Chapter 18

Selena’s POV

Cullen didn’t even blink. One moment Nia was making pained sounds on the floor and in the next moment, Cullen had carried her into his arms like she didn’t have any weight. 

His jaw was so hard. His muscles became tighter as he carried her up. I could see the amount of anger that were in his eyes, even if he was not shouting or causing an extra scene. His eyes were burning, and his body moved very fast. And sharp. And for a moment, everyone around him looked so small. 

“Move,” he snapped at the crowd, his voice low but so dangerous it sent chills crawling down my arms.

And just like that, the crowd parted.

Phones that had been raised to record dropped to sides. Conversations died. All the people that were cheering for Jasmine and booing Nia, they all started to act innocent. 

I cast a final look back, just to look at Jasmine. 

She just stood there, crossing her hands on her chest. She was very calm. Like she did not do anything, like nothing ever happened a few minutes ago. Her lip stick still shined. She even smirked at me. She had the guts to do that, like this was just one of her silly games she usually played.

Tears filled my eyes, so I could not see her very clearly, but I made sure to keep my voice firm. “You’re going to pay for this.” 

She laughed. It was very sharp and cruel and it followed me. “Oh sweetheart…” She sang out, “I already have.” 

My heart became very heavy, but I did not look back at her at all. She was not worth, that last look. Not when Nia was numb in Cullen’s arms. 

“Selena, hurry!” Cullen’s voice snapped me back.

I ran.

We ran down the hallway that was filled with students. My legs were shaking so bad, and my lungs felt like it was burning but I did not care. 

Students parted in a rush when they saw Nia. Some gasped in shock. Some murmured their shock. Some covered their mouths as if they were witnessing something that felt so wrong. 

But none of them helped. None of them cared when the time was appropriate. 

“Faster,” Cullen shouted. He was sounding like he was under so much stress, but he still put himself together. 

When we finally got the to the main building. It looked like they had already heard about the situation because people just cleared the way for us, even when it was so crowded. They didn’t even need us to ask. 

It was like watching the sea part.

The sight of their white faces, only made my heart pound even harder in my chest. 

We burst into the school hospital doors, and within seconds, two nurses came rushing out with a stretcher.

“Put her here!” one shouted.

Cullen laid Nia down gently, even though his face was all hard lines. His hands brushed on her hair just one last time, before the nurses pushed her away on the wheels through the white doors. 

And just like that she was gone. 

The silence struck me harder than the running did. 

My heart was pounding loudly in my chest and my knees started to feel very weak. I fell on one of the chairs that were kept in the waiting area 

I held my face in my hands and I started crying. My voice was going through the quiet hallway and it sounded loud and broken. My body was shaking so bad that I found it so hard to breathe. 

Why? Why did Nia attack Jasmine? Why did she think she had to defend me? 

It was my battle. My pain. Not hers. 

I felt someone came to sit down beside me. It was Cullen. He wrapped his hands around me and he pulled me closer to him. Then he moved my head and kept it on his chest. 

“It’s okay,” he whispered in my ear. “She’s a strong girl. She will be fine.” 

But the tears refused to cease. 

I wadded up his shirt in my fists, messing the material up with my tears. My words exploded from me as if I couldn’t help it. “She should not have. She should not have gotten involved, fighting for me. She—”

Cullen held me tighter, as he was holding me still. “Hey. Don’t do that now. Don’t blame it on yourself.” 

But how could I not? Nia was in there because of me.

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed, and then I heard my name.

“Selena!”

I looked up. Ava came running to me, her hair flying, her face pale with terror. 

She leaped directly to me, taking my hands. “Where’s Nia? What happened? Where is she?”

Her eyes darted all over me, not even noticing that Cullen’s arm was still around my waist. She didn’t see his hand resting there like it belonged there.

“She’s inside,” I whispered.

“Inside?” Ava gasped, looking at the closed ward doors. “Is she—oh my God, Selena, please tell me she’s okay!”

Before I could answer, the doors opened. A nurse stepped out, lowering her mask.

“You can go in now,” she said softly.

Ava didn’t wait. She held my hand and dragged me with her, and the both of us hurried to the room.

The sight made me to stop in my tracks.

Nia laid on the hospital bed, so still. Her face looked like it had swollen up. Her lips were cracked, and bleeding too. Her skin had so much new bruises. And some parts of her hand and arms were wrapped in clean bandages. 

She looked so small. So fragile.

The doctor standing by her bed adjusted the drip connected to her arm. He gave us a kind look. “She’s fine. Nothing too serious. Just bruises and cuts. We’ve treated her wounds. She needs rest. She’ll wake up soon.”

My heart became so tight in my chest. I felt very relieved that Nia was okay, but it didn’t make me stop feeling bad. 

“She’s really okay?” Ava asked quickly, tears spilling from her eyes.

“Yes,” the doctor said firmly. “She’ll be fine.”

Then he walked away, leaving us behind. 

I leaned over Nia, staring down at her bruised face. My chest was ripping in two. 

“Ava…” My voice shook. “She got hurt because of me. She—”

“No,” Ava's voice cut in sharply, pulling my hand into hers. “Don’t. Don’t even consider that. This is not your fault. Jasmine did this, not you.” 

But I couldn’t stop the guilt. It was heavy, pressing down on me until it was hard to breathe.

The door creaked again. A very tall man in a dark blazer walked in. His badge shone on his chest— the school disciplinary squad. 

He gazed at Nia, then at us. “I need to know what happened here.” 

I stepped forward quickly. My words tumbled out fast. “It was Jasmine. She mocked Nia, pushed her until she snapped. Nia fought back, but Jasmine—she went too far. Jasmine wouldn’t stop.”

His face stayed stiff. At first, I thought he looked concerned. But then his expression shifted the moment I said Jasmine’s name.

“Jasmine?” he repeated.

“Yes,” I said firmly.

His mouth pressed into a line. And then he said, flat, “Nia will have to meet with the principal once she’s fit enough to talk.”

My jaw dropped. “That’s it? She almost killed her! And you’re just—”

He cut me off. “The principal will decide.”

And just like that, he turned and left.

Ava let out a bitter laugh. “They’re covering for her. Again.”

The anger inside me seared so hotly I believed I’d explode. 

Silence dropped in the room. Ava sat down with Nia, taking her hand. I hung at the side of the bed, fists curled, looking at Nia’s bruises, promising myself that Jasmine would suffer. 

The door opened softly again.

This time it was Cullen.

He didn’t say a word. He just walked straight toward me, his eyes burning with something unreadable.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a tissue, and pressed it gently into my hand.

And then… he circled his arms around my waist from behind.

My body became rigid the moment it was touched. His chest against my back, his heat surrounding me. 

His chin dropped, rasping against my hair. Then his lips on the top of my head. Soft, and brief. 

Once.

Then again.

And then he breathed in, slow and deep, before pressing one more kiss, longer this time.

My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought he’d hear it.

The room went quiet.

Until Ava’s voice cut in, sharp and wide-eyed.

She froze in her chair, staring at us like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“What’s going on between you two?”