All Chapters of Pieces of Me He Never Protected: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

The strange thing about Josh was that he could juggle chaos and still feel entitled to control.Later that evening, he was sitting with Diamond under the large tree behind the faculty building. It was one of the quieter parts of campus, where students came when they wanted privacy or simply a break from the noise.Diamond sat beside him on the low concrete ledge, her legs crossed calmly while she scrolled through her phone.Josh watched her for a moment.There was something about Diamond that had started bothering him lately.Not in a bad way.Just… different.She was too calm.Too steady.Most girls he had dated eventually became emotional. They asked questions. They demanded explanations.Diamond didn’t.And strangely, that made him more aware of her.“What are you looking at?” he asked.“Nothing important,” Diamond replied without looking up.Josh leaned slightly closer, trying to see her screen.Diamond tilted the phone away casually.“Private.”Josh frowned slightly.“Private?”D

Josh did not check his phone until he and Diamond had walked halfway down the dim campus road.The streetlights had started coming on one after another, casting long yellow pools of light along the quiet path. Students passed occasionally, but the evening crowd had already begun to thin.Diamond walked beside him calmly, her steps unhurried.Josh slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone.Two notifications.Both from Peaches.He opened the messages.Josh, are you busy?A second message came a few minutes later.I really need to talk to you.Josh frowned slightly.Peaches had been texting more frequently lately.More calls.More messages.More… emotions.He typed quickly.What’s wrong?Send.He slipped the phone back into his pocket before Diamond could notice.“What?” Diamond asked casually.Josh blinked.“What do you mean?”“You frowned,” she said.Josh forced a small smile.“Just something Daniel sent.”Diamond nodded.“Hmm.”They continued walking.But Josh’s phone buz

Josh didn’t read Peaches’ message immediately.He was still standing outside Diamond’s hostel, leaning casually against the low wall while pretending to scroll through random things on his phone.Diamond had already disappeared inside the building.Students moved in and out of the entrance, laughing, talking, living their ordinary campus lives.Josh barely noticed them.His phone buzzed again in his hand.He glanced down.Peaches.He opened the message.Josh… sometimes I wish you had been there that day.Josh stared at the screen.For a few seconds, he didn’t move.Then he sighed quietly and rubbed his forehead.He knew exactly what she meant.That day.The hospital.The baby.The whole situation he had already placed neatly into a corner of his mind where he rarely looked.Josh didn’t like conversations about that.They were messy.Uncomfortable.Full of emotions he didn’t feel prepared to deal with.He locked the phone without replying.For a moment he considered simply ignoring it.

Diamond had always believed there were two kinds of patience.The first kind was soft. Gentle. The patience people had when they loved someone and hoped things would improve.The second kind was sharp.Quiet.Dangerous.The kind that built slowly inside someone who had already seen the truth but was waiting for the right moment to say it.Diamond was beginning to realize hers was the second kind.She sat on the edge of her bed that night, her room dim except for the small lamp on her desk. Her phone lay beside her, the screen dark.Josh had texted her earlier.Did you get inside safely?She had replied with a simple yes.Then he sent another message.Goodnight.Diamond had stared at that message for a long time before finally locking her phone.Goodnight.As if the night was simple.As if nothing complicated existed beneath the surface of the life he was living.Diamond leaned back against the wall behind her bed and closed her eyes.Sometimes she wondered how Josh managed to keep eve

“Relax, man.”Thelma’s voice was calm, almost amused.Then he turned and walked down the path without waiting for a response.Josh watched him leave, his jaw tight.For a moment neither he nor Diamond said anything.Daniel shifted beside the railing, sensing the tension thickening in the air.Josh finally looked back at Diamond.“You seem very comfortable with him.”Diamond leaned lightly against the kiosk.“He’s my friend.”Josh frowned.“You have a lot of male friends.”Diamond tilted her head slightly.“That’s not new.”Josh glanced briefly in the direction Thelma had gone, as if half-expecting him to return.“He’s been around you a lot lately.”Diamond’s expression stayed calm.“He asked me out once.”Josh’s head snapped back toward her.“He what?”Daniel straightened slightly.Diamond said it casually, like it wasn’t a big deal.“He asked if I wanted to get food with him.”Josh’s irritation sharpened instantly.“And you didn’t think to tell me?”Diamond studied him.“I handled it