Page 17 of The Boy I Loved (Eternal Hell #1)

CHAPTER SEVEN

HAZEL

My stomach twisted with nausea as I stood before the large building looming over me.

Students sat on the bench near the doors, while others formed circles among the grass.

I shouldn’t be this nervous. It was only school.

Still, that reminder did little to calm my racing nerves.

He would be here. A rush of warmth filled my veins due to the last interaction we had, and it sent my pulse fluttering against the side of my neck.

Blowing out a breath, I crept forward, keeping my movements casual while approaching the two double doors.

As soon as I pushed through them, voices spilled through the atmosphere.

White, tiled floors greeted me, followed by an array of black tables decorating the common area.

My bag felt heavy around my shoulders with every step I took.

What would I do if I saw him? Approaching him clearly wasn’t an option, not if I wanted to maintain a modicum of self-respect. Hopefully, he’d come to his senses and apologize for the way he’d treated me.

What if he doesn’t?

An uncomfortable feeling seeped into my bones, opening a pit in the depths of my stomach. I didn’t have the answer to that question quite yet.

Taking a left, my steps faltered as Tory and Rodney nearly crashed into me.

“My bad,” Tory began, her comment waning when she realized who blocked her path. “Oh shit. We were just coming to look for you.”

“Yeah, since you can’t be bothered to answer your phone.” Rodney smirked playfully.

I met Rodney toward the end of the last school year. We’d been paired for a class project and became good acquaintances. The school year ended before we could explore any kind of friendship between us, though.

A frown tugged at my lips and my fingers brushed against the pocket of my skinny jeans where my phone resided. The hard device pressed against the fabric, pushing into the pads of my fingers. “It’s probably still on silent,” I admitted.

Tory raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Rodney with an arrogant smirk curling her lips. “Told you so.”

He rolled his eyes, gripping the straps of his red backpack. “Whatever,” he grumbled, flicking his dark brown eyes back to me. “What class do you have first period?”

“English.” This was one class I’d been looking forward to since it was the only one Tory and I shared. Plus, I was decent enough at it. “What about you?”

Rodney stepped to the side as a group of students barreled through without a care in the world. His eyes narrowed as he stared them down for a few moments and then swiveled to meet my expectant gaze again. “Economics. What class do you have second hour?”

“History,” I replied hesitantly. “Why?”

He shrugged. “Just want to see if we have any classes together.”

Tory glanced between the two of us with a knowing smile playing around the edges of her mouth. Why the hell was she looking at us like that?

I shifted uncomfortably. “I’m going to head to class.”

“I’ll go with you,” Tory offered, hurrying to fall into stride with me just as I separated myself from them.

My nerves were shot and my mind kept racing.

All I could think about was Dom, and I knew that couldn’t be healthy—or normal .

For some reason, a part of me thought things would go right back to the way they were before he ever left.

The memory of us was what kept me going through his absence, when all I wanted to do was cave to my depression and let it swallow me whole.

I’d never expected that once he returned…

A shudder rolled down my spine as I reflected on the coldness within his gaze.

Did he hate me? Had I done something wrong? How could he hate me one moment, and then order for me to undress the next?

My thoughts came to a screeching halt when Tory linked her arm through mine. Her blonde ponytail bobbed with each step she took, her gaze focused on the walk ahead, rather than the multitude of people gawking at her. She was effortlessly confident and beautiful. I wished I could be like that.

When we finally managed to reach our class, she tugged me to a spot near the back of the room and sank into one of the seats, leaving me to slip into the one behind her.

There were only two other students here so far, but as soon as the bell rang, that would change. Might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

I shrugged my bag off my shoulders and set it on the floor by my feet, my eyes darting across the room where our teacher sat behind her desk.

I’d seen her around last year but never attended any of her classes.

Not until now. She was an older lady with graying hair and glasses.

From what I’d heard, she was also a hard ass.

As long as she wasn’t one of those power-hungry teachers, I didn’t really care.

I couldn’t stand the ones who acted like they were hot shit because they could control a bunch of teenagers. It was weird.

Tory turned around in her seat to face me, placing her fingers on the lip of her chair. “Have you heard from Dom since we last saw each other?” she whispered.

My gaze pinged to the two other girls in the classroom, but they were on the other side of the room, and it was unlikely that they’d hear us.

When I returned my attention to my best friend, I shook my head.

It had been three days since Dominic facetimed me and he hadn’t even bothered to send a text.

There was something strange going on with him.

He seemed paranoid and completely out of reality. Maybe he was using again.

Tory opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could get the words out, the bell rang. Voices rushed down the hall instantly, bleeding into the room as students made their way to their classes. In no time, people began trickling in, finding empty seats to drop into.

I blew out a relieved breath as Tory turned to face the front. Dominic was the last thing I wanted to talk about right now, especially with the mixed signals he’d been sending my way. It just made the weight in my chest grow heavier.

I lowered my gaze to where my hands rested along the top of my desk, not wanting to draw too much attention to myself. The sooner I could get through this day in one piece, the better.

With every student that entered, the noise in the room amplified until it was so loud I couldn’t even hear my own thoughts.

When the late bell finally echoed throughout the building, our English teacher rose and strode to the front of the room, twining her fingers together before her. She looked around with an observant gaze, not giving anything away within her bird-like features.

“Silence,” she commanded with assertiveness.

The room fell still instantly, everyone’s breathing filling the average-sized space as they awaited her next order .

Once our teacher was sure she had our undivided attention, she cleared her throat. “Welcome to English four,” she began. “My name is Mrs. Felps, and I will be your English teacher for the rest of the semester.”

The guy next to me snorted and shook his head, though it was quiet enough that I didn’t think it reached our teacher’s ears.

My gaze slid to his, and my throat instantly constricted when I realized who the sound had come from.

Mason Byers. His blue eyes lit up when he caught my attention, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he notably looked me up and down.

There was something off about him, something I’d never been able to place.

The way he looked at me at Dom’s welcome-home party was a stark contrast to the way he looked at me now.

Mrs. Felps’ words faded into the background as I found myself in a staring contest with the school’s loner boy.

Not so lonely now that Dom had adopted him.

My throat bobbed with a swallow at the reminder. I didn’t even realize I’d been holding my breath until I whipped my attention from him and focused on the front of the classroom again, expelling a long burst of oxygen.

“—This semester, we will focus on grammar, per usual, and learn about Greek mythology and how it plays a role in our lives and religions today.” Mrs. Felps turned to her podium and retrieved a stack of papers.

She made her way to the person closest to the door and handed them to the girl seated there.

“Take one and pass the rest back,” she instructed.

“What does Greek mythology have to do with English?” a girl behind me muttered under her breath.

Mrs. Felps whipped her head in the girl’s direction, narrowing her eyes. “Greek mythology is a collection of stories, are they not?” She huffed. “Tales, if you want to be more precise. Greek mythology has a lot to do with literature and with how we live our lives. ”

Tory glanced at me over her shoulder and rolled her eyes, silently mocking our new teacher. I bit back a smile, tugging my lower lip between my teeth. If she didn’t stop, she was going to be on Mrs. Felps’ shit list next.

Class was boring for the most part. We were given a syllabus and told what we would be focusing on this semester. I also learned that Mrs. Felps had a zero-tolerance policy for tardiness. Tory would have a field day with that one.

I slipped into my history class and found a seat near the back of the room.

Lowering my bag to the floor, I adjusted myself in the chair and braced my forearms against the desk.

The room was filling quickly, chatter growing louder and louder as more people entered.

If our teacher was bothered by it, he showed no sign.

Instead, he was engrossed in his laptop, his gaze laser-focused on the task at hand.

Exhaustion settled into my limbs, weakening them. I hadn’t been getting much sleep lately, and my body was suffering the consequences. I just needed to make it through the day, and then I could nap after school.

Easier said than done.