Tessa’s POVI froze when I saw Brian approaching. He was alone without Amanda, which was odd because she was always trailing behind him. Even when we dated.Brian had promised that he would leave me alone if Joseph retracted his statement, so I was surprised he wanted to talk to me.It’s been over a week since I’ve spoken to Brian and our last interaction wasn’t great. I rubbed my wrist at the memory of him grabbing me and dragging me along with him.Obviously, he wasn’t drunk now during school hours, but I really didn’t want to have any kind of conversation with him. There was nothing he could say that would change my opinion of him.“I’m going to be late for class,” I said to him.“I’ll be fast. I just want to talk,” Brian said, standing in front of me and blocking me from being able to step around him.“There’s nothing to talk about.”“I never got to explain myself with a clear mind. You left so quickly and that Professor just —”“You don’t need to explain anything, Brian,” I said,
Tessa’s POVIt was Friday and I couldn’t have been happier about that.The conversation I had with Brian stuck in my mind and I couldn’t seem to shake this nasty and unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach. He had taken up so much space in my head and I just wanted him to get out.“Maybe you should think about getting a restraining order,” Ruby suggested as we sat down in our usual seats in Joseph’s classroom.“He’s not dangerous,” I said, shaking my head. “Just an asshole. I’ll be fine. I’ll just keep ignoring him until he gets the hint.”“And he doesn’t know where you are staying, right?”“Nope,” I answered.“Maybe it’s better if you stayed in the hotel then,” she said with a shrug. “Brian knows where I live, and I wouldn’t want to put you in danger.”“I really don’t think he’s dangerous. He has too much to lose,” I said in return. “But you are right. It’ll be better if he doesn’t know where I am.”“Good morning, everybody,” Joseph said as he walked into the room. “I was able to
Tessa’s POVI didn’t get much more engagement on my blog other than Ruby. Then again, I didn’t stick around long enough to find out if anyone else read my post.I looked around the room with a frown. It was very plain in there. I couldn’t wait to go to the store over the weekend and do a little shopping. I still had money in my savings account and my father still gives me an allowance every week. So, I had plenty of money to get a lot of things for this villa.Joseph liked dark colors it seemed. I didn’t want to get too many bright things, but I also didn’t want this place to feel so gloomy. He gave me permission to open the curtains of my room and I was pleased to see that I had a nice view of the garden.The garden was huge and led straight to the pool yard. Even at night, it was gorgeous and perfectly lit up with outdoor lighting. The pool water glistened under the illuminated lighting of the outdoor lights and the moonlight.I wondered if he ever used the pool. I also wondered who
Joseph’s POV“I had no idea you could cook,” I said as we sat down at the dinner table.She had a couple of bowls placed out with a big pot of stew in the center. She also managed to get into my wine cellar and grabbed some white wine to go with dinner.“My father taught me,” she explained as she poured wine into the glasses. “Stew was one of my mom’s favorite things to cook and he had her recipe after she passed away. I’m sorry I didn’t ask permission first. I just figured there was so much food sitting around, I might as well cook it.”“You don’t need to apologize. it smells delicious.”She smiled at the compliment.I don’t usually sit in the dining room when I eat dinner. Typically, the normal spot I eat is in my office while I’m doing work. Seeming it’s usually just me, it’s worked out fine for me. But now that Tessa was going to be around for a little while, I supposed I should get used to this.It was normal for a mortal to want company regardless of how tired they are.I began
Tessa’s POV“Can we please talk?” The text message from Brian read.I wasn’t sure what he could possibly want to talk about. It didn’t make sense to me. We spoke all that we needed to speak earlier. He promised that he would leave me alone.I didn’t want Joseph to know that Brian was still communicating with me, so I shoved my phone into my pocket without saying a word.Joseph only looked at me curiously for a long while. Probably trying to figure out why I was acting so suspiciously.I grabbed his plate and my plate and started to make my way into the kitchen area to clean the dishes, but Joseph stood up quickly, stopping me.“I can call back Monica and have her do the dishes,” Joseph said, eyeing my face carefully.“No, that’s okay,” I said quickly. “I wouldn’t want to trouble her. Besides, I’d rather do it myself.”“Then, I’ll help you,” Joseph surprised me by saying. “You cooked me a nice meal. It’s the least I could do.”I felt a smile tugging at my lips as I nodded. He was right
Tessa’s POVThere was a tightness in my throat as I looked up at Jospeh who had just finished cleaning the last of the dishes. I could feel my heart pounding against my ribcage as I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat.He read my blog?How much of my blog has he read?The only person I knew who read my blog was Ruby. I had a few other followers as well, but they were only random people that I didn’t know. I hadn’t even checked the names of my recent followers.Was Joseph one of them?“You’ve read my blog?” I found myself asking again, my voice sounding distant.He finished drying his hands and he nodded.“How did you even find it?” I asked, feeling the heat rising into my features.“I looked you up. It wasn’t hard to find.”“Why did you look me up?”“I was curious about you,” he said as he walked around me and toward the living room.I went with him, following closely behind him.It was the same living room that we sat in with the other students during his student dinner p
Josephs POVTessa’s eyes scanned the journal, and I could see the wheels turning in her mind. I knew which poems she was reading based on her reactions.I don’t typically let anyone read my poetry. I find them to be personal collections that I keep close to my heart. But there’s something about Tessa that made me want to show her. It was more than just her blood that continues to draw me in daily.Maybe it was the fact that she unapologetically posted her poetry publicly for her few followers to see. It was a brave move that I couldn’t help but admire.Tessa finally looked up from the journal and closed it in her lap. She looked at me for a moment longer, without saying a word, and then handed the journal back.I wasn’t going to ask her what she thought. I already knew.“Thank you for showing me those,” she said with a tone that was uncertain. “That was such raw emotion. I wasn’t expecting that from a fantasy author.”“I’m full of surprises,” I said in return. “As are you.”I kept my
Tessa’s POVMy plan for today was to go shopping for decorations and then spend the evening decorating the Villa.However, Joseph was apprehensive about allowing me to go anywhere for whatever reason. It didn’t look like he had slept in days, and he still wore the same clothing he wore last night.It was from my understanding, considering the sun was up, that he would be asleep right now. It’s not like either of us had to be at school today and I was growing frustrated with his relentless nagging.“The new vampires aren’t going to touch me during the day,” I protested repeatedly. “You even said the other day that I would be safe during the day in a busy area.”“I changed my mind,” Joseph said, shaking his head.It seems he had already made up his mind. I pressed my lips firmly together and folded my arms across my chest.“You are acting controlling.”Joseph looked at me with a dark gaze in his eyes that left me feeling unsettled. There was something he wasn’t telling me, that much was