Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
I keep my gaze trained on her. I’m burning holes into the back of her head. If she can feel the intensity of my stare, she doesn’t bother to acknowledge it. It only serves to piss me off even more.
By the time our professor wraps up his lecture for the day, I have no idea what was covered, which is problematic, considering there will be a quiz next week.
Before I can pack up my shit, Sydney bolts from the room like her ass is on fire. If she thinks for one damn minute that she can avoid me for the remainder of our senior year, she has another thing coming. I shove everything in my bag and take off after her. A few people try to capture my attention, but I refuse to make eye contact when they call my name. Instead, I barrel past like a locomotive. Most have enough common sense to stay out of my way instead of taking a chance on getting mowed over. At this point, I don’t give a crap about collateral damage. All I care about is reaching Sydney and forcing her to have a conversation.
I have no idea what I’m going to say if I actually manage to catch up with her. Guess I’ll burn that bridge in a blaze of glory when I get to it.
What I do know is that I’m seething inside.
I push through the throng of students plodding through the cramped corridor like cattle. I keep my eyes peeled for her pink hat but don’t see it anywhere. Just as my gaze makes a second sweep of the area, I catch sight of her blond head as she rounds the corner. Her hair is scraped back into a ponytail. The ball cap is now conspicuously absent.
Did she take it off in hopes of losing me in the mass of bodies?
The thought is almost enough to knock the air from my lungs.
Is she seriously that desperate to escape my evil clutches?
My hands tighten until the knuckles turn bone white. Instead of backing off, I pick up speed and fly around the corner. The last thing I want to do is lose her. If a few people get shoved in the process, too fucking bad.
“Hey,” someone grumbles when I knock into them.
“Dick!” another person shouts at my back. “Watch where you’re going!”
I motor past without apologizing. The exact moment I reach for Sydney’s arm is the same one she tosses an apprehensive glance over her shoulder. It’s like she can sense my presence the same way I do hers. Her green eyes widen as they lock on mine.
“Brayden,” she gasps as if not expecting me to chase her down.
“Yep,” I bite out grimly, steering her into a dark classroom and slamming the door shut behind us. In the echoing silence of the empty room, the lock clicking into place sounds like a gunshot.
She flinches. “What are you doing?”
When she attempts to break loose, I release my hold but stay positioned in front of the exit. I’ll be damned if she escapes before we hash this out. As soon as she’s free, she cautiously backs away. Her gaze stays pinned to mine as she puts more space between us.
“Making it possible for us to have a private conversation.” My gaze searches hers, sifting through the emotions in her eyes. Normally, I know exactly what’s going on inside her head. This time is different. No matter how much I probe, I keep coming up empty handed. Sydney has totally closed herself off. It’s like she flipped a switch. I want to know what changed between us.
Even though her face turns ashen, she draws herself up to her full height. “There’s no need for that. We’ve already talked about everything that needed to be discussed.”
Is she joking?
“That’s funny, because I don’t feel the same way.” I cock a brow. “I’m still confused as to why you ended things in the first place. And you won’t return my texts or calls. You’ve been skulking around campus in an attempt to avoid me.”
“I haven’t been skulking,” she says, lifting her chin in defiance.
“The hell you have, and I want to know why. I’ve never known you to be a coward, Sydney. Why are you being one now?”
Anger cracks through her eyes like a bolt of lightning, banishing the hunted look that had flared to life as soon as she realized I was intent on talking with her. “I’m not a coward.”
“Under normal circumstances, I would agree with that statement. But you’ve been doing a damn good impression of it lately. I’ve seen you throw down with the best of them and get into fights and yet, here you are, running from me with your tail tucked between your legs. You know what? I really expected better from you.”