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I’d be a liar if I said I hated the attention.
Because honestly, I love every damn second of it.
Chapter 5
Maia
As soon as Rhett’s text came in, I deleted it. Since Halloween night, Alex hasn’t left me with much alone time. If I’m not in class, he wants me over at his apartment, spending all our free time together.
Granted, he’s been nice. But it makes me wonder if it’s all a ruse. Why the sudden kindness?
Between cooking dinner and buying me flowers and chocolates, it feels like when we were first dating. But I’ve also caught him snooping through my bag, my phone, and even my laptop. At first, I thought I was going crazy. Apps open on my phone I didn’t remember using that day, or google searches on my laptop I didn’t do. But then I got suspicious.
Hence my suspicions leading me to delete the text right away. As much as I wanted to respond, I knew I shouldn’t. Lennox told me Rhett had come by looking for me, too.
I feel guilty ignoring him, but it's hard with Alex breathing down my neck. He thinks he’s slick. But I’m not dumb. I need to catch him in the act and then I’ll confront him.
It’s Friday night, and we’re lying in bed watching a movie. I pretend to doze off and that’s when the bed shifts as Alex slips from beneath the covers.
I bury my head in the pillow but keep one eye half open. I watch as he picks up my phone and easily types in the password. Fuck, how does he know it?
His face lights up from the screen as he navigates through different apps, scrolling and stopping, like he’s searching for something. After a few minutes, he puts my phone back on the charger. He looks around the room, grabs his phone, and walks out the door, closing it quietly behind him.
I resist the urge to follow him, suddenly super uncomfortable in a room, an apartment that’s not mine. I want to leave, to be in my own bed, and maybe have some damn privacy. Maybe he’s just in the bathroom, and I can sneak out.
I run through excuses in my head, hoping I conjure up a good story when the door opens again a few minutes later. Keeping still and quiet with only one eye half open, I watch him grab his wallet and keys. He turns and looks at me, a scowl on his face. He walks over to me and stops by the side of the bed. My entire body freezes, and I concentrate on my breathing as I squeeze my eyes shut tight.
Alex reaches down, and I brace myself for his touch, suddenly afraid. I don’t know why; it’s as if my body instinctually reacts. He’s never hurt me physically before, and I don’t think he ever will, but did I expect to find him going through my shit?
No, I fucking didn’t.
How can I trust this guy?
What is happening?
How is it all crumbling?
His fingers stop mere inches from my face, and then he pulls back. He whispers under his breath, “You stupid clingy bitch,” and then he’s gone, the door clicking shut behind him.
Tears slip down my cheeks, his words burning a hole through my heart.
It’s the first time he’s left. Every other night, he’s stayed with me. Where is he going?
I wait until it feels as if a half hour has passed. When I climb out of bed and grab my phone, the time tells me only fifteen minutes have gone by. Shit.
It’s hard to guess when he’ll be back. If I wait too long, there goes my chance to leave, but what if I run into him on my way out? Maybe he hasn’t left the apartment yet.
I could what-if myself to death. Instead, I use all my nervous energy to wipe away the tears he doesn’t deserve and toss my shit in my bag, the only light from the dim LEDs strung around the room. If I see him on my way out, then I’ll tell him I threw up, and I’m going home.
But thankfully, no one is around as I tiptoe through the apartment and out the front door.
Alex has a lot of explaining to do.
But it won’t be tonight.
Tonight, I’m sleeping in my own bed.
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