Chapter Two: Privacy
1236 Words
Belle’s POV
A whole week had passed since I resumed classes. I was just done getting dressed when I heard a knock on my door.
“Come in, Dad.”
“Heyo Kiddo,” he said with a big smile.
“Good morning, Dad,” I responded, almost laughing. He had a way of brightening and lifting my mood.
“Did you sleep well, Dad? Did you sleep…at all?” He was fond of working way more than he had to. He always claimed he wasn’t a workaholic and that he simply loved his job. But I wasn’t buying it.
The habit got worse after my mom died, so I believe it to be more of a distraction at this point, rather than a passion.
“Of course I slept. I'm not a robot, sweetie,” Jack, my dad, said with a guilty smile.
I rolled my eyes in amusement while I packed the organized books on my desk into my backpack.
“You ready? Danny is here.”
Danny?
“Danny is here?” I tried as hard as possible to hide my surprise.
“Yeah, he is downstairs,” he answered. “Didn’t you know he was coming? You seem surprised.”
Damn it, he noticed.
“No, I'm not. I just thought we’d be meeting at school.”
He studied me for a moment before he agreed and stepped out of my room.
I sat on my chair, trying to calm myself down from the mini panic attack I could feel coming. Not that Danny was in any way dangerous, just that we had had our differences in the recent past, and now things were not the same between us. It was easier to deal with it when he was not in my home.
We used to be very close in high school. Best friends, as you may call us. We both had the same passion to become neurosurgeons. Our parents had formed a bond because of how close we were. We usually spent hours studying together, and it paid off. Danny was the top graduating student in high school. I was the second.
We were geeks. I didn’t mind at all, and neither did he. However, Danny got hot in college. Extremely hot. Now, every girl wants him. He gets a lot of attention, and I get a lot of hate because he chooses to hang out with me.
I shook off the uncomfortable feeling in my gut and headed downstairs, not wanting my dad to sense anything was wrong between us.
“There she is,” Dad said, picking up his work box, as we called it.
We all headed out after Danny and I exchanged greetings. Dad got into his car and waved us goodbye.
We both hopped into Danny’s car and, with a whole bundle of awkwardness, headed to campus.
It was a quiet ride. I could tell through the corner of my eye that he kept looking at me. I could almost feel the big hole his gaze was making on the surface of my head.
The thought made me giggle.
“What’s funny?” he asked with a smile, clearly happy that the silence was broken.
“Oh, nothing. Just a random thought.”
“Wanna share?”
I shook my head. “It’s nothing.”
The silence was back.
“Belle,” he called gently.
I turned my gaze to his hazel eyes. “Yeah?”
“Do you…hate me?” he asked, causing a very big frown to appear on my face.
“No, Danny. I don't,” I replied dryly, not wanting to give any emotion away since he had seen enough of that over the past months.
We arrived on campus just in time for me to escape the heart-wrenching conversation I could feel coming.
“Listen, Belle,” he began as soon as the car was parked. “I'm so…”
“Thanks for the ride, Danny,” I interrupted and pushed open the door, but he gripped me, causing me to stay put in the car seat.
He leaned in and shut the door. Still leaned into me, his eyes studying my face. My heart raced. Our eyes met for a moment. Then he pressed his lips against mine.
I almost succumbed to his touch. I wanted to. But I didn’t. I placed my hands on his broad chest and pushed him away slowly.
“Don’t,” I said in a whisper, our eyes interlocked. I turned to the door with my backpack and books in my hand and stepped out of the car.
It was a short kiss, but long enough to regret it.
I rushed to the lecture hall, not wanting him to come after me and cause a big ‘romantic’ scene. I bolted through the door of the hall with light music filling my ears. My body met with another’s. We both cursed under our breaths and exchanged apologies before I rushed to my seat, trying as hard as I could to keep what happened off my mind.
After a while, Danny walked in. I didn't look back to know it was him. I didn't have to. I caught his very expensive scent. Oh, did I mention that Danny comes from a rich background? He does. And it makes him all the more irresistible.
Irritated, I picked up my textbook to stop my mind from spiraling, but it didn't work.
Every girl wants him, including me at some point. I wasn't fazed by his money or achievements. No. He and I had built a connection way deeper than that over the years. But that was all over. In the past, just the way I wanted it.
How dare he even kiss me?
“Belle.”
I looked up from my textbook to see Dr Carter standing in front of me. “I believe this is yours,” he said in a cool, gentle voice.
He was holding out my journal to me. My heart sank deep into my stomach.
Everyone had their eyes on me. The entire class was as quiet as a graveyard.
Stay calm. Stay calm.
I reached for it with shaky hands. I could hear Vanessa laughing behind me. What the hell happened? Did she…read my journal? How does he have it? I resisted the urge to burst out in tears or run out of the hall.
I froze, almost. Dr Carter was still standing in front of me with a look in his eyes that I couldn't describe. His gaze pierced deep into mine, sending shivers down my neck to my spine.
He was so effortlessly sexy. I swallowed hard and said, “Thank you, Dr Carter.”
He nodded with a small smile before walking away from me. I looked over my shoulder at Vanessa. She was still laughing.
“You’re quite the writer, Belle!” she mused.
“That’s enough,” Dr Carter said in a stern tone that took the laugh right out of Vanessa’s mouth.
The hall was very quiet at this point. I tried my best to stay calm, but it wasn't working. This was just the beginning of a semester, and everything was already turning upside down.
He threw me another glance from the podium and gave the same small smile he had earlier.
“Now,” Dr Carter began. “Let's get into today’s lecture.”
- Writer
