The Bonds We Break by Becca Steele

TWENTY-SIX

The day had arrived—the first day of my final year at Alstone College. We’d had our usual “welcome back to Alstone College” party, hosted at our house just two days earlier, and it was then that I knew something was wrong.

Yeah, maybeI knew before then, but coming around to a whole new way of thinking wasn’t a quick or easy process for me.

The party, though…

“Who’s invited?”

Standing at the kitchen island and staring down at his phone, Cade threw his head up at my question, his brows pulled together. “What do you mean? Everyone’s invited. Same as the last two years.”

“Everyone?” I kept my voice casual.

“Mate, it’s open invite. We always do this.” He rolled his eyes in the direction of Z, who just shrugged, content to stay out of it.

“Is…” Fuck, now I had to say it. “Is Jessa invited?”

A smirk stole over Cade’s face, and I briefly fantasised about punching him. “Yeah. Jessa’s invited. Everyone is. Same as the last two years.” I glared at him, and he laughed. “Cass. Never thought I’d see the day. You’re so fucked.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Caiden shook his head, and Z muttered something like “no hope.”

Wankers, both of them.

“There’d better be loads of single girls there,” I muttered, which just caused them to roll their eyes at me. Again.

“Who are you trying to fool?” The taunting smirk disappeared from Caiden’s face, and he took a step closer to me. “You know we don’t care if you wanna be with Jessa. She’s…” He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, like he was having to force the words out. “She’s…really nice. She’s good for you.”

Despite myself, I found myself grinning. “Did it hurt to say that?”

He gave me two middle fingers, which was answer enough.

Our not-at-all-awkward discussion was interrupted by the arrival of West, Lena, and Winter carrying armfuls of alcoholic drinks and cups. Perfect timing. After grabbing a huge bag of ice from the freezer, I headed over to the paddling pool I’d blown up earlier and emptied the bag into it. I made another few trips while the others filled it up with cans and bottles, and with us all working together, it was ready in no time. Zayde and Caiden had disappeared a couple of minutes before I heard the music start up, pumping through the house and bringing a huge smile to my face.

I fucking loved parties.

An hour later, it was well under way, and maybe I didn’t love parties so much.

There was no Jessa.

I drank.

Another hour passed, and still no Jessa.

I drank.

Another hour. I fucking hated parties.

I drank.

There were girls. So many girls. I didn’t want any of them.

I drank.

Only Jessa.

I drank.

“Did you know Littlefinger gave Jessa a cracked rib?” Lena was suddenly in my face, prodding at my chest.

“What?” I mumbled. A cracked rib? No, surely she would have said something.

My chest hurt. “I need to see if she’s okay. Where’s my phone?”

“Watch it.” Her voice was alarmed as I tripped over nothing, flinging my arms out and grabbing onto the nearest solid surface.

The surface shook. “Fucking hell, mate. How much have you had to drink?”

Blinking slowly, I realised that I was holding on to Weston, or was he holding me up…

Fuck. My foot slipped out from under me, and I tightened my grip on West.

“Okay. Outside.”

“I’ve never seen him like this.”

“Sit him down. I’ll clear the space.”

“I’ll get some water.”

Everything went over my head as I was pushed down onto a hard surface, and then an ice-cold glass was shoved into my hands. “Drink this,” a female voice instructed.

I gulped the water, sinking back into the chair. Whispers and murmurs went over my head while I concentrated on the feel of the glass in my hand, condensation dripping down the sides and running over my fingers.

“Jessa.”

No one responded, and I realised that I hadn’t said the words aloud. The glass slipped from my fingers, and I heard a crash, but it sounded like it came from far away.

The alcohol caught up with me then, and I didn’t know anything else.

* * *

Cringing, I avoided my hazy memory of the party and concentrated on what was happening right now.

“Our first day of our last year.” I stopped in front of the grey stone building that housed the Brunswick lecture hall.

Next to me, Winter sighed. “Yeah. I hope this year we can just concentrate on uni work, but whatever happens, it’s going to be hard, isn’t it? Everyone says that the final year is the hardest.”

Throwing my arm around her shoulders, I dropped a quick kiss on top of her head. “Yeah, babe. But in case you didn’t notice, you’re part of the Alstone elite. You’re the cream of the crop.” She raised a brow, so I continued. “You wouldn’t be here if you couldn’t handle it. You’re clever, talented, all that shit, and you know that Cade and West’s dad thinks of you as his surrogate daughter or whatever. You’ve got a guaranteed job at Alstone Holdings after this.”

“I know.” Her voice was quiet. “I just want to make sure I’m up to it.”

“Course you are. You’re Winter Huntington, soon to be Cavendish.” Giving her a wide smile, I held the building door open for her.

“Soon to be Cavendish. Really. Don’t start. With the hints Arlo drops every time we go over there for a meal…” She made an irritated noise, shaking her head, but a smile tugged at her lips. “Why is everyone so impatient? We’re still uni students.”

“Because you and Cade are goals?” I offered, following her into the lecture hall.

“Maybe.” Her gaze turned so fucking soft, and that ache in my chest was back.

I ignored it, sliding into a seat close to the back of the hall next to Winter.

“Last first day of our lectures,” she said as she pulled her laptop from her bag and turned it on.

“Last first—”

Every. Single. Thought disappeared from my head as Jessa De Witt strutted into the lecture hall, pausing at the bottom of the stairs like she was allowing everyone to get a good look at her.

Fuck. Me.

She was so beautiful.

Her dark hair fell straight and glossy down her back, and her insane curves were poured into tight jeans and a tiny mint green top that reminded me of the bikini she’d worn back at my house.

Her shoulders straightened, and she fixed her gaze on an empty seat a few rows up from the bottom.

It was like the beginning of last year all over again, but the hard expression that she’d had back then was missing from her face. I couldn’t even read her expression right now, but I knew her well enough to see the vulnerability that she was trying so desperately to hide.

The realisation crashed over me like some kind of tidal wave, and I couldn’t fucking breathe.

I loved her.

How in the actual fucking fuck had I managed to fall in love?

Me?

Fucking hell.

It wasn’t even her looks, although that was what had attracted me in the first place, and okay, yeah, her physical appearance made my cock hard. Very, very hard. But there was so much more beneath the surface…all the things about her that made her who she was, and made her important to me.

Now I wanted a relationship. A real, proper relationship.

With Jessa.

I wanted everything with her.

Fucking fuck.

I didn’t know how to do this. I’d missed her so much. I guess I should’ve had a clue from my frequent texts to her brother asking for updates and my borderline stalkerish surveillance of her apartment, but I was so out of my depth here, so used to superficial flirting and sex and…what was I supposed to do?

“Winter!” My voice was panicked as my gaze lifted from Jessa and flicked in her direction.

She didn’t even need to say anything. Her blue eyes met mine, full of understanding, and she reached out, rubbing over my arm.

I let my head fall back, pinching my brow. “What am I going to do?”

A slow smile spread across her face. “I’m glad you asked. I have an idea. How comfortable are you talking to Jessa’s brother?”