Callum's POV:

My head doesn't move from between my hands the entire car trip.

He's been admitted to Green Cove hospital.

The officer's words whirl inside my mind, making my head pulse. I'm dying to know what happened and why he couldn't contact me and if he is okay. I'm going crazy thinking about him being alone all day, hurt and confused.

Haze's composure is better than mine but even he looks unwell. He is driving way too fast and my body has slammed into the door several times. I want to be there as quick as possible, too, so I don't complain.

We all rush inside once the car is stopped. Haze parks in an emergency park that has a big, red sign above that says strictly NO parking. The next few moments are a blur of running and slamming through doors, Ellie doing the talking and navigating, since she can remain calm in a crisis. Usually I'm the one who can keep their head on straight in hard times but when it involves Jake, everything changes.

I burst through the door and freeze.

Jake is lying on the bed. His skin is littered with dark purple bruises and ugly red scratches. He has a lump on the side of his head that looks like it could be a tumour. His lip is split and his skin is a sickly, pale off-white. He looks exhausted with his hair messy and deep, dark circles under his eyes. I've never seen someone look so beaten and drained.

"J."

His eyes move from facing the ceiling, to mine and the relief there is like a tidal wave.

"Cal."

I fall to his side, needing to touch him but afraid to. His splotchy hands gather mine and I kiss the bruises all over. Gently, as soft as a caress.

"Thank God."

"Hey."

"Hi."

He smiles. "I missed you."

Tears boil over the edge and fall rapidly down my cheeks. I laugh, the sound is harsh and uneven. "I missed you, too."

"What the fuck happened?" Haze practically shouts. "Who did this? I'm going to kill them."

Jake exhales and the sound is hard to hear. You can hear the tiredness inside it.

"Callum's hotness did this."

"Huh?" we all say in unison.

"Callum has a psycho stalker who wants me to leave town so they can be together," Jake actually laughs at this, as if being almost bashed to death is hardly a spec on his radar. "It sounds so fucking stupid to say out loud."

My face goes white and I suck in a sharp breath. "Rhett? Rhett did this?"

"Yep," Jake nods. "He said this is my warning and if I don't listen, something unbelievably bad is going to happen."

Silence fills the room, everyone too astonished to know what to say. I open my mouth several times but no words come out.

"He's fucking dead," Haze seethes, his fists curled. "Where does he live? I'm going to beat him so hard he won't be able to walk for a week."

"No, no, no!" Ellie cries out urgently, looking hysterical. "No! We need to go to the police. No one is getting hurt over this." She quickly glances to Jake. "Even more hurt, I mean."

"How can we prove he did this?" Jake asks. "I was blindfolded. I didn't even see him but he spoke to me and I know his voice. And the fact that he literally told me to leave Callum is also a very clear indication that it's him. But how can I prove it?"

"When did they nab you?" Haze asks.

"At the football fields. It was dark, no lights."

"Isn't that pie shop and the barber across from there?" I ask. "Wouldn't they have cameras?"

"You'd think so," Ellie murmurs in agreement. "When we report this to the police, we will tell them."

"I'd much rather wear his face on my fist," Haze inputs.

"I think we all would like to do that but we need to do the right thing here," Ellie says and if this situation wasn't so tense and horrible, I would laugh at the idea of my sister trying to land a punch on someone.

"You need to promise me you won't lay a hand on this boy," Ellie warns Haze and also looks to Jake. "We are going to let the police handle this."

"Can't make any promises."

"Haze!"

"What?" he protests. "I'd kill anyone who laid a finger on someone in this room. He's not getting away with this."

"He's not going to get away with this, okay? Let me handle this."

The door opens then a nurse wanders in with a bright smile. "Who wants some jelly? Oh!" she startles when she sees so many of us in here.

"I do," Jake declares. "Actually, make that two."

***

I'm wrapped in my own mind as I walk my ever-day walk to class.

It killed me to leave Jake but I have a compulsory tutorial to attend.

The wind is cool on my cheeks and I dig my hands deeper into my pockets, causing the front of my jacket to hug tighter around me. I feel tired. I haven't slept, or eaten, for what feels like days.

Someone dressed in all-black captures my attention as I wait for my coffee. It's a familiar figure, one I realise I've seen almost every day but never paid any mind to. They walk the same path as me–which is not that that unusual, a lot of us reside on campus and walk to class–but this person, I realise, also lingers by the coffee cart and never seems to order anything.

A sinking sensation fills my stomach as paranoid thoughts splinter their way through my mind.

"Callum?" a voice calls.

I thank the girl as I collect my coffee and continue my walk to class. The person falls in step a few metres behind me. Goosebumps rise on my skin.

How long has this person been following me? Days? Weeks? I try to think of the first time I ever noticed them. Months?

Kicking my pace up a notch, I begin weaving between clusters of people and slip around behind a building. I slink behind a large pot plant–one bigger enough to conceal my entire body–and wait. My mind doesn't have time to pause and wonder why there is such a big planted tree tucked away like this.

A few moments later, the person walks around the corner.

I inhale sharply.

Rhett.

I step out from behind the tree. Rhett's back is to me now as he searches.

"It shouldn't have taken me this long to realise you follow me."

Rhett remains with his back to me but I see how stiff he goes.

"This has been happening for a while now, hasn't it?"

Slowly, he turns. He removes his dark glasses, revealing his face. His smooth, dark skin and two shiny, white rows of teeth. Big, soft lips that have met mine on more than one occasion. For a split second, my mind reels back to our date. The times we spent together overseas. How kind and carefree he was. I can't believe this is the same person standing before me.

He doesn't say anything.

"Answer me!" I shout at him, anger rising, clogging my throat and burning my eyes.

"You wanted me to follow you."

"What?" I explode.

"You really didn't notice me?"

"You think I would allow this, if I knew?"

Rhett raises an eyebrow, clearly not believing me, which only makes me more furious.

"This ends now," I snarl at him.

"This will never end."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" I hiss, my fingers tightening around the coffee cup. Just for a second, I explore the idea of throwing it at him.

"Admit it, Cal. You like this. You like me." He waves a hand between us, as if he can see something that I can't. "You love this drama. The chase. This game."

"Are you mentally deranged?" I question seriously. "Are you being medicated–or perhaps not–for a mental illness I am unaware of?"

A look of outrage ripples over his face and his hands ball into fists at his side. I stare at them. One hand–his right knuckles–have scabbed over.

"You're an asshole, Callum."

"No, I'm just a person who said I'm not interested in you and you can't take a fucking hint!" I practically scream at him, my anger spilling over the edges and tidal waving over to him with a crash. I don't know when my coffee cup left my hand but it's gone and my hands are around his throat. We tumble backward, connecting roughly with the cement behind us.

He chokes underneath the weight of my fingers, swiping at me to release him.

"You listen to me," I growl at him, pushing my face against his so closely that my nose pushes his. "You ever touch me or anyone I love again; I will kill you. I swear to God, I will kill you."

He circles his fingers around my arms and manage to free himself from my grip. He shoves me back and I land in a sprawl, quickly recovering. We're breathless and he stares at me, his eyes are a dark, fiery blaze, his lips twisting into a horrible smirk I've never seen on his face before.

"Not if I kill your precious Jake, first."

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