Xavier didn’t wait for me.
I knew exactly what he was doing, punishing me, waiting for an apology I wasn’t going to give.
So I ignored him all day.
In the afternoon, I was napping in class when someone shook me awake.
“Aria! Wake up! Xavier’s fighting someone on the basketball court!”
Still groggy, my deskmate dragged me out of the classroom.
“Come on, you’ve got to stop him! Only you can calm him down!”
No.
They were wrong.
I didn’t need to go over there.
His leading lady had already arrived.
I was right.
By the time we got there, Xavier had already stopped fighting. He was sitting off to the side, drenched in sweat.
And beside him? A girl.
She had a low ponytail, a calm, almost serene expression, and was holding his hand. Her voice trembled slightly as she said, “Xavier, you’re hurt.”
Xavier hated anyone touching him outside his circle.
He jerked his hand away, but when his eyes landed on me, he froze. His expression darkened, but he let Sophia hold his hand.
The senior he’d beaten was limping away, his classmates helping him.
“Wait,” Xavier called out to them.
He pointed at Sophia.
“Apologize.”
The senior’s face was battered, bruised, and swollen.
One of his classmates tried to reason with Xavier. “Xavier, just let him go to the hospital first.”
Xavier’s voice dropped dangerously low as he repeated, “I said, apologize to her.”
Sophia shook her head, still clutching his hand. “It’s fine, Xavier. I’m okay.”
But the senior, bruised and battered, had no choice but to bow and apologize.
Someone in the crowd asked why he was getting beaten.
My deskmate chimed in. “He called her poor, and Xavier overheard.”
“Well, serves him right! Who talks like that to her?”
“Xavier is such a hero, saving the damsel in distress!”
“Is this a real-life campus romance or what?”
Only I knew the truth.
In my previous life, that same senior had been forced to transfer by Xavier.
Before he left, he’d come to warn me about Sophia.
He hadn’t said much, probably scared out of his mind by Xavier.
The senior needed to go to the hospital, but the ambulance was taking its sweet time.
I walked over. “Take my car.”
The senior hesitated. “Thanks, but that’s okay.”
Before he could decline further, Xavier grabbed my arm, his grip tight.
“Aria, are you trying to piss me off on purpose?”
I glanced at Sophia behind him, her eyes red from crying.
“Mind your own business.”
“If you leave now, don’t ever come looking for me again.”
I didn’t wait for his response. I turned and walked away, leaving them in the mess they’d created.
Then I heard a loud bang behind me.
Xavier had punched the basketball hoop.
Tsk. Doesn’t he feel pain?
