Chapter 3

I spent the night thinking about Brax. It was so stupid because no matter what, I couldn't have anything to do with him for so many reasons. I got up getting ready for school, having to put make-up on my neck to cover the now black bruises that wrapped around it. I avoided the house, going out the back gate and walking the long way to school. I couldn't bear the thought of facing Steve today. Walking into school, jealousy washed over me as I walked through the crowd of happy, carefree teenagers who had probably spent their night talking on the phone, gossiping about their new crush or something. My heart longed for a normal life without pain and suffering. 

Getting to my locker, I started swapping over my books for the day, but as I closed my locker, a hand grabbed him. I looked up in shock, my eyes meeting Braxs without a word. He started pulling me towards the boy's bathroom, pushing open the door and dragging me inside with him. A boy was standing over at the troth. Brax narrowed his eyes at him. "get out", and without a word or even zipping himself up, all the way he went running from the bathroom. 

Brax turned back to me, still holding my hand. He pressed our bodies together, his eyes looking down on me, studying every inch of my face. "are you loyal to him?" he asked softly, his free hand reaching out to touch my face softly.

I couldn't speak, my heart racing at his touch. I knew I should push him away and tell him to leave me alone, but something inside me wanted to stay with him, to feel his warm body touching mine. "no," I finally whispered.

He stood there reading my face, trying to find any sign of me lying. Tucking my long black hair behind my ear, his gentle touch sent chills through my body. "do you know who my father is?" he said huskily.

The longer he stood there, staring down at me and touching me, the more I felt myself melting into him. "Your father is Dominic Young, my stepfather's biggest rival and enemy," I whispered, my voice sounding weak.

"Are you afraid of me?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

I hesitated for a moment before shaking my head. "No, I'm not afraid of you," I replied, surprising myself with the honesty in my words.

Brax's lips curled into a small smile as he leaned in closer to me. "Good," he murmured.

He was no longer holding my hand. Instead, his hand was wrapped tightly around my waist. Our bodies pushed tight against each other, and my heart raced with a mix of excitement and fear. His scent was intoxicating, and I found myself leaning in closer to him, unable to resist the pull he had on me.

As his lips brushed against mine, a rush of desire flooded through me. My body begged for him to kiss me. His eyes went from my lips to my eyes. "I meant it last night when I said you were with me now." his lips grazing mine as he spoke. Just as I closed my eyes, anticipating the feel of his lips on mine, he pulled away. My heart sank, and disappointment flooded through me. Brax looked down at me. I could see that he wanted to kiss me but was stopping himself for some reason. The room was filled with so much tension as we both stood there staring at each other. 

I was the one who finally broke the silence. "I... um... I better get to class," I managed to choke out. Without waiting for him to answer, I rushed out of the men's bathroom and down the hall, needing to put as much space between me and him as I possibly could. 

As I sat in class, my mind was consumed with thoughts of Brax. I couldn't believe what had just happened in the bathroom. It felt like a dream, but the tingling sensation on my lips told me it was real.

Throughout the day, I couldn't focus on anything other than Brax. I avoided him as best I could. Anytime I saw him, I quickly went the other way. I knew that I couldn't let myself fall into his trap for so many reasons, and there was a high chance that the only reason he was doing this was to get at my stepfather.  I wanted so badly to believe that that wasn't the case, but something inside of me screamed at me that there was no way he could be interested in me. 

As the day went on, I managed to go the whole time without having another run-in with him, but in my last class of the day, I knew I had with him. As I walked slowly to it i prayed that he would skip it like he normally does but as i came in throw the door i looked up and sore him he stared back at me I knew that my face would of looked like a mixer of fear and confusion. I quickly found a seat at the back of the classroom, trying to keep my distance from him. But Brax got up from his seat, standing over the kid that was sitting next to me, and made them move so he could sit there. My heart raced as he leaned in close, his breath warm against my ear. "why are you avoiding me?" he whispered.

I tried to ignore him, focusing on the lesson being taught by the teacher at the front of the class. But Brax was persistent, and when I didn't answer him, he moved closer to me, placing his hand on my leg. As soon as he touched me, fear came racing through my body. His hand felt like steves hand on my leg I panicked and jumped up, sending my chair flying backwards. The whole class stopped what they were doing, all turning to look at me. 

Brax stood up, his eyes dark and intense as he looked at me. "What's wrong?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

I couldn't bring myself to speak, my heart pounding in my chest as I tried to catch my breath. The whole class was staring at us, their eyes filled with curiosity and judgment. I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks as I struggled to come up with a response.

 Without a word, I turned and bolted out of the classroom, not caring about the stares or whispers that followed me.

Outside in the hallway, I leaned against the wall, trying to calm my racing heart. What was happening to me? Why was Brax affecting me like this? The walls felt like they were closing in on me, and there was no air. 

Suddenly, Brax appeared beside me, his hand reaching out to touch my arm gently. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.

I shook my head, unable to form words. His touch sent shivers down my spine, and I moved away from him. "Please just leave me alone," I managed to say in between sharp breaths. 

He stood there watching me, confused by what was happening right now. The teacher came out, yelling at us both to go to the principal's office. We both ignored her. Brax just stood there staring at me, his face filled with worry. 

Something came over me. I was overheating. I started taking off my jumper, not thinking about what I was doing and taking my jump off would show all the bruises all over my arms. Brax's eyes widened in shock as he saw the bruises, his expression changing from confusion to concern. It was too late. By the time I realised what I had done, I stopped panicking, standing up and looking at Brax, whose eyes were studying the hundreds of bruises that covered my arms and chest. The more he looked, the darker his eyes became.

 "I... it's not what it looks like," I stammered, feeling exposed and vulnerable.

But Brax just looked at me with a mixture of anger and sadness in his eyes. "Who did this to you?" he demanded, his voice low and dangerous.

I didn't know what to say to him I stood there staring back at him, knowing that I couldn't tell him what had been happening to me for years. 

"Is this why you don't like to be touched?" his voice was more angry than before.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I struggled to find the right words. "I... I can't talk about it," I whispered, feeling a wave of shame wash over me.

Brax's jaw clenched, his fists tightening at his sides. He took a step closer to me, his gaze intense and unwavering. "tell me, who did this to you?" he said softly, trying to hide the anger in his voice.

Tears started to fall from my eyes. I wished so badly that I could tell him about it, and he would come in and make it all stop, but I knew that would never happen. Steve was more powerful than anyone else. He owned half the office force and brought his way out of every kind of trouble he ever got in. Steve had no fear of anyone. He didn't value anyone's life, only his own. If I told Brax what he was doing to me and Brax tried to protect me or make Steve stop, then Steve would kill him and his whole family and make me watch. I didn't ever want to watch another person die again; I'm haunted by the memories of my father and the man last night; I can't take seeing it happen again. "I can't," I whispered, slowly backing away from him. 

Brax's expression softened as he saw the fear in my eyes. He reached out to me again, his touch gentle and reassuring. "I won't let anyone hurt you," he promised.

I wanted so badly to believe him, to trust him with my darkest secret. But I couldn't trust anyone. I was the only one in my life who was going to look after myself. Everyone else was only ever going to use me and hurt me. "Please just leave me alone," I begged him one last time before turning and running out of school. 

I ran as fast as I could, not knowing where I was going, just wanting to get away from him. I couldn't go home, not like Steve would know there was something wrong with me, and I was not strong enough to hide it from him. so I ran till my legs couldn't run anymore. I found myself near an old church that I'd never been to before; it looked like no one had been there in years. I made my way to the front door, pushing it open and stepping inside. The air was musty and cold, the walls covered in dust and cobwebs. I found a pew to sit on, feeling a sense of peace wash over me in the quiet solitude of the abandoned church.

I sat there for what felt like hours, trying to calm my racing thoughts and emotions. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't. I knew I couldn't keep running from every problem in my life, but there was nothing else that I could do. I just had to pray that Brax would just get bored of me and move on to someone else,

As the sun began to set outside, casting long shadows through the stained glass windows, I decided to go home and face whatever was there waiting for me. 

As I made my way back home, the weight of everything that had happened felt heavier than ever. But as I approached my front door, something told me that there was someone inside waiting for me my heart started to race in my chest. It could only be one of two people, and neither of them wanted to see everything in me scream at me to run away, but if I did that, it would only make things worse. 

Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the door and stepped inside. And there he was, sitting on my bed with a smug grin on his face.