I glare back at him, feeling my pulse speed up.
“You said you loved me,” I whisper harshly, sitting down next to him.
“What?” Noah says with surprise. He looks over at me, his mouth falling ajar.
He looks shocked.
“I never thought that you would stoop so low. You love me?” My voice catches. “You knew it was the only thing that you could say to Harry to get him to dump me.”
“You’re serious?” Noah replies, his eyes flaring.
“It was your checkmate, Noah.” I can feel my eyes turning to coal with my words.
But I had to say it. There was no point in me not saying it. I already feel hollowed out, and I’d rather him admit it now than drag this out. That what he did, said to Harry, was wrong. That he lied. That he did it so Harry would bail on me. Just like he was.
“Of course you’d think I was playing some game,” Noah replies.
His brown eyes are glowing now. If it wasn’t for the fact that we were in the headmaster’s office, I’d probably run from them.
From him.
Instead, I push my shoulders back and stare forward.
“Headmaster Compton will see you both now,” Ms. Adams says, joining us.
Noah’s the first to stand up. His face sets, and his jaw tightens. I watch as he fixes his tie firmly at his neck.
I glance down at myself.
Even though I’m sitting board straight in my chair, I don’t feel anything near put together. Really, I don’t feel anything. And apparently, neither does Noah. When I catch his eye, it’s like all the emotion in his body is gone. He watches me get up from the chair without blinking.
Looking at him now, you’d never know that fifteen minutes ago, he was about to cry.
So, I plaster a smile on my face and nod at Ms. Adams. “Great.”
We follow her into Headmaster Compton’s office, single file. I stand behind Noah, his frame shielding me for only a moment before Ms. Adams leaves us, closing the door behind her.
Noah can pretend if he wants, but I won’t.
What’s the point?
I step out from behind Noah and look to Mr. Compton before dropping down into one of the seats in front of his desk.
“I have to say, I’m very disappointed to see you in my office again,” Mr. Compton says directly to me.
“I’m not thrilled about it either,” I admit, glancing between the headmaster and Noah.
Noah won’t look at me. He keeps his eyes on Mr. Compton.
“And unfortunately, because of the severity of the situation, a parent needed to be informed.”
I snap my head back toward Mr. Compton, my mouth falling open.
“But my parents don’t even live here,” I reply.
Because it’s one thing to get in trouble outside of school. My dad might understand if, in the name of experience, I broke curfew or didn’t ace an exam. But getting a call from the headmaster?
That’s a whole different story.
“Your host family,” Headmaster Compton corrects, his eyes slipping from me to Noah. “Which means, I only made one call.”
My face goes white as I look at Noah.
Noah looks back at me, equally as shocked. His cheeks flush before he pulls his gaze away from mine.
Because we both know who Headmaster Compton called.
Helen.
I cover my mouth with my hand and try to steady my breathing.
“I expected as much of a reaction. Mrs. Williams herself was rather frantic when Ms. Adams phoned her. She will be joining us shortly.”
Neither Noah nor I say anything, and Mr. Compton takes the time to analyze us. He leans back in his chair, his eyes becoming slits. I’m struck, not sure whether to stare back or try and find somewhere to hide before Helen arrives.
Because Mr. Compton has nothing on Helen Williams.
The thought of her joining us has my stomach doing flips.
“Your outburst in the lunchroom was disgraceful,” Mr. Compton starts, honing in on me.
I swallow, trying to bring myself back to reality. And the reality is, Headmaster Compton is only my principal for the rest of the day. Tomorrow, I’ll be on a flight out of here. I will never have to see him—or Noah—again.
What’s the worst he can do?
Send me home?
I’m already going home. And happily.
“It wasn’t the best decision,” I reply, knowing that I need to say something.
“At least we can agree on that.” Mr. Compton’s eyes flit between Noah and me before he folds his hands together, resting them on his desk. “Now, before we get to the bottom of this, answer me one question. How long has this been going on?”
I look to Noah, not sure what he means.
“How long has what been going on?” I ask.
“This,” Headmaster Compton says, handing Noah a tissue.
Noah looks down at it, confused. But he must finally realize what Mr. Compton is getting at because he takes the tissue. I stare at it, hoping Noah won’t use it. That he won’t wipe away our kiss. That maybe, deep down, he doesn’t actually hate me for what I did. But before I can put more thought into it, Noah brings the tissue to his mouth, sliding it across his perfect lips.
And then any trace of me is gone.
I should feel relieved. But I just grow more upset.
“There’s nothing going on between us,” Noah replies, staring at the reddened tissue.
“It’s time to tell the truth,” Mr. Compton threatens.
“It was just a kiss in the lunchroom. It was nothing,” I cut in.
“Actually, I would call that outburst means for expulsion,” Mr. Compton replies.
“Expulsion!” Helen repeats from the doorway, joining us.
I freeze at her voice. Noah drops the tissue into his lap. Mr. Compton looks up at her.
When I finally turn around in my chair to face her, Helen looks like her soul has left her body.
It takes her a good five seconds to come back to us, and when she finally does, it’s with a vengeance.
“Noah Williams,” she starts, heading toward him. “How dare you allow this to happen. You are supposed to be a clever, proper young man, and-and-and …” she stutters, her eyes shifting to me. “Mallory! After all our talks about controlling your emotions and not reacting, you decide to jeopardize your future by doing this?”
“I didn’t kiss her,” Noah tries to explain to his mom.
“You were both kissing,” Headmaster Compton interrupts, referring to a sheet of paper in front of him. “And Miss James was also yelling.”
“She forced me to,” Noah says, exasperated, his brows drawing in.
“She sexually assaulted you?” Headmaster Compton asks, sitting up straighter in his chair.
“Well, no …” Noah stutters, looking between me and his mom.
“So, it was or it was not mutual?” Headmaster Compton asks Noah.
I look up to Helen, who’s staring at Noah. She looks like she’s about to have a stroke. Noah looks from me, to his mom, back to Mr. Compton before slumping down in his seat.
Noah lets out a sigh, his eyes flaring. “I suppose it was mutual.”
“Then, detention for you, Mr. Williams,” Mr. Compton replies firmly. “Now, getting back to the matter at hand. How long has this been going on?”