Bullied By My Fated Mate

CHAPTER 4

UNUSUAL

I crossed my arms defensively. "What?"

His golden eyes narrowed. "You didn't see anything. And you're not going to be telling anyone you did."

I blinked twice.

"Trust me," I said. "I didn't want to."

One corner of his mouth twitched and

disappeared.

"What are you even doing here?" Cheryl finally asked.

I stared at her. "It's a girls' bathroom."

Her expression darkened immediately. And of course it did, because Cheryl Pierce wasn't used to being talked back at. Everyone at Blackthorne Academy knew who she was. Head cheerleader, student council vice president and the daughter of the school's biggest donor.

She's beautiful, popular and rich. She was the kind of girl teachers adored and students avoided offending, and

the kind of girl who had spent her entire life being told she was special. And Cheryl believed every second of it, which was exactly why she treated people like me as if we existed several levels beneath her.

I turned toward Thomas. "Can you please leave?"

His eyebrow lifted. "I'm visiting."

"You're in the girls' bathroom."

"And yet somehow you've survived the experience."

I hated him, I really did. The worst part was how easily he got under my skin.

I took a step toward the door. "I'm leaving."

"Not yet." Said Thomas.

I froze again, and my irritation spiked instantly. "What now?"

Thomas folded his arms. "Knocking exists for a reason."

I stared. "What?"

"People usually knock before walking into occupied rooms."

For a moment I genuinely couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Are you serious?"

His expression remained completely straight.

I laughed. "You're making out with someone in the girls' bathroom."

"And?"

"And you're blaming me?"

A few seconds passe, then Thomas shrugged. "You have a habit of showing up where nobody wants you."

I wanted to throw something at him but

Cheryl suddenly let out a cruel laughed.

"You know," she said, looking me up and down. "It's honestly impressive."

I frowned. "What is?"

"You always look like you're waiting for someone to remember you exist."

Heat crawled into my cheeks.

Cheryl smiled. "Seriously. Every time I see you, you look like someone accidentally dropped you in the wrong place."

I clenched my jaw.

"Oh, did I hurt your feelings?" She asked but

I said nothing.

She stepped closer. "Poor Abigail."

There was something vicious in the way she said my name, like it tasted bad.

"No wonder nobody takes you seriously."

Her smile widened and she glanced towards Thomas. "Look at her. She's practically about to cry."

"I'm not crying," I said, voice breaking.

"Give it a minute."

My fingers tightened. I should've walked away but Instead, I stayed. Maybe because I was tired of people thinking they could say whatever they wanted to me.

"At least I don't spend my lunch breaks hiding in bathrooms with a tongue shoved down my throat," I shot back.

The silence afterward was immediate, and

Cheryl's face hardened. Even Thomas was almost looked surprised by my outburst.

Cheryl took a sharp step toward me. "What did you say?"

I swallowed but didn't back down. Something dangerous flashed in her eyes, screaming at me to leave now but I just stood there.

My pulse hammered when Cheryl took another step until she was standing directly in front of me.

"What did you say?" she repeated.

Like she was daring me to repeat it, her hand lifted so fast and I knew she was going to hit me and I flinched instinctively. But another hand shot out and everything stopped when Thomas caught her wrist.

The sound echoed through the bathroom and Cheryl actually winced. Shock flashed across her face and so did mine. By then Thomas's expression had gone from annoyed and irritated to completely cold.

Cheryl gasped. "Thomas."

His grip only tightened. "Enough."

The word sounded more like a warning.

"What?"

"I said enough."

The bathroom suddenly felt too quiet.

Cheryl glanced between us, confusion slowly replacing her anger. "You're defending her?"

"No." Thomas's answer came instantly, absolute enough to cut. But he still hadn't let go of her hand.

He released her wrist slowly, then pointed toward the door. "Leave."

"You're sending me out?" Cheryl asked, actually looking offended by Thomas now.

His jaw tightened. "Get out."

"Thomas—"

"Are you deaf?"

His words cracked through the room like a whip that even I jumped.

Cheryl stared at him, stunned as disbelief washed over her. I'd never heard Thomas speak to anyone like that before, especially not his sweetheart Cheryl.

For the first time all afternoon, Cheryl looked uncertain. Then finally she grabbed her bag.

Her glare landed on me one last time, clearly saying this wasn't over and I could see that promise. Then she stormed out and the bathroom door slammed shut behind her.

Silence danced around the room, and my pulse hammered painfully inside my chest.

Thomas still hadn't looked away from my face, and neither had I.

At nineteen years old, Thomas Jittro looked like he belonged on the cover of some expensive magazine rather than inside Blackthorne Academy. He stood well over six feet tall, broad-shouldered and impossible to ignore. His ash-gray hair always looked deliberately messy, and his unusual golden eyes drew attention even when he wasn't trying. Thomas had the kind of face that made people stare despite themselves, and girls like Cheryl adored him for it. Unfortunately, being attractive hadn't made him a better person.

Then unexpectedly he took a step toward me and I stepped back. And for the first time since I'd known him, he genuinely looked unsettled.

"Abigail...," he said.

His face was so close to mine now that we practically breathe the same air. Unease settled heavily in my chest because he had never called me by my first name before. His expression darkened, and for a second something strange crossed his face. Something I couldn't understand.

The air in the room felt heavier, and my pulse started hammering for reasons I couldn't explain. He just kept staring at me, and then I noticed it.

The familiar golden color in his eyes was changing. At first I thought it was a trick of the fluorescent lights but it wasn't.

The gold was brightening and deepening,

becoming something unnaturally vivid.

Something that looked almost like dark shadows moving beneath the gold, as if black lightning trapped behind glass.

The color pulsed once then twice. And suddenly his eyes no longer looked entirely human. I froze, and Thomas seemed to realize it a second too late. His entire body went rigid as shock flashed across his face. That was first genuine emotion I'd ever seen from him. And suddenly, he looked just as alarmed as I felt.

My heart slammed against my ribs because

whatever was happening Thomas hadn't expected it either.

And neither had I.