Page 58 of Running Play (Gods of Campus #1)

Shelby

“Did the professor just say twelve through fifteen?” Tom complains from the seat beside me.

“Yes,” I nod as I hastily type the notes from the board.

“That’s just cruel.” He swings his head closer to mine. “She does realize we have other classes besides this one, doesn’t she?”

Tom sighs as he goes back to taking his notes.

My phone pings in my pocket just as I finished with my notes.

I reach in and frown at the unknown number and click on the message that has a picture in it.

My heart picks up speed as I see a photo of Christian.

I recognize what he’s wearing from when we met up at the café.

He was leaning against his car waiting for me, his hands were tucked in the front pockets of his pants that were hanging loose on his hips.

His shirt was stretched against his broad chest, and he wore his blue Raptors cap backward.

I remember he looked so hot that day I nearly tripped over my feet when my eyes saw him.

Below the photo is a message :

You’re mine, sweetness, not his! Get

rid of him or I’ll do it permanently!

Numb. I feel numb.

My phone vibrates in my hand, and I watch the same photo of Christian pop up in a moving GIF. A bullet travels through his forehead and blood spills all over the photo. The image has me reacting like my phone is on fire and it tumbles out of my hand and onto the floor with a thud.

“You okay,” Tom asks, noticing the distress on my face.

I can’t answer him; instead, I grab my phone and belongings and run out of class and straight for the closest bathroom.

I throw myself into a stall and lose the contents of my stomach into the toilet.

This can’t be happening, not again. He’s here, watching me! I feel so violated, so alone…so scared.

I want to run, but fear has me secured to the floor. My eyes sting and slowly tears start to tumble down my cheeks. Anger and despair rip through my body as I let out a scream as more tears fall and I start to pound my fist onto the seat of the toilet.

“Why, why, why? Go away! Just go away!” I chant to myself.

I lose the contents of my stomach again, but this time all I can do is heave.

My body shakes and I continue to sob uncontrollably, my mind and body lost between pain, sadness, fear, and anger.

Minutes pass before I can collect myself, body weak as I sit sobbing next to the toilet, grabbing toilet paper, I wipe my face .

All alone in another country, and he’s here.

I draw in a deep breath and slowly stand, wiping my face in an attempt to somewhat resemble a sane person.

I take another deep breath as I walk to the mirror and examine myself.

It’s red and puffy, my eyes look like I haven’t slept in days, and now that the numbness has worn off, I suddenly feel very defeated.

I know Justin, I know what he is capable of, and until he is caught, there is no way I’m letting him hurt Christian or anyone else I care about.

***

I sit on a bench and wait near the fountain for Christian’s class to finish.

I know he’s in there and I know what I have to do, but everything in me is screaming not to do this.

It wasn’t until this moment, this decision to break up with him, that has me coming to the realization of how much I love this man.

He needs to be far away from me right now until I get this situation fixed.

He’s not safe, and right now he has a massive target on his back.

The doors to his building open and I watch as the students file out.

It’s not hard to spot him and his friends.

Christian laughs at something Merrick is saying, and Randy walks beside him talking to a group of girls.

Seth lights up a cigarette and trails behind them.

They all look so happy; they have amazing lives, and I’m not going to let anyone disrupt that.

Justin once cut my parents’ brake line on their car after they took the restraining order out on him.

The police couldn’t prove that it was him, but I know it was.

Look at how much these guys have and how much they stand to lose.

It would be nothing for Justin to hurt them, to bust a knee, to cut their brake lines—hell, to set their whole house on fire and flee the country… and I know he would.

I wait til Christian looks over at me. A smile spreads across his face.

The smile I know is only reserved for me, it’s sexy, possessive, and makes me weak in the knees.

My eyes falter as I try to return the smile but can’t, like my heart is so broken right now and my body can’t betray it by smiling.

I watch his eyebrows tighten as he takes long strides to where I stand.

Randy and Seth hang back, saying goodbye to Travis and Merrick.

Christian dips his head to scan my face. “Are you okay?” he asks as he brings his hand up to touch my cheek. I pull away from his touch. I can’t have him touching me or I’ll lose all willpower to go through with this. He flinches from my movement.

“What’s going on? You’ve obviously been crying. Did someone hurt you? Did Justin try and contact you again?” Christian says, barely pausing for breath, his feet move side to side as he studies me.

I shake my head, he’s right but I can’t tell him that. I need to protect him, to get him away from me…from Justin. My mind is blank, I can’t think. I have no idea what to tell this man whom I care so much for. I feel so sick, so numb, but worst of all I feel like I’m being watched!

I stare into his worried gray eyes and shake my head slowly back and forth.

Lost for words, what in the world do I say to this man.

I love him, I can’t hurt him, but I have to protect him.

I can’t see him, his friends, or his family hurt by my past. Shit, Dani…

Tyler… what if Justin goes after them? I couldn’t live with myself.

“I-I slept with someone else,” the lie falls from my lips so quietly, I barely hear the words.

Christian goes blurry in front of me as my eyes start to fill with tears.

Blinking, the tears fall, and he becomes clear in front of me again as I watch the hurt spread across his face.

He rears his head back like I have slapped him. “What?”

“I slept with someone,” I say louder as I look at his chest; it’s the closest I can bring myself to looking into his face.

“What the fuck, Shelby? Are you serious?” He glares at me now, the shock turning to anger.

“Yes,” I say meekly as I drag my eyes back to his, there’s a deep crease in his brow and it breaks my heart to know I put it there.

“When?” he questions, his face twisted in pain.

That has my brain scrambling to remember. “A few nights ago,” I say, thinking of a particular night that I didn’t spend with Christian. I was actually with Letti watching horror movies and eating popcorn until one in the morning.

He laughs—the sound laced with disbelief, hurt, and sadness—and takes a few steps back from me. His hands rake through his hair, and I fight the instinct to pull him back .

His eyes drift slowly over the university grounds, like he would rather look anywhere but at me. “What the fuck, Shelby, I can’t even form words right now. I can’t even look at you! You’re fucking serious, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” I cry, the sadness, loss, and pain flowing from my body.

“Who the fuck was it?”

I can’t answer him, only shake my head in disbelief that this is happening.

His arms cross over his broad chest as if protecting himself. “We slept together last night, twice!” he states, holding up two fingers.

I nod.

“I thought we were good together! I thought you were happy! So, what? Was this just some joke to you?” he asks, his eyes lifeless like he is no longer present in our conversation.

I try to reach for this hand, but he pulls it away from me, disgust painted across those silver eyes.

My body is in pain, my chest hurts, and my throat seems like it’s on fire.

My legs feel like they are going to collapse on me at any second.

“I never wanted to hurt you, Christian.” More tears fall down my flushed cheeks as he continues to stare down at me, shaking his head.

I can see his mind racing a million miles an hour—his pain—he’s lost and repulsed by me.

He laughs. It’s bitter and distorted and leaves my heart twisting in pain.

In a blink he strides past me with a cold demeanor.

I close my eyes and clasp my hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming for him to come back, that I would never cheat on him, that I love him and only him.

I try to breathe through the heartbreak and pain ripping through my chest. When I open my eyes, Christian is gone, and all I see are Seth and Randy watching me.

I push the heels of my hand into my forehead as I comprehend what I have just done.

Seth and Randy jog over to me. They are just as confused and concerned as any true friends would be. Seth gently grasps my wrist as he pulls my hand away from my face.

“What the hell is going on? Are you okay?”

I let my arms fall into his touch and view him through blurry eyes. He’s bent down to look at me as he studies my face.

“No.” I shake my head.

“What the hell happened?” Randy questions. He looks a mixture of concerned and pissed off as he watches his friend walk away.

All I can do is continue to shake my head.

“Did you guys just break up?” Seth asks.

I nod.

“You just broke up with my best friend,” Randy confirms.

And I nod again.

Randy and Seth look annoyed with me, but their concern for me and Christian must outweigh their anger.

“Do me a favor and check on Christian,” I sniff. “I’m sorry, I have to go,” I say weakly .

I push myself out of Seth’s reach and start jogging to my dorm. The boys let me go, and the only peace I feel right now is the fact that I know they will look after him.

Because I can’t any longer…just one more thing Justin has stolen from me.