Chapter 13
Jasmine's POV
Maybe it was because I was sitting on the floor, my hands holding my face that I was sure was turning red. But Hardin looked larger than life where he stood, his hands folded as he raised his eyebrows in question.
He looked like a predator in that moments, his eyes narrowing at the scene in front of him and his expression stoic in a way that was threatening and made me swallow nervously.
I wanted to believe that he was truly aware of Dahlia's involvement in spearheading the spread of the rumour about me throwing myself at him but from the way his eyes watched Dahlia and the way her face paled in fear as she looked at him, I doubted that it was.
"Hardin, it's not what it looks like." Dahlia started but when Hardin raised a hand, she fell silent.
"The rest of you, get out." He said calmly and immediately, all the other girls ran away, looking relieved that they would not be here to witness whatever was about to happen.
Dahlia was about to move when Hardin raised an eyebrow.
"And where do you think you are going?" He growled and she froze, her hands shaking.
"I thought that by the rest of you, you wanted to be alone with Jasmine." She said and even I knew it was a lie because she perfectly understood what Hardin had said.
Cornering Dahlia until her back was against the wall, he kept his hand behind his back and growled.
"So, you were truly behind the rumour. Explain yourself now!"
Looking everywhere but at Hardin, she whimpered.
"I know how much you don't like her and she has been nothing but trouble since she entered your life. Has she not? I thought you would be thanking me for helping you to make her life miserable just like you wanted, right?"
"And where did I ever ask you to do such a thing, Delia?"
Her eyes widened in surprise and I would have laughed at the fact that Hardin did not even know her name if I was not in shock to see how angry he was at the rumour.
Everything Dahlia had said was true. Hardin had never hidden how much he disliked me ever since I had stood up to him for Nadia and it had only gotten worse after my mother married his father and he saw it as a strategy to get his family fortune.
He had bullied, harassed and even degraded me ever since then, so why was he so upset about someone else doing it? Especially when it was his lover?
"It's Dahlia, Hardin and I thought we were a team." She raised her hand and tried to touch his face. But, he caught her hand mid air.
His mouth lifted in a cruel smile and he nodded.
"Oh, because we fucked a couple of times? Is that it? Is that what gave you the audacity to behave like you can do anything you want? And who cares what the fuck your name is, little brat?"
Dahlia shook, tears starting to fall from her face and a part of me wanted to feel sorry for her. I knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of Hardin's rage but she did not deserve my sympathy.
She had deliberately set out to ruin another person's life just to receive validation. She would never understand what it was to cry herself to sleep over allegations that were completely false. She would never understand how it had felt to see those notes on her locker and be called a slut.
"Hardin, I'm sorry. You're scaring me. I thought we were a team. I thought you liked me."
"Then you've obviously been nothing but delusional and I have been making one fucking big mistake not scaring you from the first fucking moment you met me." He growled as he grabbed her neck and she shook in horror as he dragged her until she was in front of me.
"Now, apologize to her. And mean it." He whispered in her ear.
Dahlia's eyes widened in shock and she looked at me, seeing that I was surprised too.
"Don't keep me waiting, I have things to do."
Swallowing her sobs, she wiped her eyes, her makeup already smearing her face and nodded. Her mascara darkened beneath my eyes and she looked at me, her expression filled with guilt.
"I'm sorry, Jasmine." She whispered and when I looked at Hardin's face for his reaction, he looked like he was bored.
"You're doing it wrong. I'm guessing you're the reason she's on the ground. So, do it again."
Gently, she knelt in front of me and stifled her sobs.
"I'm sorry, Jasmine. Very sorry that I did that to you."
"Do you accept her apology?" He asked me and I looked at him stunned. Why was he doing this to me?
Why was he making me feel like he actually cared about me? Why was he making me feel like he was on my side?
"Yes" I finally answered and he nodded, walking up to stand in front of me.
"I'll talk to you later. Leave." He told Dahlia and she threw me one last teary glance before she fled.
Opening his hand to help me up, he frowned when I ignored it and stood up by myself. I was very wary of everything that had just happened and wondered whether this was one of his tricks.
My eyes widened when he grabbed my chin and turned my cheek to the side, examining it for a long moment before he turned my face back to stare at me.
"You should skip school, put ice on that so it doesn't form a bruise."
I felt butterflies flutter in my stomach and I cleared my throat, quickly shifting away from him because it was clear that I was getting confused by him defending me and forgetting who he truly was.
"Why do you care?" I muttered and ran away, not waiting to see if he would respond.
Without waiting for the rest of the classes, I headed home and went straight to my room, making sure to lock the door. I knew that could not stop Hardin from entering my room if he wanted but it made me feel a false sense of safety.
I knew my mother would come up if I missed dinner again for a third time this week so I went down and hoped that Hardin did not join us.
Luckily, he was a no show but a part of me had wanted him to be there. A part of me wanted him to come and taunt me, and remind me about the Hardin that I was used to, because I was not used to him defending or protecting me.
In fact, it was a foreign feeling.
I was getting my assignments done when Nadia called me.
"Hi, Jazz, how are you feeling today? I heard what happened. That was why you left school early. Didn't you?"
"What did you hear?" I said in a low voice, hoping that there was not another rumour of me.
"I was in one of the restroom stalls when Dahlia came in crying and screaming at her friends of how Hardin had humiliated her in front of you. That he had asked her to kneel and beg you for being responsible for the video. I almost screamed but remembered that they would catch me. Is it true? Dahlia is truly responsible for spreading the rumour around school?"
I nodded, then remembered that she could not see me before I whispered.
"Yeah. I'm shocked too. I had completely thought it was somebody else."
"Oh, like who?"
I wanted to mention Hardin's name, but realized that I would have to explain why I thought Hardin was responsible. And that would mean telling Nadia the truth about what had been going on between me and Hardin since I moved into the house, I knew it would be the wrong thing to do.
Just because Hardin had stood up for me this one time did not mean he has suddenly become a good person or that his threat that he would deal with me if I told anyone had suddenly disappeared.
I still needed to be wary even though I felt my heart pound faster when I remembered how his hand had held my chin and how I had seen a hint of concern in his eyes when he told me to ice my face.
I was being delusional again.
"I don't know. Maybe one of the lacrosse boys? But definitely not Dahlia, we are not even in the same class."
"Yeah, but she sounded real pissed about having to apologize to you though. Said she didn't know when Hardin suddenly became so protective over you. I guess Hardin is not such a bad guy, is he?"
"Let's not get carried away" I replied even though butterflies erupted in my stomach at Hardin's protectiveness this afternoon.
"Yeah, of course" She laughed.
"Does this mean you're coming to school tomorrow? Please say yes."
Even though I agreed to go to school, I was still skeptical about everything, especially because I had still gotten another message to hook up this night. Now I knew that Hardin was not responsible but Dahlia was, but would it really stop the rumour from still being spread?
I got my answer in the morning on my way to school when my phone rang just as I was about to enter the school compound.
"Jazz, hi, good morning. You really need to check your messages. Something big has happened."