Julianna Catching Fire

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Who gave you the hickey?" Abby giggled. "Was it the Mystery Guy?"

I pulled at the collar of my McQ leather jacket nervously. "Can you see it?" I asked her.

"Not really. Just when you tilt your head a certain way."

I adjusted my collar once more and then pulled my hair down over it. "Can you see it now?"

"Nope!"

"Good." I sighed.

I was getting pretty hot in this leather especially considering the sunny weather outside, but it was the only appropriate thing I could find with a collar high enough to hide this love bite.

"Who are you hiding from anyway?" Chloe questioned.

I gulped. "Um, no one."

"I don't think so. You seem antsy and nervous. Not like your usual self."

I shrugged. "I guess I'm just a little bit under the weather."

A foot kicked me under the table and I looked up to see Braden shooting me a worried glance. I shot him back a smile and a look that said I'm fine, don't worry.

"I've got to talk to Mr. Romano about yesterday's lesson," I said, standing up. "See you guys later."

I hurried quickly to Alex's room. There was still fifteen minutes of lunch left, so I had plenty of time to talk to him. Hopefully he would listen.

As I was walking into his room I ran into someone who was walking out.

"Sorry!" I mumbled. I looked up to see Ms. Cooper there.

"Oh no," she said. "It was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's okay," I said. I continued walking into the class and she walked off down the hall.

Alex had already either seen me or heard me because he was staring at the computer intently; his jaw was tight and his eyes were hard.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked him quietly.

"About?" he said lifelessly, not looking away from his computer screen.

"Us?"

He looked at me and then raised an eyebrow. "Us? There's an us, still?"

"Hopefully."

He shifted his gaze from me to the computer screen.

I grabbed a chair and pulled it up to his desk. "I'm sorry. I'll say it a million times if I have to."

"Is that supposed to make everything better?" he said harshly, snapping his eyes back to me.

"Well no - "

"Then stop saying it every two seconds."

"But I'm - "

"Sorry. I know, I get it." His voice was cold.

"What do I have to do to prove to you that I really regret what I did? What do I have to do to prove to you that I'm really sorry and that I truly care for you?"

He thought for a moment. "I wish I could tell you."

We were both quiet for a couple minutes.

"You mean more to me more than he ever will." I broke the silence.

His eyes were no longer cold; they were now curious and wondering. He snorted. "So he was just a one night stand? Shit, Julianna! I could at least understand if this guy meant something to you. But you're telling me you feel nothing for this guy? That's ten time worse!"