Page 15

My eyes went wide. No no no no! Grinding my teeth, I slipped over to the next seat and crossed my arms. Damn you, Dan!

Xavier took the now-empty seat next to Dan and stayed quiet. Of course this would happen to me. My life sucked like this. Fate, damn you, fate! I could feel Xavier’s breathing, even though Dan sat between us. He was so close. I felt myself tuning into his heartbeat. I closed my eyes.

“Chloe, are you alright?” Dan said softly and placed a hand on my thigh.

“Umm, I think I am going to, umm, go see Chad,” I stuttered standing up. I had to get away from Xavier.

“What why?” Dan frowned at me. “He said you could stay here.”

I shot Xavier a sideways glance. “I just, I just have to see Chad. I’ll, um, talk to you, um, later, Dan. Bye, Mr. Clark.”

I quickly made my way out of the bay and walked in the direction of the stage. Curse you, Chad, for placing me in this position in the first place.

Storming up the stage stairs, I slumped in the closest seat and crossed my arms.

“Change your mind?” Chad asked, while flipping through a pile of papers.

I crossed my legs and glared into my lap. “Just drop it.”

My father stepped up on to the stage and I sighed. Here goes a few hours. If I kept my eyes on my lap, I could try and pretend like everyone was staring up at usand I could pretend that Xavier wasn’t watching me closely.

***

I darted up the staircase. Nearly there, I thought to myself. The voices from the hall lowering softly as I ran away in the direction of my room.

“Chloe.” A hand wrapped around my upper arm, bringing me to a stop. “Wait a sec.”

Xavier was standing dangerously close, and his breathing was sharp as he studied my eyes. “Are you unwell?”

I frowned and swallowed quickly. “I’m fine.” I saw his eyes narrow and his grip on my arm tighten slightly.

“You’re lying to me.”

Gulping and closing my eyes, I held them tightly closed. “Please don’t make this harder for me, Xavier.” I exhaled quickly. “It’s already hard enough.”

My eyes snapped open, as his hand cupped my cheek. His eyes were coated in worry and concern. He stepped closer to me. We were close to the same height, since I was two steps higher on the staircase than him.

“You’re letting the separation take its course, aren’t you?”

Nodding my head and unable to control my hands, I placed one on his shoulder, edging closer to him. I knew the feeling of need driving my body was showing in my eyes.

“I’m sorry, Chloe.” He let out a soft sigh. “For this. I am sorry.” He pulled his hand from my cheek and his sudden withdrawal brought tears to my eyes.

I closed my eyes again, not able to watch him turn his back and walk away from me when I needed him.

His sweet moist lips planted a soft kiss on my forehead. “Thank you for doing this, Chloe.”

I ground my teeth. He was thanking me for letting him go. How sick and twisted was that?

“Just go,” I muttered through gritted teeth, “before I do something you will regret.”

His shoulder brushed across my chest as he turned around and walked down the stairs. I didn’t need to see him. I felt it.

***

I slammed my fist continually on Chad’s door. I didn’t care it was the early hours of the morning. It was his fault I had been crying for hours on end.

The door swung open and I glared at my bare-chested brother. “You just had to drag me to that meeting, didn’t you?” I poked a finger into his chest while walking into his room. “It’s all your fault.”