Four Broken Pieces ✓

Sixteen

"So how did the dinner go," Violet asked in an excited voice as soon as I arrived at school. Troy followed closely behind, and although he pretended not to notice, I could tell he was equally interested in what I had to say.

"We didn't go to dinner. Things came up," I said, trying to be as vague as possible but Troy caught on and his eyes snapped up with concern. In an instant he was by my side, his hand clutching my upper arm.

"Is something wrong," he asked, but before I could open my mouth to brush him off, I was caught by the sight of Ivan entering the school building, with Mikhail and Alexei close behind him. I remembered the slight anger I'd seen on him last night. I hoped he'd gotten over it by now, but I couldn't be too sure. He caught my eye and slowly walked over, leaving the other two boys behind.

"I'll be right back," I said quietly and I met him halfway. He stood there with his usual blank expression in place, and arms crossed over his chest allowing his muscles to bulge out. More than one girl in the hallway gave him a brief once-over as they entered the school building, and I couldn't blame them. It was an effort to keep my eyes trained away from his impressive physique that looked particularly good in a white muscle tee and jeans.

"I hope you're still not mad at me," I said softly, keeping my eyes trained on his. They gave nothing away. How did he have such an impassive expression on his face all the time? It's almost like it was frozen in place.

"I was never mad at you. I just, I don't like seeing Alexei upset," he said tersely, and I nodded in response. I had known from the start that he was overly protective of them. I couldn't hold his anger against him. Protectiveness was how he expressed his love. An awkward silence enveloped the air around us as neither of us made a move to walk away or say anything. The hallways had emptied out and the silence surrounding us was all the more overwhelming.

"Well, I'll see you in class," I said breathily and turned to leave. His hand caught mine just as I turned, sending the lightest sparks up them. I turned to face him once more, and for some odd reason, kept my hand in his. He didn't move away either. The intensity of his gaze kept me rooted in my place.

"Why did you push yourself so hard that day at the gym," he asked, his eyes boring into mine. His grip on my hand was firm so I couldn't exactly tear it away and run. I couldn't move even if I tried so I swallowed hard and replied instead, ignoring how carefully his eyes were trained on me, registering each movement.

"I was having a bad day. It wasn't your fault," I started vaguely but he stopped me by stepping closer, his body towering over mine.

"I know that, but I can also tell that you've had more than the average share of bad days," he said and I looked away. Why did he have to start this conversation in the middle of the hallway? And why did it bother him? Even if I liked to think otherwise, the only two people I'd ever seen Ivan show real concern and affection for were Mikhail and Alexei. At moments, he only seemed to put up with me because of them.

"Why do you care Ivan," I asked, and I sounded tired to my own ears. He had an incredulous expression on his face when I looked up to meet his eyes.

"Do you really think I go out of my way to apologize to just anyone," he asked and a small grin lifted up the corner of my lips. An identical expression appeared on his face but quickly disappeared. Next time, I'd have to bring a camera if only to capture that millisecond of time when his walls were lowered.

"I just don't want to see you like that again," he said seriously. I opened my mouth to assure him that it wouldn't, but he stopped me, his finger coming up to pause just in front of my lips. His finger didn't just stop my words, but my breathing as well and I felt my body slackening a bit in his arms that were now holding me up completely. Where had this sudden heat between us come from? My lips were tingling and he wasn't even touching them, but somehow that was enough.