ChristianRose just shook her head, taking a deep breath before following me out of the room, looking a little cowed by the stares she received from the people in the hallway." Hey, we don't bow our heads to anyone," I whispered, slipping my arm around her shoulder, forcing her to move. The girl took a deep breath, putting both hands in the pockets of her jacket, resuming her body posture that bordered on arrogance when she didn't put a smile on her face. " "That's how I like it," I teased, receiving an amused look in return.We walked for a few meters in silence, ignoring the stares we received until we reached the first flight of stairs." 'Did you see how they're looking at us? I'm parading around with your name written on my chest," Rose commented, but I didn't mind one bit." 'Does that bother you? You once told me that the jacket looked better on you than on me,” I gave her a sidelong glance, still with my arm around her shoulder." You know what they're going to say.”" 'An
CHRISTIAN DAVISI didn't wait for an answer, heading towards the door, feeling Rose's gaze sticking to me the whole time. As soon as I found myself outside the villa, feeling the icy wind on my face, I sighed, calling Jack before he filled me with new messages. As expected, the man was quick to answer the call." Davis…”" "Good morning, Mr. Campbell," I greeted him, a little surprised by his tone of voice." Is my daughter with you? " He sought confirmation." "No, I left her with Liam and the others so I could..." I said." 'Good, then you better start telling me everything, boy,' he cut me off, making my eyes widen.I frowned, starting to walk around the campus, looking for a quiet place for that call." Tell you what? " I said back.There was no way he could know what happened, right?" You'd better not play games with me right now, Davis,” his voice came out almost in a growl, surprising me." 'Mr. Campbell, I'm not sure I understand what you want to know,' I replied carefully, w
ChristianThe waitress returned with our orders, placing the two cups of espresso in front of the man, giving me a worried look as she placed the cup with the chai latte in front of me." Can you get me some chamomile tea? " I asked, once again watching the girl walk away " look, I wasn't with her when it happened and I didn't make her talk more than necessary yesterday. She was already going to relive the situation today during the meeting with the college social worker....”" 'Stop winding me up and tell me what you know at once! " he muttered, drumming his fingers on the table, showing all his energy accumulated by the excess of caffeine ingested that morning." "Maybe I should have this one," I muttered, reversing our drinks, leaving the chai latte for him while pulling the espresso cups for me.Jack just rolled his eyes but didn't argue, seeming to accept my suggestion, and before he could turn back, I started drinking the first cup, remembering how much I hate coffee. Even more
ChristianOkay, that request wasn't absurd, and after talking to Liam, I managed to get Rose to meet me at the bleachers of the basketball gym, which were empty, since everyone was still in class and practice only happened in the afternoon.Jack settled in a blind spot on the side of one of the bleachers and I settled down next to where he was, waiting for her to arrive.A notification came on my phone. I opened Liam's message telling me that he had dropped Rose off at the entrance of the gym, and it only took a few seconds before the sound of her heels reached my ears.I turned my face, seeing the girl walking towards me. Rose looked just as beautiful as she had in the morning, she was still wearing my jacket and seemed a little lighter, giving me a small smile as she approached.My cell phone vibrated in my pocket, I picked it up, seeing a message from Jack.What's that outfit she's wearing? Is that your jacket? Are you trying to turn my daughter into a biker? I ignored his message
Rose Campbell" So how are you and Christian doing? " Skyller asked as I walked with her and Camille through the halls of the arts building after class on Thursday.Yesterday, after the meeting with the university welfare office, Christian took me to Waterfall to buy a new cell phone at my dad's request, and we enjoyed the afternoon together in town before joining everyone for dinner. I was excused from classes that day, which helped so I didn't run into Audrey or Alicia. And today when it happened, they didn't seem pleased to see me parading around the campus unfazed. If they only knew." What about Chris? " I frowned " We didn't forget anything, right?” " 'We bought the powdered pigments, the eggs,' Sky enumerated, “and don't run away from the subject, you know what I'm talking about.”" Chris will bring the vinegar and the distilled water " I did the mental checklist " And I really don't know what you want to know.”" I think she's talking about the fact that you paraded around
Rose We wasted no time in entering the classroom, where Liam was sitting quietly on a high stool." Didn't your parents teach you that it's ugly to listen behind the door, my little incarnation of Monet,” he glared at me." No, they did a terrible job of raising me,” I said back, unflustered.Sky approached her boyfriend, and without any warning he pulled her in, laying her in his arms before giving her a movie kiss, making us laugh at the girl's surprised expression." Liam!”" I've always wanted to do that " he winked at her as he helped her straighten up." You fool," she hid a small smile. I exchanged a look of complicity with Cam before grabbing the bags and taking them to the counter at the back of the room. I began to take all the things out of the bags, lining everything up on the counter." I've already sorted out the MDF board for you to use " Liam pointed to the piece of plywood on an easel " Do you know what you're going to paint yet?” " I need to do a self-portrait of
CHRISTIAN It took Rose a while to prepare all the paints she would need for her painting, especially without the help of Liam who was lost in his own private world preparing his own paints to finish the drawing he made earlier. But a few minutes later, she took her place on the stool in front of the painting easel, experimenting to start with soft, slightly hesitant brush strokes.It was clear that our help as a group was over, now the work would be all hers. Rose was gaining confidence by the second, putting more strength into each stroke. That was the first time I saw her painting, and I must admit it was a beautiful sight. I moved in search of a better position to watch her, all her concentration displayed on her face as she worked on the silhouette stamped on the MDF made me admire her more and more, it wasn't the first time I saw her in action, I had seen that passion while she was drawing but it was the first time I saw her with a brush in her hand working with paint like a gr
CHRISTIANI woke up the next day watching her peaceful face, we had both put the two beds together to be more comfortable. Rose was sleeping on her stomach wearing only the t"shirt I was wearing the night before, making me smile. That was the image I always wanted to have when I woke up!But all the tranquility disappeared as soon as I picked up my cell phone, my eyes widening when I saw the time.Damn, we overslept!I stood up in a jump, knowing I couldn't be late for Miss Hanh's class, pulling Rose's foot as I picked up my pants thrown on the bedroom floor, putting them on in a hurry." Rose, wake up, we missed the time!”She turned over in bed, looking confused as she opened her eyes." What?” " It's fifteen minutes before the class starts, I have an exam today, come on!' " I rushed her.The girl stood up in a jump, grabbing her panties that I threw to her afterwards. " Damn, how did we sleep so much? " she complained while getting dressed."I don't know, but I need my shirt," I
Christian"Did you hear Liam's speech? "Rose asked.I turned my head to the side to watch her, she was sitting on the floor next to the bed, wearing only my boxer shorts while drawing on a pad. No one had come home yet and we were enjoying the silence.I felt exhausted after everything that had happened over the last few days, I couldn't believe that this nightmare had finally come to an end. After getting home and taking a long shower with Rose, the only thing I could do was lie down and stare at the ceiling in my room, imagining how everything would happen from then on."Could you not hear? "I sneered."Do you think he was serious about his vision of the future? "she turned her face to look at me."I don't know, maybe. But...I kept quiet, wondering what exactly I was going to say. Because more and more the whole scenario he described came to life in my mind, and every second I found it more enjoyable."But? "New Orleans is a nice city. We could live near each other and... I can se
ChristianI sat down, taking the bottle of beer from my sister, taking a sip before she grabbed the bottle from my hand and slapped me upside the head."Your father-in-law has guaranteed that you'll beat Bobby and Otto at pool, they've never lost at the bar "My father pointed to the table where Rose and Jack were getting ready to start the game."My father-in-law is... a bit competitive. Rose got that from him," I commented."A bit? That's a joke, right? Last time the two of them ended up in a snow race just to break a tie in a series of board games "Cam rolled his eyes."Snow race? "My mother raised both eyebrows."While they were taking off their clothes," Theo added."Taking their clothes off? "Amber choked next to me."They had a series of target games in the middle of the course, and every time they missed they had to take off a piece. At the end of the race, he was only wearing shorts and boots and she was wearing a gym top, shorts and boots "I explained, taking the bottle of be
ChristianI stopped the bike in a parking space in front of the bar where Rose met Josh at the beginning of the year. I frowned as everyone got off their bikes there. That place wasn't one of my favorites and Rose must have known that, since we hadn't been back there since everything happened.She got off before me, taking off her helmet, running her fingers through her hair to adjust it and standing next to me when she noticed my hesitation in getting off the bike."Come on, it's about time we gave this place a second chance "she winked at me "let's enjoy it like we should have done that day. That was enough to convince me, so I took off my helmet and got off the bike. From there we could hear a band playing a cover of Aerosmith. Everyone started to enter the venue, not bothering to wait for me. I took a deep breath, slung my arm around Rose's shoulder and started heading towards the entrance. Both Rose and I ended up with the backs of our hands stamped indicating that we were unde
ChristianI was lying in bed, watching the sunset light coming through the small window in the corridor facing the cell I occupied. My cell was the only one occupied in the police station, and that was no surprise. In a town as quiet as Grayfox Mills, it was difficult to see any movement at the police station during the week, when all the university students were busy with their classes.Everything I wanted. To get on with my classes without having to deal with some asshole who decided to play with my girl! But that asshole made it impossible.I'd been there for over twenty-four hours, and that had been enough time to calm my mind, at least as far as Jax was concerned. But even though I'd taken a few naps during the day, I couldn't stop imagining how Rose was doing, the look on her face as I was handcuffed never left my mind, and I just wanted the chance to talk to my girlfriend and make sure she was okay.My biggest concern with everything that had happened was just her. I didn't reg
RoseMy gaze wandered around that hellish scene without knowing what to do. Everything unfolded in slow motion in front of me. On one side, Jax was lying, moaning in pain in a pool of his own blood, being supported by a waiter. His friends were on the other side, keeping some distance with an expression that ranged from surprise to fear, keeping as much distance as possible from Christian, who was standing next to me with both hands raised in a sign of surrender after handing Theo the keys to the bike. The sidewalk outside was starting to fill up as well, several people crowded near the glass window watching what was happening, some taking pictures or filming with their cell phones as the police approached us." Dad, do something " I begged for a magic solution, one that would stop my boyfriend from being taken by those men. "Chris..." I tried to put one of his hands down to pull him to me, but he stood his ground, looking the other way while someone talked to one of the policemen,
Christian" Chris, you heard the dean, he'll probably be expelled... CHRIS! " Rose raised her voice as I stood up, heading for the exit." What's his problem?”" Damn it, Christian, get back here! " I heard Rose call before I got into the elevator that was standing on the floor, not waiting for her to arrive to press the button to close the doors.I checked the time on my watch, great, it's right on lunch break time, I'll find this bastard and finish him off wherever he is. Deciding not to waste any time, I got on the bike, driving inside the campus, heading towards the main cafeteria. I stopped the Harley anyway at the entrance to the cafeteria, ignoring the stares I was attracting, I opened the door without a care, looking around for my target. But to my dismay, the son of a bitch was nowhere to be found." Chris, what are you doing here? " I heard Sky's voice approaching.I turned towards her voice, finding her standing next to Theo with a frown as she watched me." 'O'Donnel, hav
ChristianSavannah and her friends stood up, looking satisfied with the outcome of that little meeting. All they wanted was to make sure that they would not be involved in that situation and they succeeded. " So? You can start " Rose took a deep breath with her arms crossed. " 'We're going to talk in a meeting with the dean,” Savannah said." 'That wasn't agreed,” Addison pointed out." We haven't agreed on anything yet, Mrs. Miller, and we're just making sure we don't get involved in any of this,” she returned.It was at that moment that Jack decided to get involved, seeming not to agree with the proposal." 'We're not going to guarantee any of this without knowing what you have to say.”" We can guarantee that Alicia and Audrey are responsible for everything, we will give the names of all those involved and we will tell you in detail everything we have discovered. " Savannah said " we even have message exchanges to prove it.”Everyone considered that information for a second befor
ChristianI hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen, finding Jack and Addison in an uncomfortable silence. Their gazes fell on me as soon as I walked through the door, causing me to stall in my seat." What?”" Were you arguing? " Addison asked." Ohhh no... Rose is just frustrated with the situation, I suggested she paint a little to distract herself " I explained " I was supposed to bring her breakfast at the studio.”" I'll do it," Addison volunteered, getting up.I didn't argue with the woman, sitting down in the same place as before, accepting the muffin Jack handed me. We sat there, eating in silence for a few minutes, until the sound of the doorbell interrupted us. Jack signaled for me to remain in my seat, getting up to go answer the door.Frowning, I remained silent, trying to hear something to find out who was at the door, but they were either talking very quietly, or not at all. I stood up, deciding to satisfy my curiosity at once, that's when Addison's voice reached m
ChristianI turned over in my bed, watching the face of Rose, who slept next to me curled up in a fetal position. My room was small and we didn't usually sleep there, but Rose couldn't bear the thought of sleeping in her room that night and I couldn't blame her. My girlfriend that day did not show all the usual tranquility when sleeping, which sometimes left me in doubt whether or not she had suddenly died in her sleep. On the contrary, she spent the whole night restless, and was not even sleeping on her stomach as usual.The silence outside the room showed that our classmates had probably already gone to class, only the two of us were left behind, trapped in our private hell. Deciding to let her rest a little longer, I got up, going to get dressed and brush my teeth before heading downstairs.The house itself seemed deserted, silence dominated the upper floor. I looked at the open door of Theo's room, where Jack ended up sharing the bed with Addison that night, finding the place empt