Chapter 11 The Bracelet’s Weight #3
“Melanie?” His brow furrowed, eyes narrowing when he saw my face. Then he looked past me, and he stilled.
Xavier skidded to a stop a few feet away, chest heaving. When he saw Kian, something flickered across his face. Uncertainty. Then defiance.
“This doesn’t concern you, Ward,” Xavier said, his voice wavering.
Kian looked at Xavier with the kind of quiet that made the air feel thinner.
“You need to leave,” Kian said. His tone was conversational, but there was something underneath it that made my skin prickle—frigid patience and utter certainty.
Xavier glowered at him. “I’m not going to—”
“You’re going to walk away,” Kian’s voice dropped to a dangerous register. “And you’re not going to come near her again.”
“Or what?” Xavier tried to sneer, but his voice wavered.
Kian took a single step forward. That was all—one step. But Xavier flinched anyway.
“You don’t want to find out,” Kian stated, venom dripping from every syllable. “Do you understand me?”
The silence stretched. Xavier’s bravado crumbled, his shoulders hunching, his gaze dropping. Whatever he saw in Kian’s face made him go pale.
“I said, do you understand me?”
Xavier clenched his fists, a snarl on his lips. “Fuck this.”
He shot one last wild look at me before turning and fleeing into the dark.
“Are you all right?” Kian’s voice softened as he turned to me, though the dangerous edge hadn’t fully left his eyes.
I nodded too fast, wrapping my arms around myself as though it would hide my trembling. “Yeah. Fine. Totally fine.”
He didn’t believe me. I could see it in the way his jaw tightened, and in the way his hands clenched before he forced them to relax.
“I’ll walk you back,” he stated.
The protective edge in his voice sent heat curling low in my stomach. We fell into step together, my heartbeat still erratic. The adrenaline was fading, leaving behind a shaky exhaustion and mindfulness of the warmth radiating from his body, the security in his presence.
“I’ll be reporting him to Dean Carroway first thing tomorrow. You should consider filing for a restraining order.” Kian said, brow furrowing in anger.
I gave a humorless laugh. “Xavier and restraining orders? Please. He’d probably think it’s an invitation. Too many hits to the head during his football days.”
That drew the faintest curve of Kian’s mouth, though it faded quickly.
We walked for another moment before I broke the silence. “You know, this isn’t going to help the rumors.”
His brow lifted. “Rumors?”
I winced. “Walk of shame with the intimidating professor. The rumor mill didn’t take long.”
A flush of actual embarrassment crept into his face. “I didn’t mean to cause you trouble,” he said.
“I’m used to it,” I said, shrugging. “I’ve been the subject of jokes since forever.”
He slowed his pace, turning slightly toward me. “What kind of jokes?”
I hesitated, but the adrenaline crash was making me lose my breath. Or maybe it was the way he was looking at me like I mattered.
“The kind that sticks with you. I was born premature. Twenty-eight weeks. My lungs never caught up. Every cold landed me in the hospital, and my mom hovered so much she basically wrapped me in bubble wrap.” I tried to laugh, but it came out thin.
“Easy target for bullies. Kids are creative when they smell weakness.”
Kian stopped beneath the streetlight, the glow casting shadows across his face, highlighting his handsome features.
“And yet,” he said, lips quirking into a smile. “They never could break you.”
The words hit hard, slipping past every defense I’d built.
I bit down on the sudden burn in my throat. “You really think so?”
“I know so.”
The conviction in his voice made my chest ache. It made me want to close the space between us and see if his mouth tasted like the safety I felt when he was near.
We stood there, too close, the air between us charged with something I didn’t have a name for. His gaze dropped to my lips for just a heartbeat before he looked away.
If either of us moved an inch closer, we’d fall into something we couldn’t undo. With effort, I turned and began to walk again, Kian stepping in beside me. We reached my building too soon. I lingered by the door.
“Thanks,” I murmured. “For saving me. Again.”
His eyes found mine again, and my breath caught. The pull between us felt magnetic and dangerous all at once.
One step. That was all it would take.
But then I fumbled for my keys, breaking the spell. “Goodnight, Professor.”
“Goodnight, Melanie.” His voice was soft, almost hesitant, like he didn’t want to let me go.
I slipped inside and let the door click shut behind me. I leaned against the door, hand pressed to my chest, breathing hard. My wrist throbbed as I touched the bruises Xavier had left, marveling at how one supplement could turn someone into something unrecognizable.
Xavier’s face flashed through my mind, pale, sweating, with wild eyes.
The study isn’t helping them; it’s breaking them.
I pulled my blanket tighter and closed my eyes, but sleep was a long time coming.
I kept hearing Xavier’s words: “You’re mine.”
It felt like a promise that wouldn’t go away just because someone told them to.