Chapter 84

Tessa’s POV

My talk with Brian earlier left a chill down my spine. I could hardly concentrate on studying in the library and I was practically a drone in my next class.

Only one more class and it would be Joseph’s evening class. I had a knot in my stomach thinking about it. We had a nice conversation in the lunchroom and I’m hoping things don’t have to be weird between us. But now everybody was talking about it.

Once I got to Joseph’s class, he was talking to a few teachers outside his classroom, including Emily.

She gave me a smile as I walked by, though it seemed strained and she stepped closer to Joseph, almost protectively. I tried my best to return her smile as I walked into the classroom.

I felt Joseph’s eyes on the back of my head.

Ruby was sitting at our usual desks in the back of the room, speaking to some girls as I sat down.

“They are fake rumors, so, stop talking about it,” Ruby hissed to the others who only gave one another knowing before turning away.

I knew they were talking about me, and Ruby was trying to stand up for me. She was a good friend and I appreciate her a lot.

She gave me a reassuring smile just before Joseph walked into the classroom.

He greeted the class as he always did while walking over to his desk.

“We will be having 4 exams this semester, each one making up a quarter of each grade. Today will be the first exam. I hope you are all prepared.”

He looked at me when he said that last part and swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Before we begin with the exam, I’m going to pass back your recent assignments,” he said as he lifted a stack of papers off his desk. “These were a lot better. Many of you had dropped the idea of logic and made very nice stories.”

Once he reached my desk, he placed the paper, face down, in front of me and allowed his hand to linger there for a moment before he moved on to the next person. I felt warmth tickling the back of my neck and Ruby glanced over with a smirk.

“Does anyone have any questions concerning their grade or the upcoming exam?” Joseph asked as he made his way back to the front of the room.

I flipped over my paper and stared at my graded B paper. I wished I could say that I was surprised, but I wasn’t. However, I still wanted to understand my grade and why he thought I deserved it.

I, along with some other students, raised my hand high in the air.

He met my eyes; his face remained expressionless, which made my heart hurt. But I pushed the thought out of my mind and focused on my question.

“Yes, Tessa?” He asked.

The way he said my name was like a melody and my flesh feel warm. I knew my face was probably a little red as my heart raced in my chest. I just hoped that nobody else noticed.

“I’m curious about the grade you have given me,” I said, proud that my voice sounded more confident than I felt.

“I gave you a B, which is a good grade. What concern do you have?”

Students turned to face me; I wasn’t usually a nervous speaker, but in this case, I worried my emotions could be seen on my face easily.

Did I even have a right to question him? Or did I just want to start something because of my confused feelings toward him?

He was right that a B was a good grade, but it could have been better. I looked down at my paper, frowning.

I wrote a piece about vampires and the lifestyle they live. My protagonist lives in this vampire world where they hunt and prey on humans. I suppose my mixed feelings towards Joseph and the hot and cold treatment he’s been giving me, angered me enough to write about stereotypical vampires, painting them as monsters.

“What could I have done differently to get a better grade?” I finally asked, meeting his eyes again.

He looked at me for a moment, staring around my face with an expression I didn’t recognize. Like he was analyzing me; his eyes made my face feel incredibly warm and it took a lot to not sink in my seat.

“Part of what I like about your writing is that you breathe life into your characters. It’s like you truly believe in who they are and what they stand for. You make others believe it as well. This particular assignment was interesting and certainly entertaining, but it felt a little original. Maybe even forced. Almost like you stopped believing in them yourself; or perhaps your views on who they are changed.”

“I think regardless of how you look at it, these characters don’t actually exist,” I told him.

“Maybe so, but I enjoyed reading your work when you were passionate and surer of your characters.”

“Then, maybe they should stop confusing me,” I found myself murmuring.

I instantly regretted my words though and pressed my lips together to prevent myself from speaking any further.

Truth be told, I knew he was right. I didn’t feel as connected with these characters as I usually do. I loved breathing life into my creations and making them appear as real as I could. I’ve gotten many praises to do so. I knew this story was different. I allowed my emotions and feelings get in the way of an assignment and because of that, my usual A turned in a B.

I knew Joseph wasn’t a monster. He saved my life. But I was still a little hurt over the hot and cold treatment he’s been giving me.

“If you’d like to discuss this more, you can stay after class and we can talk,” he said, eyeing me carefully.

“Thank you,” I said to him softly as I put my paper in my folder.

“If there aren’t any more questions, then we can begin the exams,” he said to the rest of the class.

I glanced over at Ruby who was biting her bottom lip and glancing at me; I couldn’t tell if she wanted to scold me or laugh.

Soon, the entire room was dead silent, and we started the exams. The questions were fairly straightforward. A lot of them were about books I had read and there were a couple of writing prompts that we had to create short stories out of.

By the end of the test, I was feeling good about it.

“Do you want a ride home?” Ruby asked as class ended.

Some students stayed behind to speak to Joseph. Ruby was packing up her things, shoving them into her backpack, as she peered up at me. I was standing at my desk, my eyes locked on Joseph who hardly noticed me there. Or maybe he did, and he was pretending he didn’t.

“No, that’s okay,” I answered after a pause. “I only live across the street. I’ll walk.”

“Just be careful. it’s still dangerous at night. Despite the Nightwalker’s special announcement saying that attacks have been dealt with. I still don’t trust it. I mean, how can you trust people you’ve never seen before?”

I tuned out the rest of her rambling as Joseph’s eyes finally held mine, and he held them for a moment longer before turning to the final student who remained in the room.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Ruby said over her shoulder as she left the room.

Joseph’s eyes darkened and he snapped a strange look that I didn’t recognize. The last student finally left the room and Joseph never took his eyes off me.

“Why isn’t she giving you a ride home?” He finally asked once we were alone.

“I told her I can walk,” I said in return. “I only live across the street.”

“It’s dangerous walking around at night.”

“The vampires have been caught,” I said, furrowing my brows together. “It’s a lot safer now than it was.”

“That doesn’t matter. Danger can still lurk around the corner,” he reminded me, his tone hard. “Let’s go… I’ll give you a ride,” he said before I could say anything.

He grabbed his thing and started toward the door, when I didn’t follow, he paused and looked back at me.

“I meant it, Tessa. I don’t want you wandering around at night. Let’s go,” he said again, keeping his eyes on mine.

I nodded and went with him into the halls. Most students were already gone, so we were able to get to his car without anyone noticing.

The ride was quiet. Despite there being so many things I wanted to ask him, about that kiss and about everything that happened after that, but I couldn’t find the right words. I stared down at my hands, playing with my fingers the entire drive until we reached the outside of my apartment building.

“Thanks for the ride,” I said as I opened the door.

He didn’t say anything, but I could feel his eyes drilling into the back of my head. When I glanced back at him, I saw how confused he was. It was like he was facing a battle in his mind and losing.

I narrowed my eyes at him, my heart pounding in my chest, and I asked, “Would you like to come inside?”