“Why are you stalking me?”
His lips purse, and I swear I can see the urge to argue with me on the tip of his tongue, but he manages to keep it to himself.
I’m not surprised, though; Titus never makes anything easy, so why would this be any different?
“Stay the fuck away from me!” I spit, turning to give him my back and continuing toward the library.
“He’s dangerous.” His words are low but impossible to miss, and not just because it sounds like he’s nearly choking on them.
No, his words feel like they physically wrap around me, holding me in place and forcing me to listen.
But I don’t want to hear it.
Titus is nothing but an ass, while Felix, although a little reserved and clearly feared by most, has been nothing but nice to me.
“Everyone’s dangerous.” I turn to glare at him over my shoulder and find his gaze piercing mine as if daring me to fight him.
And, of course, I do.
Turning back around, I keep walking, more determined than ever to make it to the library, to see Felix…
I spin around to find Titus still standing in the middle of the hall, watching me as if he’s never seen me before.
“You did this on purpose…” I feel my eyes go wide as his brows pull down in a frown and his jaw clenches. “I knew someone was watching me, but I never had a moment to think about it with how busy everyone has kept me.”
Nolan had invited me to watch him swim, while Julian kept having me go to his fencing practice at least once a week. They both insisted they needed to study with me more than once a week, as we all had end-of-term exams coming up. Plus, I had my meetings with Dimitri, my own classes, and violin and cello practice.
“You’ve all had me running around like crazy to keep me away from him—” The words catch in my throat because I know they're true; I see it in his eyes as he stares back at me.
At least he has the decency not to lie about it.
I’d thought they enjoyed spending time with me, that I’d found a place…
I should have known better.
“Stay away from me!” I take a step back, and he takes another forward, keeping us the same distance apart.
He isn’t going to just let me slip away. No, for whatever reason, Titus seems hell-bent on keeping me away from Felix despite not liking me one bit.
“If he’s so dangerous, why not let me go and be with him? Then you and Gavin don’t have to worry about me anymore. I’ll be out of your hair!” I hiss, the venom in my words shocking even me as I hear each word echo back to me in the abandoned hall.
“I promised Julian I would keep you safe.” He continues to advance, and with his longer stride, I’m already losing ground.Throw in the fact that I’m walking backward, and he’s going to catch me any second now.
“And I made a promise to myself that I’d never let him hurt anyone else.”
This isn’t working.
“He won’t hurt me.” I change tactics, hoping for a distraction at the very least. In a perfect world, I would plead Felix’s case and make Titus understand he’s not dangerous, but one look at him and I know that won’t happen.
The hatred that burns in his eyes at even the mention of his brother makes the way he feels about me seem like a loving friendship.
“You’ve been stalking me, and they’ve all been trying to keep me busy just to keep me away from him?”
I know it’s true, but I need him to say it, to tell me this was all a lie.
“The same way you let me believe you couldn’t understand a word I said.” I hear the challenge and throw my hands in the air.
That isn’t the same at all.
