All Chapters of Falling for My Best Friend's Brother: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Avery's POVI had about three seconds to decide whether to stop her.I used them watching Jade cross the gym floor with that particular walk she had when she was done being reasonable, and I decided that three seconds was not enough time to get between Jade Rivera and someone she had decided needed to hear something.Brianna looked up from the phone when she heard the footsteps. Her expression shifted through several things very quickly before settling on the version of itself that she used when she wanted to look unbothered. She got there fast. She had practised it."Jade," she said pleasantly. "You're early.""I know what you did," Jade said. She stopped two feet in front of her and did not raise her voice at all, which was somehow more frightening than if she had shouted. "I know about Colton. I know it has been going on for two months. And I know you knew exactly who he belonged to the whole time."The two girls on either side of Brianna looked confused as they looked between Jade

Avery's POVI had heard enough of what this ass had to say.I pushed off the wall and stepped into the kitchen doorway.They both turned at the same time. Dean's face went through several things quickly before settling on an expression that was hard and guarded. My mum's hand flew to her mouth."Avery," she said. "How long have you been standing there?""Long enough," I said. I looked at Dean. "You want her to choose. Between her daughter and the man who has spent two years drinking her money and sleeping in her bed and contributing absolutely nothing to either." I kept my voice very level. "That is the choice you are giving her.""This is between me and your mother," he said."You made it my business the moment you put my name in it." I stepped further into the kitchen. "You want me out of this house? Say it to my face. Not to her. To me."He looked at me the way he always looked at me when he was recalibrating, working out how much he could push and where the limit was today."You n

Avery's POV The words stuck in my throat and I couldn't get them out. I looked at him in front of me in the low light with his blue-green eyes patient and his whole body leaning forward like someone who genuinely wanted the answer, and I felt the name right there at the tip of my tongue. "I can't," I said. "I can't tell you." He was quiet for a moment. "Can't or won't?" "Both," I said. "Pick the one that makes more sense to you." He studied my face like he was reading something written in a language he was still learning. "Is it that complicated?" "More than you know," I said. "I prefer we keep our relationship under wraps for now." He nodded once and he did not push. He just accepted it and sat back and somehow that made me want to give him more than the no, not less. "Scarlett then," he said. "Scarlett then," I agreed. "Is that what you prefer?" I thought about it honestly. "It is what I need. There is a difference." He looked at me for a long moment after that. I had s

Avery's POVProfessor Cross looked at me over the top of his glasses.He did not answer straight away. He took his time, and his eyes moved over me in a funny way."Like I said, a reassignment is not something I typically accommodate.""I understand that," I said. "And I would not be asking if it was not important.""Important," he repeated. He picked up his papers and tapped them against the desk to straighten the stack. He was in absolutely no rush. "The project pairings are designed to push students outside their comfort zones. The difficulty of the pairing is often the point.""I appreciate that," I said. "But there are circumstances here that make this particular pairing unworkable and I would rather address them now than allow them to affect the grade."He looked at me for another long moment. Then his eyes moved down and back up again in a slow, deliberate way, but I kept my face completely still and my hands loose at my sides."Come to my office this afternoon," he said. "Four

Avery's POVI looked between the two of them one more time.Colton standing with his jaw set and his arms folded, waiting for me to fall back into line beside him the way I always had in thr oast after every fight we had. Liam stood opposite him, waiting for me to take a stand for myself and get away from Colton and his disrespect.Neither of the options was simple."I will give you feedback from the professor," I said to Liam. "After I see him at four o'clock."Something changed in his expression. He looked like he was kind of disappointed I didn't take his offer. But he nodded once and walked away.Then I turned around and walked past Colton without looking at him.He started walking too behind me. Of course he did.I kept walking quickly. Down the side path, past the humanities block, across the wide stretch of concrete that led to the student car park. My car was in the far corner and I walked straight toward it with my bag over one shoulder and my keys already in my hand."Avery.