My Fake Boyfriend Is the School Bad Boy novel Chapter 119

Chapter 119 Driving Away From The School

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My hands rested flat against his broad chest. Ryder let out a ragged breath. He closed his eyes. He dropped his forehead against mine. The

contact sent a shockwave through my veins.

We stood in the empty hallway. The warning bell for the first period faded into silence.

“Class starts in one minute,” I whispered. My voice trembled.

Ryder opened his eyes. He did not step back. “We are skipping.”

‘I do not skip class, Ryder. I have a European History exam on Friday.”

“You will pass the exam without sitting in a plastic chair today,” he stated. His voice held a low, scraping rumble. “I cannot walk back into that building right now. And I am not leaving you inside.”

He stepped back. The loss of his body heat sent a chill down my arms. He reached down and grabbed my canvas bag from the linoleum floor. He slung the thick strap over his shoulder, carrying the heavy textbooks with effortless ease.

He held out his hand.

He did not force me. He offered the choice. I looked at his calloused palm. I looked at the silver rings catching the harsh fluorescent light. I thought of the pristine index cards resting in my bag. I thought of the perfect attendance record I maintained since freshman year.

Then I looked at his face. I saw the desperate, quiet plea hiding behind his dark storm.

I placed my hand in his.

His long fingers closed around mine. His grip felt firm, grounding, and secure. He pulled me down the C-wing. We bypassed the attendance office. We ignored the classroom doors. We reached the heavy metal exit doors at the end of the hall. He pushed the crash bar. We stepped out into the cool April morning.

The overcast sky hung low over the Crestview Prep campus. We crossed the manicured lawns and reached the South Lot. The dark blue Ford truck sat parked near the chain-link fence.

He opened the passenger door. I climbed into the cab. He tossed my canvas bag onto the backseat. He walked around the front grille and slid behind the steering wheel. He shoved the key into the ignition. The engine roared to life.

He shifted into drive and pulled out of the parking lot. We left the affluent brick buildings behind.

I sat in the passenger seat. I watched his profile. His jaw remained locked tight. The fading yellow bruise stood out against his pale skin. The tension from the confrontation with Julian Hayes still rolled off his massive frame. He dismantled a classmate to protect my name. He proved the rumors wrong with a terrifying display of force.

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Chapter 119 Driving Away From The School

I expected him to drive me home. I expected a silent, tense ride back to my small house.

He bypassed my neighborhood exit. He kept his foot on the gas. We merged onto the interstate.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Away from the audience, Ryder replied. He kept his eyes on the road. “Away from the whispers and the locker notes.”

We drove for forty minutes. The landscape outside the smudged window changed. The sprawling green lawns and gated communities faded. The dense, vertical rise of the city skyline appeared on the horizon. Concrete and steel replaced the manicured trees. We entered

the downtown district.

The environment felt neutral. It lacked the hostile, dangerous edge of the East Side warehouse district. It lacked the suffocating, judgmental glare of Crestview Prep. We existed in a space where no one knew our names. No one cared about his legacy or my

scholarship.

Ryder pulled the heavy truck onto a narrow side street. He parked near a small, faded brick building. A neon sign buzzed in the front window, displaying the word Diner.

“Stay here,” he instructed.

He killed the engine. He climbed out of the cab and walked into the diner. I sat in the quiet truck. The heater ticked as it cooled. Ten minutes later, he emerged carrying a large brown paper bag and a cardboard drink carrier.

He returned to the truck. He set the food on the center console. The rich smell of grilled burgers and salted fries filled the confined space.

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