Chapter 2
CHAPTER
TWO
Bow
My phone buzzed with a number I didn’t recognize. My heart in my throat, I sent it to voicemail, then added the number to my blocked caller list. I tried to ignore all the numbers that were already there. There were a lot, dozens.
“Excuse you.”
The rude guy who spoke clipped me, and I stumbled forward. I’d been walking while texting, dumb I knew, but he was rude and didn’t have to speak to me that way. I pocketed my phone. “Sorry. I wasn’t paying attention but didn’t go out of my way to run into you.”
It was an accident and this guy didn’t need to be a jerk about it.
He pivoted, as if to tell me off, but as soon as he made eye contact with me, his eyes flashed. He was a big guy and challenged the size of my brother, Thatcher, who was a huge football player. He lifted his hands. “Yeah, no.”
Shaking his head (aggressively), he backed away and almost ran into someone while getting away from me. There was a lot of traffic coming out of the library. I was heading there myself.
“Tell Wells I don’t want no trouble,” the big guy mumbled, and, as soon as he said that, nearly everyone coming out of the library faced me.
They averted their eyes.
It was like I had an incurable disease after that. Everyone walked in the opposite direction and definitely made no eye contact.
God.
Used to that, I hugged my books. I shrunk into myself. Normally, people treating me like a social pariah made me sick, but currently, it worked to my advantage. I didn’t want to be acknowledged, seen.
Darting my head around, I weaved through all the traffic coming out of Pembroke University’s main library, then entered myself. This was the largest library out of several at my Ivy League, and I spent a lot of time there. It was easy to blend in and hide amongst all the shelves.
I was always hiding.
I didn’t feel like I had a choice right now, and I was well aware of the phone burning into my hip. It hit my thigh every time my pleated skirt moved.
Why won’t he stop calling?
I knew why. But the calls would stop, the texts. They’d stop because I was taking action and meeting someone who’d make them stop. He would without even having to do anything.
I just had to be brave enough to see him.
Forgetting about my phone, I headed toward the entertainment section of the library. They had all the media articles like magazines, movies, and music. It wasn’t a great place to study, but I hadn’t chosen the location.
Where is he…
There, at a table in the corner, and though I’d been seeking this person out, it didn’t mean I didn’t hesitate.
He always made me hesitate.
Wells Ambrose, my brother’s best friend, took up a lot of space.
He physically occupied a lot of the table he sat at, but he also consumed the entire environment he was in.
All my brother’s best friends did that, and they were known around campus as Legacy.
All our parents donated a lot of funds to this school, and though I was considered Legacy too, no one bowed to me like they did my brother and his friends.
They simple avoided.
I was like a pariah everywhere I went and had been since high school.
Because of Wells.
Wells Ambrose sat with a stack of books around him, but not one of them was academic. They were all cookbooks, and I wasn’t surprised. Wells was a great cook and came from a long line of them, chefs. I used to love coming over to Wells’s house for his dad’s omelets. They were always so good.
Walk toward him.
I had to tell myself this, and, though I did make my feet move, I also felt sick. People avoided me, but that was very much because of Wells.
Keep walking.
I had to, and that space he took up consumed me as I got closer.
Wells was surrounded by cookbooks, but he had a graphic novel in his hand.
That was fitting since he looked like he was plucked off the cover.
He had electric blond hair he fashioned in a messy style, and the only thing that gave away he was a brunette was his roots.
He was also jacked like an anime guy and was only missing one of those long swords out of Final Fantasy.
Just a few more steps…
This technically should be easy to do, but, with each step, I felt like I was walking into the devil’s den.
I never actually made it to Wells’s table before he glanced up. It was like he knew I was approaching, and I immediately froze in place.
The way he stared me down had something to do with that.
An icy glare ignited his green eyes. Almost instantly, his focused gaze peered down the length of me.
I almost wished I didn’t wear a skirt, but I always wore a skirt.
I was kind of into the dark academia aesthetic.
I loved the romantic and polished look of a crisp, button-down shirt and knee-high tights.
I wore both today, and they could be seen well beneath my open wool coat.
A muscle clenched in Wells’s jaw when he noticed those knee-highs. I wore them with my heeled Mary Jane shoes, and he always made fun of me. He said I looked like a little schoolgirl out of a porno.
Wells was always cruel to me. Actually, he’d been doing that so long that I nearly forgot he hadn’t always been that way. That was such a long time ago, though.
I could handle the heat of Wells’s eyes, but when he sat back and crossed his arms, a smirk followed. Wells never laughed with me, only at me.
Bile heated my throat, especially when he placed his book down. He draped an arm across the chair next to him. “’Sup, Squeak?”
Squeak.
I hated what he called me. He also made fun of me because my voice cracked sometimes. It was high-pitched, and I couldn’t help it.
Leave.
But I couldn’t leave. I had to move forward.
Steeling myself, I strode right up to Wells’s table.
“Hi.” I took off my coat, then set my stuff up, ignoring the curious look he was giving me. I just took my books out and put them right next to his cookbooks.
His head cocked. “What do you think you’re doing? You can’t be here. I’m meeting somebody.”
I knew he was meeting someone. I knew because I created the app in which he made a listing to meet someone.
My tutor app was free, and I had no intention of monetizing it.
It was something I made in high school. I just wanted a way to help people.
I knew doing well in school didn’t come easy to everyone.
This included myself, contrary to what most people probably thought since I did do well.
In actuality, it was really hard for me to get ahead in school.
My ADHD made things difficult sometimes.
I ignored Wells by sitting down next to him. I definitely felt the heat of his eyes as I took my computer out. I started to open one of my textbooks but he slapped a hand on it. The sound radiated in the normally quiet library.
I didn’t think anyone noticed me come into the library. Often, I went out of my way to avoid people. It was easier than knowing they were avoiding me. It hurt less, I guess.
But people noticed me now, and they always noticed Wells. He was a really popular guy and normally the fun one in my brother’s group. Wells liked to joke and tease but the teasing stopped when it came to me. It was unusual the two of us were here together.
I went out of my way to avoid people. Wells Ambrose went out of his way to avoid me.
In fact, we were only together if my brother’s crew was around, though this put us together quite a lot since my best friend Sloane was dating one of Wells’s friends, Dorian.
Wells and I were never alone together though.
“You hard of hearing?” Wells cut, an edge to his voice. I heard it harshly, sharply. He leaned in. “I said you can’t be here, so leave. Now.”
I tried not to cower or shy away. Especially when his cool scent surrounded me. I knew that smell well. We’d been in each other’s lives for so long.
It was funny. The essence of him used to be a safe haven for me so long ago.
Now, it only stoked fear.
Other people really were staring at us. Actually, every eye in this area of the library was on us, but I didn’t falter. I didn’t move.
Wells’s eyes narrowed. “I’m warning you, Squeak. You need to get out of here. I’m meeting someone, so you need to leave. I’m not playing around.”
I knew he wasn’t, but I wasn’t either.
Be brave.
I had to. It was this or something else and dealing with Wells was the lesser of two evils. I swallowed. “It’s me.”
“What?”
“It’s me,” I emphasized and tried not to be meek when I faced him. Wells had a way of making me feel so incredibly small, but I sat up in front of him. I sat tall. I folded my hands. “The person you’re meeting is me. I’m your tutor.”