Page 72 of Attractive Forces

“I…I can’t.” I thrust the phone back at Sammy, almost dropping it in the process.

Sammy’s eyes shoot up in surprise. “You sure?”

But I’m on my feet and backing away like Sammy’s a wild animal. Which is what he is to me right now. A threat. Something that could chew me up then spit me back out in an unrecognizable form.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Suit yourself.”

As Sammy moves away, my whole body shakes.

Shit, I can’t believe I almost did that. I can’t believe I almost cheated. What the hell is happening to me?

I bite my lip so hard it hurts.

Is this what happened to my dad? The easy route was laid out in front of him, and he took it and lied to everyone rather than face up to his investors that he’d lost their money. And then, once he started lying, it became impossible to stop.

My head is even more muddled now than it was before. There’s no way I can concentrate on stuffing any more geography facts into my head.

A little bit of stress is supposed to be good for people. It gets the adrenaline pumping which focuses the mind. But by the time I make it to geography, I’m at the point where my adrenaline is overwhelming my system, and I can barely focus on the quiz.

Yeah, this is awful.

“You okay?” Chloe asks as we walk out of class.

I run my hand through my hair. “That quiz sucked epically. I don’t know if I even passed.”

Chloe frowns. “Didn’t you study?”

“Not much. I’ve been busy.”

She bites her lip. “You’ve seemed a bit distracted recently.”

I stuff my hands in my pockets. “Yeah, I’ve had some stuff going on.”

She gives me a long hard look like she’s attempting to x-ray my head before she speaks again. “I don’t know if you should be letting short-term things interfere with your future.”

I can’t read her expression. Is she talking about Logan?

Is Logan a short-term thing? I can’t imagine him being openly out, not with his father and all the complications of rugby. Which means what? Months and months of us sneaking around.

And when school finishes, what then? I’m contemplating adjusting my plans so I can go to the same university as him, but nothing will change then either. He’ll still be playing rugby, and he’ll still have the same father.

We’ll still have to hide.

Can I handle that permanently?

22

Logan

When I spot Jake walking down the hallway, a smile immediately comes over my face. Until I see his expression.

I speed up my steps to close the distance between us. “You okay?” From his expression, I can already answer my own question.

Jake’s shoulders hunch over as he sticks his hands in his pocket. “I failed my quiz today.”

“Oh shit.”