Resilience

58| Rhett Hayes

RHETT'S POV

"Rhett Hayes." I breathed out my name as my eyes took in the shocked expression on her face.

Telling her my name was the only way I could think of to keep her from leaving. I knew I shouldn't force her to stay but I couldn't— I just didn't want her to leave.

I scanned her face, expecting to see disgust, but all I could discern were her wide eyes and agape mouth as she struggled to respond.

Her eyes seemed to lit up with the new found information which baffled me, because normally the students would turn around, even if they saw me coming in their direction.

"Rhett—" She whispered out my name in her slow sweet voice as her innocent gaze stared right at mine flickering from eye to eye through her thick long lashes, her electric blue eyes staring at my pale brown one.

She looked like she involuntarily repeated my name, as if it just rolled out of her tongue in a way of trying to know how it would sound in her voice.

And the way she said my name instantly caused the pulse in my veins to thump louder and faster.

I gulped hard not understanding as to why her saying my name had such an effect on me.

Her body was stiff under me, as my hands stayed glued on her shoulders from when I was preventing her from leaving.

I'm trying to figure her out, just like how I've been doing since my very first encounters with her.

I had spent hours and hours wondering why she helped me out that day but what confused me even more was why I hadn't stopped her from helping.

Her thoughts were the only thing that plagued my mind from that day till today. And if I'm not thinking about her she'd somehow find a way to creep back inside my mind, leaving me frustrated.

I was never used to having someone helping me.

I learned to fend for myself at a young age, never allowing anyone to tend to me — not that anyone wanted to either.

Nobody ever seemed to care enough to do so.

But on that day when she found me in the corridor, anyone else would have ignored me and walked right past me but instead she stayed and helped me, despite not knowing who I was.

I'm trying to convince myself that it was her returning the favour, but my heart began to warm up at her selfless gesture.

She was aware that I was having an anxiety attack, and when she held my wrist, her touch was enough to send shivers down my spine.

I couldn't tell if it was because of her or because of the panic attack, but I still let her take me to the rooftop.

She stayed by my side the entire time, trying to calm me down. She looked after me when I couldn't look after myself.