00:00Campus security shoved through the crowd before I managed to let go of Caleb's wrist.
00:07One guard grabbed his shoulder.
00:09Another moved straight for Justin, who was already milking the blood at the corner of his mouth like it belonged
00:16to a better story than the one he had started.
00:20Caleb's chest rose hard under my hand.
00:23He looked down at me once, then at the torn poster, still crushed in my fist.
00:28Both of you. Now.
00:32Justin pointed at Caleb with a shaking finger.
00:35He jumped me.
00:36I found my voice too late and too loud.
00:40He put those posters up!
00:42A dozen faces turned my way.
00:44Nobody denied it. Nobody stepped forward either.
00:48Caleb wiped his split knuckles against his jeans and said nothing.
00:52That silence frightened me more than the fight had.
00:56He always had something to say.
00:58A joke. A smirk.
01:00A line sharp enough to cut through the room.
01:03Now he only looked at Justin, like he was deciding how much restraint cost.
01:08The guard tightened his grip.
01:10I finally tore his eyes from Justin and looked back at me.
01:14Go home, Red.
01:16I shook my head before I even knew I was doing it.
01:19I'm not leaving.
01:21His jaw flexed once.
01:23Then he leaned closer while the guards pulled him backward.
01:28Then don't pack your things.
01:30Justin sat with an ice pack pressed to his jaw when I walked into the office.
01:36He looked up, saw me, and smiled around the bruise, like he had been waiting for an audience.
01:43Caleb was across the room in a chair too small for him.
01:46One elbow on his knee, dried blood still dark across his knuckles.
01:52He straightened the moment he saw me.
01:55Miss Draford, if you witness the incident, we need a statement.
01:59I stood beside the desk and told them exactly what I had seen.
02:04Posters.
02:05The words.
02:07Justin laughing before Caleb touched him.
02:11Justin snotted.
02:12She lives with him, of course she's lying.
02:15The room went very still.
02:17I felt the heat climb up my throat.
02:19But Caleb cut in before I could.
02:22Watch your mouth!
02:24Mr. Lockhart, one more interruption and you can wait outside.
02:29He leaned back, but his eyes stayed on me.
02:32Not angry, not wild this time.
02:34Just fixed.
02:37Did he touch you?
02:38The question landed harder than everything else in the room.
02:42Before I could answer, heels clicked sharply down the hall.
02:46A woman in a cream coat stepped into the doorway.
02:49Took in the room in one sweep.
02:51And stopped on Caleb.
02:53Then her gaze shifted to me.
02:56Why is my son in an assault office before noon?
02:59Mrs. Lockhart did not raise her voice once.
03:03That somehow made everything worse.
03:06She spoke to the guard.
03:08To the dean on the phone.
03:10To Caleb's coach.
03:11Through clenched politeness that never cracked.
03:15By the time we left, Caleb had a temporary suspension from practice.
03:20Justin had filed a complaint and I had never felt poorer in my life.
03:24She drove us back in a car so quiet.
03:28I could hear the leather shift when Caleb moved beside me.
03:31No one spoke.
03:32Until we reached the apartment.
03:35She looked around the foyer.
03:37Then at me.
03:38You must be Veronica.
03:40I nodded.
03:41Yes, ma'am.
03:43Her eyes dropped to my worn shoes and lifted again.
03:46This is not the week my son needs distractions.
03:50Mother.
03:51Caleb's head turned sharply.
03:52She lifted one hand without looking at him.
03:55You have enough trouble already.
03:58The sentence hung there between us.
04:00I did not ask whether I was the distraction or the trouble.
04:04I already knew the answer she wanted.
04:07After she left, Caleb stood by the closed door with both hands braced against the wood.
04:13He did not look at me right away.
04:14When he finally did, his voice came out rough.
04:18Don't let her do that.
04:20Do what?
04:21My bag was already in my hand.
04:23He crossed the room in three strides and caught the strap before I could turn away.
04:27Make you leave.
04:29Caleb still had my bag strap in his hand.
04:32For a second I thought he might pull me into him.
04:36Instead, he loosened his grip and took the bag from my shoulder.
04:40Like he was asking for trust in the smallest possible way.
04:45Stay.
04:46Just that?
04:48No joke.
04:49No charm.
04:51No easy smile to hide behind.
04:54I stayed.
04:55That should have felt like relief.
04:58It didn't.
04:59It felt like standing on a surface I could not test before stepping onto it.
05:03He made tea.
05:05Neither of us drank.
05:06I found the first aid kit.
05:09He sat on the couch while I cleaned his knuckles, and neither of mentioned how close my knees were to
05:15his.
05:17Then his phone lit up on the coffee table.
05:19We need to talk.
05:20Alone.
05:22I looked away before he could catch me reading.
05:25He saw it anyway.
05:27Caleb grabbed the phone, jaw tight.
05:29I'm ending this.
05:32I didn't ask.
05:33You didn't have to.
05:35He shoved the phone into his pocket and stood.
05:37I'll be back in an hour.
05:42I told myself not to care where he went.
05:46I lasted 40 minutes.
05:49Then my phone buzzed from an unknown number.
05:53If you want to know what he does when things get messy, come see for yourself.
05:58An address followed.
05:59I stared at the screen until the second message arrived.
06:03Or stay home and keep guessing.
06:05I should have turned around the second I stepped off the elevator.
06:08I didn't.
06:10The address led me to a polished apartment door at the end of a silent hallway.
06:15Music drifted faintly from inside.
06:17I knocked once, already hating myself.
06:22Beatrice arose open the door, wearing one of Caleb's t-shirts.
06:27My stomach dropped so fast.
06:31I had to lock my knees to stay upright.
06:35She did not look surprised to see me.
06:37That was the worst part.
06:39Beatty Rose stepped aside without a word.
06:42I saw Caleb on the couch first.
06:44One arm flung over his eyes.
06:46Shoes off.
06:47Half-empty beer bottle on the table in front of him.
06:50He looked asleep.
06:52Or drunk.
06:53Or comfortable in a room that was not mine to question.
06:57What is this?
06:59Beatrice Rose leaned against the doorway.
07:01Arms folded.
07:03Exactly what it looks like.
07:06I knew that line was cheap.
07:08I knew people lied with it every day.
07:11Still, my chest tightened so hard I could barely pull air.
07:15Caleb moved then, dragging his arm down from his face.
07:19His eyes found me.
07:21He sat up too fast.
07:22Veronica!
07:23I stepped back before he could stand.
07:26Bianchely Rose's hand landed lightly on the back of the couch.
07:29You should have let him sleep.
07:35That did it.
07:37I turned and walked toward the elevator, while Caleb's footsteps pounded behind me.
07:43Red!
07:43Stop!
07:44His hand caught the elevator door before it could close.
07:48Metal shivered.
07:49The doors slid back open.
07:51Caleb stepped inside with me.
07:52Breathing hard.
07:54Hair wrecked.
07:54Ice bright in a way that Luke almost panicked.
07:58I pressed myself against the far wall.
08:00Don't!
08:01He stopped immediately.
08:03Caleb held both hands out where I could see them.
08:06I went there to tell her to stay away from you.
08:09I laughed, and the sound came out cracked.
08:13In her shirt, he looked down at himself like he had forgotten what he was wearing.
08:18She spilled wine on me.
08:20I changed.
08:21I fell asleep for 20 minutes.
08:22Every piece of it sounded possible.
08:25That was what made it cruel.
08:27I wanted one clean reason not to believe him.
08:29Instead, I had several messy ones that could all be true.
08:32Caleb took one careful step closer.
08:34Look at me.
08:37I did, and that was almost worse.
08:40He looked wrecked.
08:42Trust me once.
08:45The words hit the exact place I had spent years building walls around.
08:50I shook my head.
08:51Not because I knew he was lying.
08:55Because I did not know how to survive if he wasn't.
09:00Stop asking me for something I don't have.
09:02He did not move out of the way.
09:04The elevator doors opened onto our floor.
09:07If you walk out because of her, you're handing this to her.
09:11I stepped past him anyway.
09:12I open the door.
09:12I'll be right back.
09:12I appreciate it.
