Chapter 152

Tessa’s POV

I was surprised by how quickly I got responses and replies to my blog posts and messages. It seems that most of my followers had forgiven me, which was a huge relief. I even gained some followers back and some new followers.

I woke up the next morning to a text from Ruby telling me that she was proud of me for writing such a wonderful apology message and that the outcome was positive. I was glad to hear that, and it even made me smile. It was my first genuine smile in what felt like a long time.

My chest felt lighter, and my head was less cloudy.

I woke up early so I could work on my missed assignment for Joseph’s class. I didn’t have his class today, but I knew he would be at school like he always was. I just hoped he would give me another chance to improve my grade before I fell too far behind.

I also spent a little time writing my next story for Fable magazine; I sent my editor an email and let her know that I’ll have a story for her as soon as possible. I just hoped she wasn’t too upset with me; I know she sent a couple of emails these last few days inquiring about my newest story but I didn’t respond to them.

Once I was done, I quickly dressed and made my way out of my apartment building. By the time I got outside, Ruby pulled up in her car and honked at me. I wasn’t expecting her to take me to school today.

I frowned, furrowing my brows at her, and checked my phone to see if she texted me. When I saw no texts, I looked back at her with a curious frown. She rolled her eyes and waved for me to enter her car.

I did so without hesitation.

“What are you doing here?” I asked sliding into the passenger seat.

“I wasn’t taking any chances,” she said, giving me a coy smile. “I wanted to make sure you were coming to school. These next few months are crucial, Tessa. You have to be on top of your game.”

“I know,” I said, watching as the apartment building grew smaller in the distance.

“Also, I wanted to apologize for last night,” she said, peering over at me briefly. “I shouldn’t have gotten upset with you. I know you don’t need me telling you what to do.”

“I know you care about me,” I told her gently. “I’m not mad at you.”

She smiled and pointed to her cupholder.

“I got you a mocha cappuccino,” she said brightly. “It’s from your favorite coffee cart near the school.”

“Oh, yum!” I said happily, feeling very childlike as I grabbed the expresso goodness. “Thank you.”

When we got to school, Ruby and I walked to our lockers.

“So, are you going to talk to Professor Evergreen?” She asked, sipping on her iced drink.

I felt a nervous tightness in my stomach, but I nodded my head once.

“Yes,” I told her. “Later.”

“Don’t wait too long,” she said, closing her locker door. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

I waved as she disappeared through the crowd of students.

As I closed my locker door, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Brian standing there.

“Holy hell, Brian,” I gasped, placing my hand on my chest to feel my rapid heartbeat. “You almost gave me a heart attack. How long have you been standing there?”

“I just got here,” he said, shrugging. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Once I was able to calm my heart, I met his eyes.

“What do you want?” I asked, raising my brows.

He frowned at me.

“Ouch, I thought we were becoming friends,” he said, pouting.

I furrowed my brows together.

“Friends is a strong word,” I said, folding my arms across my chest.

“But we hung out yesterday,” he said, cocking his head to the side. “I thought that meant you forgave me—”

“Make no mistake, Brian. It would take a miracle for me to actually forgive you,” I said, keeping my eyes locked on his. “I hung out with you because you were available, and I needed to get off campus.”

He stared at me with wide eyes for a moment. He genuinely looked hurt by my words, and I felt bad almost immediately.

I sighed.

“Look, I had a nice time with you yesterday, but let’s just leave it at that.” I turned to walk away, not wanting to be late for class, but he grabbed my arm, making me stop.

I turned quickly around to face him, startled by the sudden contact. I didn’t like him touching me and he immediately realized this from my face alone and dropped my arm.

“Sorry…” he murmured, lowering his gaze. “I just miss you. Not as my girlfriend, I know I fucked that up, but as my friend. We were pretty good friends previously and I wanted to get that back.”

Brian and I weren’t ever really friends; I hung out with him because I liked him, and I thought that was a mutual feeling.

“Why do you want to be friends all of a sudden?” I asked, raising my brows at him. “Why now?”

He was quiet for a moment as he thought about how to answer that question. He then looked up and met my eyes.

“Because I was wrong,” he told me simply. “I was wrong when I put you down. I shouldn’t have told you that you can’t make it as a writer. Obviously, you can, and you are. Your blog is successful, and everybody seems to love your writing.”

“You told me once that nobody would ever like my writing and that I’m not a good writer,” I reminded him, keeping my tone even and sounding uninterested.

“I was wrong about that too….” He said, sounding a bit sheepish. “I don’t know why I said that…I didn’t really mean it at the time. I think I was just angry.”

“It really hurt my feelings, Brian,” I told him, shaking my head in disgust.

“And I want to prove to you that I’m not that guy anymore.”

“That guy was only a couple of weeks ago,” I replied.

“Please, let me prove myself,” he pleaded, pressing the palms of his hands together like he was praying. “I’ll show you that I’m different now.”

“And how are you going to do that?” I asked, feeling curious now.

“Have lunch with me,” he suggested.

I wanted to laugh.

Have lunch with him and his stuck-up friends? That doesn’t sound like something I want to do and plus, Ruby would have a huge fit if I sat with Brian’s crew during lunch. That was our time to catch up on our days together; I wasn’t going to abandon her for Brian.

“Nice try,” I muttered, turning away from him.

“Come on, Tessa. I thought you were all about giving people chances,” he shouted as I began to distance myself from him.

“I gave you many chances when we were together,” I said, shrugging. “I’m done handing out chances.”

“Let me prove to you that I’m different,” he said, following closely behind me so he didn’t have to shout. “I know you and my friends don’t get along. But I’ll make sure they keep their mouths shut. I promise.”

“You really think I’m afraid of your stupid friends?” I wanted to laugh again as I turned to face him. “They don’t scare me nor could they ever.”

“Then there’s no reason you can’t have one lunch with us,” he said, giving me a cocky grin. “Just one lunch and if you hate it, then you can leave.”

I stared at him in disbelief; he wasn’t going to give up. Why was he so pressed about this lunch?

“I’ll have lunch with you on one condition,” I finally said after a long pause.

“Name it and it’s yours,” he agreed.

“Ruby joins us.”

His brows knitted together, and I saw a cloud in his eyes as he processed my words.

“She’s a loudmouth,” he muttered. “She also can’t stand me.”

“That’s my condition, Brian,” I said shrugging. “Take it or leave it.”

“Fine,” he murmured, shaking his head in disbelief. “She can join us. But I’m not protecting her from the wrath of my friends.”

This time I did let out a laugh as I turned away.

“Oh please…. Your friends are the ones who are going to need protecting.”

On that note, he finally let me walk away and go to my first class of the day.

…..

Joseph sat in his office, and it appeared that he was grading some papers. The door was opened ajar, and I knocked hesitantly, not wanting to just barge into his office.

But as soon as I raised my fist to knock, his gaze lifted and landed on mine.

“Tessa,” he greeted, nodding his head slightly at me. “Come in and shut the door.”

I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat as I stepped into his office, sealing the door behind me.

Without him prompting me, I took a seat in one of the chairs that sat in front of his desk. He looked at me for a long while, assessing my face and my every feature. I felt my face growing incredibly warm under the intensity of his gaze.

I kept my eyes facing downward, afraid that if I met his eyes, my entire world would crumble, and I’d fall apart in front of him. Today was the first day all week that I hadn’t shed any tears and I wanted to keep it that way.

“What can I do for you?” He finally asked, leaning back in his seat.

“I wanted to apologize for missing class yesterday,” I told him, swallowing audibly. “I know it’ll take a miracle to catch back up, but I was wondering if there was something I can do to ensure that I pass the class.”

He stared at me, unspeaking, for a moment longer.

“Why did you miss class?”

I was surprised by his question; I still hadn’t met his eyes, but I knew his eyes were locked on my features.

“I just needed to get away,” I admitted, shamefully. “I needed space.”

“Is that right?” He said slowly; his tone suggested that he didn’t believe me.

I felt my face heat and this time, I looked up and met his eyes. My heart grew heavy in my chest when I saw the distrust in his eyes. I was right, it felt like my entire world was crumbling down around me and I had to wrap my arms around my body to keep myself intact.

“Yes,” I said, sounding much stronger than I felt. “I wasn’t feeling well, and—”

“And you decided to disappear with Brian?” He completed the sentence.

It felt like the wind got knocked out of me and I stared at him feeling numb.