All Chapters of Unwanted Nerd: Chased By The B-Ball Stars: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Deborah's POV"But what?" I repeated, my voice sharper than I intended. The question hung in the air between us like a challenge, and I could see something shift in Olivia's expression. Whatever fake friendliness she'd been wearing slipped slightly, revealing something colder underneath.Olivia's smile became more calculated, more predatory, like a cat that had cornered a mouse. "Cindy told me that she overheard Liam talking about you at the gym last night," she said, her voice dripping with false sympathy. The way she said it, slow and deliberate, made my stomach clench with dread. "And since I knew you wouldn't believe me..."She paused dramatically, pulling out her phone with theatrical flair. The device looked small in her manicured hands, but suddenly it felt like the most dangerous thing in the world. The screen lit up with a bright glow that seemed to cast harsh shadows across her face."Cindy recorded what Liam said," Olivia continued, her thumb hovering over the play button.

Deborah's POV As soon as Olivia disappeared around the corner, her clicking heels fading into silence, I felt my brave facade begin to crumble like a house of cards in the wind. My hands trembled as I fumbled with my keys, the metal cold and slippery in my sweaty palms. "Please let it be fake," I whispered to the empty hallway, my voice barely audible even to my own ears. The words felt fragile, like they might shatter if I spoke them any louder. "Please, please let it be fake." But even as I said it, those terrible what-ifs began creeping into my mind like poisonous snakes. What if the recording was real? What if Liam really had been laughing about me with his friends? What if everything we'd shared last night had been nothing but an elaborate joke at my expense? My chest felt tight, like someone was squeezing my ribs with invisible hands. I pressed my back against my door and closed my eyes, trying to push away the images that kept flashing through my mind. Liam's gentle hand

Third Person POVThe cloth covering Liam's head felt heavier now, soaked with his own sweat and breath until it stuck to his skin like a damp second layer. Every exhale made the fabric flutter against his mouth, creating a claustrophobic sensation that made his chest tighten with each breath. "Who are you people really?" Liam demanded, his voice hoarse from shouting. The words echoed back to him from concrete walls, confirming his suspicion that they were in some kind of industrial building. "What do you actually want with me?"Steve's laugh was cold and sharp, cutting through the stale air like broken glass. "Shut up, college boy. You'll find out soon enough."But it was Tommy's response that made Liam's blood run cold. From behind his head came a low snicker, the sound dripping with amusement and something darker that Liam couldn't quite identify."You should be happy, pretty boy," Tommy said, his voice much closer to Liam's ear than before. The man must have leaned down, because L

Liam's POVThe threat to Deborah hit me like lightning striking my chest. Every muscle in my body tensed at once, and something primal took over. The rope around my wrists, which had felt impossibly tight just moments before, suddenly seemed like nothing more than string against the surge of desperate strength that flooded through me.I pulled against the restraints with everything I had, no longer caring about the burning pain as the fibres cut deeper into my already raw skin. Blood ran freely down my hands now, making them slippery, but somehow, that only helped. The rope was wet with my blood and sweat, and I could feel it starting to give way under the force of my struggles."You stay away from her!" I roared, my voice echoing off the warehouse walls. The metal chair scraped against the concrete floor as I threw my full weight forward, backwards, side to side, anything to break free.Steve took a step back, his eyes widening slightly. For the first time since this nightmare began,

Third Person POV Liam sat down on the chair in his room with a gloomy face, staring down at rope marks on his wrists as the full implications of what he had been forced to confess to weighed down on him. The angry red welts circled his skin like crimson bracelets, tender to the touch, and impossible to ignore. Each throb reminded him of the cold concrete floor, the harsh lights, and the voices that had broken him down piece by piece until he had no choice but to speak words that weren't his truth.The sound of a knock on his room door moved his attention from his wrist to the door. His heart hammered against his ribs like a caged bird desperate to escape. He knew that knock. He had heard it countless times before, always accompanied by her gentle voice asking if she could come in, always followed by the warmth of her presence filling whatever space she entered.As soon as he noticed Deborah's red hair as she began pushing his door open, Liam turned around in his chair, making Deborah