Page 29 of Stalked By Monsters
“I get that you’re my teacher, but who said I trust you?” I ask, and warily check my surroundings, ensuring I have a clear dash to the exit.
He winces at my words as though they are a physical blow and attempts to cover the expression by cleaning his glasses again.
“I’m just trying to help you, Aria,” he murmurs. “Like any of my students,” he rushes to say as though it’s an afterthought.
“And how are you going to help me?” I ask, still leery of trusting anyone with this information, let alone having to rely on him to help siphon off some of my energy.
“I’ll come up with some training exercises that will get us out of the classroom so you can use your power more freely.” His eyes go distant, seemingly already formulating his plans around this.
“That might work if I have Harper as my partner,” I say half-heartedly. Sure I know it would be for the best, but I honestly can’t resist the chance to have some time alone with Denver, especially after what he said today. “She’ll be my third and she knows about my magic.”
“That is a valid point, but based on the ratings, I’m not sure she’d be able to help you that much if anything happens,” he says with a sympathetic smile. “It might be a risk to be partnered with Denver, but his power is the closest to yours.”
It might be a risk indeed—in more ways than one.
I take a deep breath, trying to process everything that just happened. It’s a huge shock to have someone else know about my powers, but I don’t really have a choice in the matter anymore. I just have to hope I can trust him and keep an eye out for any sign he might betray me.
“You can trust me, Aria,” he murmurs as if he’s pulled my thoughts straight from my mind. He awkwardly pushes up from the desk, taking a moment to untangle his legs before he walks to me slowly. He pauses in front of me, not caging me in but close enough that I can see the soft lines resembling wood grain in his eyes along with the sincerity shining in them. “I’ve already destroyed any trace of the results. I’ll guard this secret with my life.”
I just nod, unable to voice anything else, because if he doesn’t it might just be his life on the line.
“I hope so.” I let the words hang in the air between us. A look of understanding passes between us, and I almost feel like we’re both acknowledging that connection that joins us but neither of us want to come out and say it. His expression softens, his eyes drifting down to my lips when realization slams into me.
We’re getting too close here, too near that line that shouldn’t be crossed. I can’t let this go any further.
So without another word, I turn on my heel and stride for the exit, feeling the weight of his gaze burning a hole through the back of my head. Tingles crawl up my spine as I open the door, as if begging me to stay, but I can’t. Not when it’s already been suspicious enough for anyone potentially watching that we’ve been alone for this long.
Guilt presses in on me, but he too must realize nothing more can happen as he doesn’t follow. I take a deep breath as I step into the hell and past the spell confining the sound around me. Voices crash into me, the low murmur nearly deafening with the sudden onslaught of sound bombarding me. The click of the door when I close it behind me seems to echo the loudest of all.
Chapter Twelve
Aria
“Ican’tbelieveyou’restuck with that asshole,” Carter grumbles, then shovels a forkful of eggs into his mouth.
“I can’t believe Professor Pierce wouldn’t change the pairs,” Harper huffs, daring a glare across the cafeteria where Jakob sits. He smirks back at her, before turning to speak with his friends.
“Is there something you’re not telling me, Harpy?” I ask, raising an eyebrow to eye her suspiciously.
“What would I be hiding from you?” she snaps, her gaze, perhaps unknowingly, drifting to Jakob’s table.
“You two seem to be paying pretty close attention to each other,” I say coyly and nudge her playfully with my elbow. “Is there something more going on?”
Her gaze flashes back to me as though she’s just realized where she was looking. “I could say the same with you and Denver then.” Her eyes widen a fraction in shock before she snorts on a laugh that Carter and Greyson echo.
I take a sip of my coffee and hopefully cover up the terror that had frozen me momentarily. I internally scold myself for not putting two and two together and almost letting that slip. Now that I think about it, their rivalry is close to mine and Denver’s which makes me even more certain that there’s some sort of sexual attraction between Jakob and my best friend.
“You should have seen your face.” She chuckles, shaking her head in disbelief. “See, that’s exactly how I feel about Jakob.”
Yup. That just proves it to me even more. My best friend has a crush that she doesn’t want to admit to.
“Speaking of Denver,” Greyson says, his own laughter fading. He reaches across the table for the salt sitting next to my plate, his fingers brushing against mine in a light caress that sends a shiver of desire through me. He gives me a sheepish smile as he pulls the salt to him and brushes his shoulder-length hair from his face. I hurriedly grasp my fork and take a bite of my eggs, needing something to do before I reach out and feather my fingers through his luscious locks. “How are you two going to work together after what the headmistress said?”
I nearly sputter on the food in my mouth, completely forgetting he had been about to ask a question after my little daydream. I of course told them all about what happened with the headmistress last week, obviously leaving out the instance that led to Denver and me being in the same place at the same time. I swallow roughly, taking a sip of coffee to clear my throat before I respond.
“I did tell her that I’m going to have to interact with Denver,” I say, shrugging with an apathetic look. “She can ask Professor Pierce herself if she wants to make a big deal about it. It’s not like I chose to work with him.”
My gaze shifts as though on its own accord to where Denver sits a few tables down, and then quickly glance away. Thoughts of his vague responses stuck in my head last night and I tossed and turned until the early morning hours.