and make sure it happens. Don’t test me.”
It takes him a moment and, with a lot of difficulty, he nods. “I didn’t see anything.”
“Good. Now get the fuck out of my sight,” I bark, shoving him onto the ground for good measure before stomping past him.
I leave him in the forest, flustered and slightly traumatized, just like I wanted. I head back to the art studio to look for Jarred, but he isn’t there. I figure he’s probably back at his cabin changing, and I itch to go search for him. It’s not smart. Not after Bryce saw what he saw. I know everybody else knows nothing, but the burden of this secret feels extra heavy on my shoulders like weights dragging me down.
The day is almost impossible to get through but somehow, I manage. I go through the motions of the day—continuing with my second art session, supervising the afternoon swim at the lake, and facilitating the dining room line—but I think about Jarred the entire time. I don’t spot him at any point during the day, and it makes me think that he’s probably hiding out somewhere.
My heart clenches because he must be so scared.
