Chapter 2 A knight in shining armor

My mother had retired to her bedroom minutes ago, and I stayed back to do the dishes.

As I worked, I heard the front door close with a loud thud, and my brow raised. Suddenly Mr. Sinclair's angry voice rang in the air.

"You completely embarrassed me!”

"Dad, I'm sorry," Salvatore's voice came low and shaky.

“Do you know how embarrassed I was when I was told you skip classes?!” Mr. Sinclair's voice echoed, “My son is having bad grades!”

Salvatore had indeed been missing classes, but I didn't think his dad would care. He had enough power to get his son into the most prestigious university in the states even with low grades.

I cleaned my hand with a cloth and moved to the door, poking my head out. I saw them both in the living room, both dressed in expensive suits.

Mr. Sinclair paced around. “What have you been doing with your free time? Huh?! What?!” He grabbed Salvatore by his shirt.

Salvatore didn't respond; his head was simply bent to the floor in silence.

“Answer me!” He roared.

“I…” Salvatore’s voice trailed off, “I'm sorry, Father."

His father's face twisted in anger as he placed a stinging slap on Salvatore's face; his eyes grew red and tears gathered, but he didn't move an inch or show any expression.

“When your results come out this semester, it better be all A's and B's, or else your name will be taken out of my will." His father's tone made a chill run down my spine.

As Mr. Sinclair turned to head towards his bedroom, I quickly turned around and ran back to the sink. I began to place all the plates back in their place. But my mind was fixed on the scene I had just witnessed.

I had never seen the two of them like that before.

I heard footsteps walk into the kitchen, and I turned to see him behind me; he now had his suit jacket in his hand, and his tie was slightly pulled down. “What are you doing here?” He asked, his grey eyes wide in shock; he didn't expect me to be here.

I quickly wiped my hand on my pair of worn-out jeans and slid the apron off my neck. “I'm sorry, Mr. Salvatore; I'll leave you alone now." I bowed my head and quickly tried to walk out.

But he grabbed my hand and pulled me back in; my breath hitched. I had never stood this close to him before; just then I saw the print of his father's hand on his face. How could anybody possibly do that to their own child?

“Get me a glass of milk," he instructed and turned around to leave.

As he climbed up the stairs, I turned around and headed to the refrigerator.

Minutes later, I arrived at his bedroom with the glass of milk in my hand. I knocked on the door.

“Come in," he said almost immediately.

I slowly walked into the bedroom, and my heart almost jumped out of my chest. It was the first time I had ever seen him shirtless. My mouth watered as I gazed at his six-pack and bulging biceps. He stood before a desk in his room dressed in a pair of blue jeans and black socks, and his gaze was fixed on his phone.

He turned to look at me and placed his phone on the table. “Are you just going to stand there?”

"Huh...no." I quickly stepped into the bedroom and drew closer to him; he grabbed the glass and instantly chugged it down his throat. His gaze didn't leave mine as he handed me the glass.

“Is there something in my face?” His voice was rough.

I quickly looked down. "No… If you need anything else, please let me know." I turned around and began to leave, but as I reached the door, I suddenly froze. What if I could help him? I had really good grades, and if his father hit him because of it, then I could tutor him.

“Are your feet stuck to the floor?”

I turned to face him. “I have really good grades."

His gaze narrowed. “Congratulations, get out."

"No," I shook my head as I walked closer to him. “I can tutor you to get better grades; that's what your father won't…you know."

I had expected him to be overjoyed; instead, his gaze darkened as he drew close to me. “Were you eavesdropping?”

“What? No, I overheard…” My voice trailed off, and I quickly took a step back as he drew too close. He didn't stop; he kept coming closer until my back was against the cold wall.

“If I hear any of this in school…”

“What? No, I would never do that."

His hand gripped my chin and pulled it up, forcing my gaze to meet his. “If I hear a word about it, just one word, ”.

“I swear, I would never talk about you like that. " Tears clouded my eyes. “I just want to help."

His gaze softened as he saw the tears in my eyes; he cleared his throat and pulled away, his back facing me.

"How do you plan to help me?”

I tucked my blonde hair behind my ear as I began to speak, "Well, for starters, you have to start attending classes."

He didn't seem to be pleased with it.

I couldn't believe I would be tutoring him; that meant that I would spend time with him. “We have chemistry homework; let's start with that."

He slipped his hands into the back of his pocket, a puzzled expression on his face., he cursed under his breath before he asked, "Homework?"

“I'll bring mine,” I said and turned to leave the room. Minutes later I returned with my chemistry notebook; he had already sat before his desk, his head turned to me as I slowly moved to him.

The chair screeched against the floor as I pulled it out to sit. “We are doing mixtures and solutions right now."

I could feel his gaze burn into my skin, and it suddenly felt difficult to breathe, "Let's get it over with," he said.

“A mixture is when two or more substances are together but don’t chemically combine. They can usually be separated by physical methods."

He didn't seem to understand any of the words that were coming out of my mouth, but his gaze was focused on me either way. My eyes moved to his bare chest; I saw a drop of sweat slide down it, my stomach skipped a beat, and I quickly looked back up to meet his gaze.

I sighed; teaching him was going to be more difficult than I thought.

As I continued to explain it to him, my hands trembled. He wouldn't take his eyes off me; it was the first time Salvatore had ever looked at me for that long. I could feel my heart pound hard against my chest.

“You are smart,” he whispered softly. I didn't think he meant for me to hear it, but I did.

"Huh?"

"Nothing." He leaned back against his seat. “Go on,” he said.

“An example of a mixture is filtration. It is used for insoluble solids in liquids, like salt and water. It goes out through the filter; the sand stays, and the water passes."

He gave a gentle nod. I think he actually understood what I said: "You are not hopeless after all."

He shot me a cold gaze, and my smile faded. “I didn't mean it like that…"

“Continue,” he said, his voice lacking emotion.

After a few minutes, I had finished teaching him enough of the topic. “This should be good for today." I shut the book.

“Thank you,” his voice was barely above a whisper.

I stood up from my seat. “Do you want me to leave my notebook with you? You can copy it."

He looked up at me.

“I'm not saying you can't do it on your own. …"

“I'll take it,” he cut in.

I forced myself to hold in my smile as I walked to the door.

Salvatore looked at me.

And spoke to me.

Something all the girls in school would kill for.

I felt as if I would scream.

~~~~~

I had left early that morning because I had to walk all the way to school and couldn't afford to be late.

The class, as always, was barely quiet as the students chatted.

Mia was already in class; she sat in her seat while Anna and Lola stood on either side of her as they chatted. I bowed my head as I slowly moved to my seat.

The class suddenly fell silent as the teacher walked in.

She had short blond hair, and her black dress accentuated her figure. “Good morning, Ms. Parker," we all greeted.

She smiled. “Good morning. You know what was discussed. Turn in your assignment."

I grabbed my backpack and instantly dug into it for my book, but it wasn't in here. I searched each book carefully, but I couldn't find my chemistry notebook.

My heart hammered against my chest; this assignment was going to be a part of our grades, and I would fail it if I lost it.

I looked up; everybody had already placed their books on the desk, even Mia and her minions.

I looked back into my bag to search again; just then surprised gasps filled the place.

“He's here?”

“How come he came to class?”

I looked up to see Salvatore standing by the door, his gaze fixed on mine. Like always, he had a black leather jacket over his uniform, and his shirt was untucked, but somehow he made it work.

"Mr. Sinclair," Ms. Parker said in a surprised tone, “I'm surprised to see you join us today."

He didn't respond to the teacher; he just slowly walked towards me.

All the girls giggled in excitement.

“Are you here to see me, Salvatore?” Mia asked excitedly as she rushed towards him.

He walked past her and stood before me. “You left this," he said, handing me my chemistry notebook. My eyes lit up as I immediately grabbed it. I had forgotten that I gave it to him.

I looked at Salvatore as he moved to sit beside me.

“He’s sitting next to her?” Mia gasped in shock.

He is sitting…next to me?