Yours Truly

20. Volcano

By Monday, Sera was well-rested, hydrated, and finally done with feeling sorry for herself. She had gotten back to her apartment after what she felt like a good enough time for Elena and Tristan to leave. She woke up at Five in the morning, went to the gym, went back home to shower and have breakfast, got dressed, and was about to leave the house to go to her morning class. Which was very far away from what her daily morning routine usually looked like, she wouldn't wake up this early to do all these activities, but she felt like she needed to feel extra good and confident if she was seeing Rowan today.

She was just about to leave the house when she got a text message that made her halt her movements. It was from Elena, the text only consisted of an apology with no further explanation. If Sera had been the same person she was a few years ago, still naïve and hopeful, she would've thought her sister was apologizing for the events that had happened a few days ago. But Sera was well acquainted with her family's true colors by now, and she knew that this apology was for something that was about to happen and not something that had happened before, which meant that Elena and Tristan had gone back home and told her dad everything. Which was what Sera was fully expecting, it was what she wanted, after all.

Despite knowing this, Sera felt anxious on the way to her campus, because despite knowing their true colors, it didn't mean that she wasn't scared of them. She hated to admit it, but she was scared of what they were able to do, of their ability to hurt and deceit and be okay with it. She was scared because she wasn't like them, and therefore, wouldn't be able to hurt any of them back, she still had a tiny bit of respect for the family that raised her and provided for her for years.

The day went slow. Sera was losing whatever good mood she was in as time went by. She received a call from her other sister, Madison, but she declined it. She was starting to feel excessively anxious but she didn't know if it was from her family or Rowan. By the time she entered the office in the afternoon, she was just about to start crying. The weather was freezing outside, it was about to rain again, and she felt relieved when she entered the heated lobby of Stay Driven. She smiled a smile so fake it almost hurt her cheeks to greet the receptionist and continued on her way.

She subconsciously walked in the way of Rowan's office but stopped herself in the middle of the hallway, right outside his door. Sera's head felt heavy all of a sudden as she kept her eyes on her boots, unable to look anywhere else. She inhaled deeply and lifted it slowly, only to look through the open door of Rowan's office and see one of the coaches, Clair, in her gym attire, leaning so close over Rowan's desk. The air was suddenly cut off.

Sera had suspected before that Clair was into Rowan from the first day he introduced them to each other on the tour he gave Sera. But she didn't think it was reciprocated. Now though, it felt awfully clear as Clair was right behind the desk where Rowan was sitting, standing dangerously close and leaning over him to make him sign something on the desk, her breasts bulging out from her sports bra completely in his face.

A volcano erupted in Sera's chest.

She could hear Clair mumbling but she couldn't make out the words from where she was standing. Finally, she took the papers, gave him a charming smile, and pulled away from him. Rowan's voice was loud and clear in Sera's ears when he told Clair not to repeat what she had just done, to which Clair asked what it was that she had done in a sickeningly sweet voice. Right as he was about to answer, his eyes met Sera's through the slightly ajar door and he did a double take. Clair noticed his attention was directed to somewhere behind her, causing her to glance in Sera's way as well.

Flabbergasted, Sera was about to turn around and walk away but dropped her phone and the book she was holding in her hands. The sound of her phone shattering on the marble floor was loud in the empty hallway, and she immediately bent down to check the damage.

She cursed herself for not putting on a case.

As she grabbed it, she could see that the front screen was completely shattered and broken, little pieces of it scattered on the floor or still sticking to it. She heard footsteps coming from behind her and she turned around in haste. Her cheeks heated up as she looked up at Rowan, from both the embarrassment of getting caught eavesdropping and being clumsy about it. 

"Are you okay?" His deep voice rumbled, his intense eyes glued to her. 

"Yeah." She nodded. 

Not being able to make eye contact with him, Sera averted her attention to her broken phone. She tried turning it on but was met with a black screen, and as her fingers moved across the screen, she accidentally cut her thumb with one of the broken pieces poking out. She hissed loudly, blood oozing out slowly. 

His big, tan hands came into her view, holding her hand in between them to check her thumb. Butterflies danced in her stomach while her heart did a little flip. Sera looked up at him, but he was focused on her thumb, his eyes down.

"Hey, Sera." Clair's voice caught her off-guard. Sera's eyes met hers and she greeted her with a painful smile.

Her smile faltered a little as she saw Clair's hand rest on Rowan's bicep, her head poking out from behind him. Sera pursed her lips and snatched her hand from Rowan's, suddenly yet painfully reminded of his words just two days ago. 

"I'll be taking my leave, then." Clair said when she felt the tension between them.

Just go already. 

None of them replied as Clair finally took the hint and left them alone. Rowan wasted absolutely no time as he spoke. "How have you been doing?" His tone went back to the gentle one she was used to, his hands going to his pockets.

"I'm okay." Her eyes were sharp as she glared up at him through her lashes.

"We need to talk." 

"No, we don't." She let out a laugh, but it was void of any humor. 

"Your dad called me."