Part 18

"Stop worrying, Lauren. She will be fine," Dash hissed at her. I could barely hear the two of them talk; mainly because they were speaking in hushed whispers and also because I was eavesdropping on them from behind a bookshelf—not a great place for hiding and eavesdropping.

"How do you know? You were there, you saw what happened," Lauren replied. These two were really making me strain my ears to listen in on them. But the main question was, what were they talking about? What did Dash see that no one else saw? What was Lauren referring to?

"Yes, I did see and I'm telling you not to worry. You are safe and I will make sure you stay safe; you can trust me, Lauren," Dash whispered. My heart cracked at his words. Was Lauren Dash's girlfriend? Was he cheating on me? And what did he have to keep her safe from?

"If my parents find out I will be in big trouble. They won't even rescue me. They will say I deserved it and should suffer." Lauren's voice cracked as if she was crying.

"I promise you I will not let anything happen to you. Do you not trust me? Have I ever let you down?" Dash asked.

"Yes, you let me down when you got expelled from that school. You weren't suppose to get expelled and come here; it put a huge dent in my plans," she answered. What were these two upto? Where they partners in crime? If so then what was their crime?

"That was an accident. And personally, I am glad I got expelled and came here. Now I can keep a better eye on you and make sure you are safe," Dash responded. I didn't understand why my eyes were burning until I realized I was crying. Dash's words were hurting me; they were breaking my heart. He was cheating on me, there was no other explanation. I can't believe I'd been so stupid.

"I needed you there. Now I don't have a set of eyes watching over those people," Lauren hissed. This conversation was getting confusing by the syllable. Why did she sound like a conspiracy theorist?

"Those people don't need watching. You, on the other hand, need to be careful. You're already walking on thin ice as it is," Dash replied.

"You don't have to tell me what I already know. The problem is, what am I going to do now?" She enquired.

"You're going to forget this and move on with your life. What's done is done and no one suspects a thing. And let me keep you safe now, Lauren; enough is enough," my boyfriend said. Why was he so adamant about keeping her safe? He always talked about inflicting the ten semesters on me, but he wanted to keep Lauren safe. What did Lauren mean to him anyway?

"I know, Dash, I know. But—I just...can't stop. I've tried to control this. I've tried to stop. But it doesn't go away. This urge doesn't go away," she responded, sounding guilty.

"You will get better, Lauren. I know you will, but you have to trust me to take care of you. Dr. Arnold will come in a few days and you have to let me do the talking when he gets here. Got it?"

A doctor? Was Lauren sick? If she was sick then why did Dash wanted to be the one to talk to her doctor?

There were so many questions I had, so many doubts, but I had no one to ask. And my heart was breaking because it was clear there was something romantic going on between Dash and Lauren, and that Dash was cheating on me with this girl.

"Okay, you can talk to him. Thanks for being with me. God knows what I'll do without you, Dash," Lauren said, forcing me to listen to her instead of my weeping heart.

"You don't have to thank me. Just let me protect you now. I can't lose you, Lauren." If his words could morph into any object then they would transform into knives and stab me in the heart, that's how painful his words were.

"Me neither, Dash. I should go now. I'll see you later." Finally she was leaving. I didn't think I could face Dash right now with my tear-filled eyes and bubbling anger. But if I left the library then Dash would get angry and he would know something was up. I couldn't let him know that I listened to his conversation, which meant I had no choice but to act normal.

"Yeah, you should go. And Lauren, try to avoid popping at random places to meet me because I don't want Bri to know about us," Dash said. Us. He said us. Dash never used the word us when referring to me and him. Now I wanted to kill Lauren, or maybe Dash.

"Right, sorry about that. I just get so nervous that I need to talk to you immediately." Why wasn't Lauren acting like a jealous girlfriend? Was she alright with Dash cheating on her? Perhaps she told Dash to date me so they could find out what Tracey and I knew about Janice and her killer. Could it he possible that Dash was using me?

He is with Lauren, what do you think?

The proof was right there. Dash was using me. His stories about hanging on to a person because he had been lonely all his life were nothing but lies. But I would not let myself be used like this. I would not allow Dash to break me.

"It's just that, I don't want Bri to get suspicious. I have something good with her and I don't want to jeapordize that with secrets. She is innocent, therefore, she doesn't know much and I want it to stay that way. If she finds out my secrets then my relationship will get ruined and I don't want that to happen," he stated.

So he thought I was stupid. Dash believed I was innocent and gullible. But he was wrong. I was a straight A student. I was smart and it was me who came up with the idea of investigating Janice's murder. I wasn't as stupid as Dash thought, and I would make him see that. I would make him eat his words.

Taking a deep breath, I wiped the tears with the back of my hand. I would show him. I would show both of them. Dash was underestimating my potential. I would make him regret it.

"Of course, I'll be careful next time. Well bye. I'll see you later." I heard Lauren padding across the carpeted floor out of the library. A minute later, Dash returned, a small smile on his face.

"Chocolate chip, did you miss me?" He asked, pulling me in his arms and planting a kiss on my lips.

"What did Lauren want to talk about?" I asked him, keeping my voice even. I hope my face did not betray my inner emotions.

"Nothing important. Anyways, forget her. So you agree to go to the movie premiere with me, right?" He was trying to distract me. I knew this because I was smart; if I were a dumb girl then I wouldn't have noticed it.

I nodded. "Yes, but you have to read this book first. I won't go with you if you haven't read the book."

"You, my sweet girlfriend, have got yourself a deal." He kissed my cheek. I had to give it to him, he was a fantastic actor. Instead of becoming a dentist, Dash should focus more on becoming an actor; he would be more successful. And why was he being so sweet?

"I'm glad. Just fulfill your end of the bargain and everything will be all right." I paused, gazing at him. He was so hot. "Now, I have to go. I'll see you later."

"You know you can't go anywhere without me. Tell me where you're going, I'll take you there," Dash said.

I mentally rolled my eyes. "I have to go to the bathroom. So, you can't come."

Dash groaned, releasing me from his embrace. "I hate that place. That's the one place that keeps me away from you and I don't like it." Did he feel guilty about using me? Did he enjoy lying to me and thinking I was too dumb to understand his games? If he could play games with me then I could do the same.

"Yes, you do hate it, but it's an important place, so you just have to deal with it. I will see you later." With a smile, I turned and strode out of the library. I really wanted to run but that would've made Dash suspicious.

As soon as I reached the bathroom, I threw myself inside a stall and pulled the lid of the toilet down before ripping a couple of paper towels and placing them on the lid and sitting down.

I had to come up with a plan to get back at Dash. But before that, I needed to find out what were Dash and Lauren hiding. It had to be something big, that could be the only reason why Lauren was so worried. And once I figured that out, then I would get back at Dash.

How was I going to find out what Dash was hiding? There had to be a way. Dash was smart but he couldn't be that smart as to cover all his bases. I was smarter than him; I could have Tracey help me. No, I could not involve Tracey in this. This was my fight against Dash. I had to do this alone.

You are with him all the time. He never lets you out of his sight. You can trick him into telling his secrets.

Of course. My subconscious was right. I was with Dash all the time, I could easily get the answers I wanted. Even my inner voice was smart. Ha! Take that, Dash! Now I would get my revenge on him. However, I would have to be extra smart. One wrong move and it would be over.

Standing up, I threw the paper towels in the dustbin before opening the door and exiting the stall. Thank God nobody was here, otherwise things would be awkward. If I'd started to cry inside the stall then it would've made matters worse because it was hard for me to compose myself once I started to cry and explaining my tear-streaked face to some random girl was not something I wanted to do.

Quickly washing my hands, I hurried out of the bathroom. I sighed in relief when I saw no sign of Dash lurking in the hallway. I needed some time alone from him. I needed to think. One thing was for sure, I could not stop looking for Janice's killer. And now I had to keep an eye on my boyfriend as well. I didn't know why, but I had a feeling Dash had something to do with Janice's death. Maybe I was mistaken, but it could not hurt to be cautious.

Looking left then right, I turned right and begun to walk in the direction of my dorm room. I had to go through the journals once more; this time I would read Lauren's journal and see what she was hiding.

Just as I turned another corner, I collided with Gemma. Why did I have to come across people when I wanted nothing to do with them?

"Hey, Bri, how are you?" Gemma asked, smiling at me. Why were her teeth so white? Were they always this white?

"I'm fine, Gemma. How are you?" I had to read the journal and here was Gemma forcing me to engage in mindless conversation. Did people not realize just how busy I was?

"I'm great. Have you decided on your dress for the Winter Formal?" Out of all the things she could ask me, she asked this. Somebody kill me.

"I'm not interested in this, you know that." I told her while bouncing on my feet, eager to get to my room.

"Oh, come on, you don't have to pretend with me. I know you are just like every other girl who wants to look pretty and date the hottest guy in school. You have already achieved the latter, so it is obvious that you want to look pretty for him," she replied.

I rolled my eyes. There was no point in arguing with her and telling her how I had better things to do then think about looking pretty for Dash. Right now, I wanted to punch Dash for all that he did to me.

"No, Gemma, I do not want to look pretty. And why do you care whether I want to look pretty or not?" I sighed in frustration.

"No, I just want you to know that don't feel bad when I become the queen. I think we both know that I'll win," she said.

I would never stop rolling my eyes while talking to her. "Trust me, I really don't care. I want you to be the queen, so don't worry about me being upset."

Gemma grinned. "Really? That's fantastic, then we have nothing to worry about."

"Exactly. Is there anything else you want to ask?" I hoped she would say no.

"Yes, I wanted to know what is going on with you," she stated.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, is everything okay in your life? You asked me to keep that girl busy the other day, so are things okay with that?" The way she was looking at me made me feel as if she was genuinely interested in my life, and that surprised me.

"Y—Yes, I guess everything is fine. Thank you, Gemma." I meant those words. She might act like a shallow girl at times, but I could tell there was more to her than met the eye.

"Of course. If you need to talk, you can always come to me. I can be a good listener. I can even help you if you need it," she said.

"Thank you, it means a lot." Just as I turned to leave, Tracey came running up to me, looking out of breath.

"Bri, thank God I found you," she huffed.

"What's wrong?" My heart tensed, ready to hear the bad news.

"You're being called by the Administrator. Your father is on the phone for you."

My father called?

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Author's Note.

Hi guys,

Here is another update, I hope you all like it.

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