“Your shirt is covered in my tears,” I mumble, sniffling and taking a step back. My cheeks are blushing, partially from embarrassment and partially from having Brody so close to me. His scent lingers around me everywhere, wrapping me up comfortingly. It’s the kind of scent that causes your head to go hazy and stop you from thinking straight.
“Don’t worry, it’s just a shirt,” Brody says quietly, leaning back against the wall. I take the chance to study his outfit. He’s wearing a plain white shirt that sculpts his shoulders and arms perfectly. Underneath he wore distressed denim jeans . . . the definition of casual. Yet the outfit on Brody looks anything but casual.
My eyes travel to meet his and I suck in a breath, knowing that he’s noticed my wondering eyes. His own are shining brightly at me, holding a small glimmer of humour.
“Do you like what you see Bella?” He mumbles quietly, his lips twitching up into a smirk. My stomach flutters with butterflies and I look around at anything but him.
“Uhm— ”
What the hell do I say to that?
Brody silently pushes himself off the wall, walking towards me slowly. My eyes widen and I take a step back, feeling the bathroom stall press against my back. I swallow the lump in my throat and look up at Brody as he closes the distance between us. He slowly places his hand on either side of my face, caging me in.
“Uhm, B-Brody?” I stutter, my heart beating wildly against my chest. I can hear it pounding in my ears and Brody’s intoxicating scent isn’t exactly helping my state of mind.
“You didn’t answer the question,” Brody frowns at me playfully. The green in his eyes hold small flecks of gold and I find myself being sucked in by them, unable to tear my gaze away.
“I thought it was rhetorical,” I whisper back, feeling my throat dry up. Brody tilts his head slightly, his eyes wondering down my body and back up again.
“You look different today,” he says quietly, his voice a low murmur. I nod, grateful to be off the subject of his looks. He leans down so that his face is level with mine.
“You look beautiful,” he states, lips twitching up into a smile. My eyes widen further and I can feel my heart thumping faster against my chest, threatening to burst through any second. My hands are growing clammy with nerves and I drop my gaze to my feet, ignoring how close Brody is to me.
“Thank you,” I whisper. If Brody wasn’t so close to me he definitely wouldn’t have heard my words. His hand suddenly reaches towards my face and I don’t dare move an inch as he fiddles with the back of my hair. I feel his fingers find my hair tie and he pulls it down gently, releasing my hair.
It instantly falls around my shoulders, cascading down and framing my face. My hands are trembling and I’m afraid if Brody doesn’t create some distance between us soon, I’ll pass out. I don’t think I’ll ever be okay with having him close to me.
Brody leans in, his chest pressing against mine as his lips travel to my ear. I can feel his warm breath tickle the tender skin on my neck and I shudder, feeling my knees weaken and shake.
“Now you look exceptionally beautiful,” he whispers, his smooth voice immediately sending chills running through my body. The small hairs on the back of my neck stand up pin straight and I shiver, closing my eyes.
My throat is completely dry of any moisture and I know if I open my mouth to speak, no words would come out. Brody suddenly steps back causing me to blink in surprise as I open my eyes. He’s back to leaning against the wall a few feet away from me, his hands fiddling with my hair tie.
A frown settles permanently on my features as I study him —
Why is he acting like that never happened?
My hands are still shaking but Brody’s calm laid back attitude has me wondering whether I’d imagined the whole thing. I briefly glance down at my watch and notice I’m late to class, very late.
“My teacher is going to freak out,” I mumble, wanting to break the silence between us.
“Relax. I’ll say you were helping me with setting up the drama class for tonight’s show.” Brody responds, looking up at me from under his long lashes. My frown deepens and an uneasy feeling settles inside my stomach.
“But then people will know I was with you,” I say quietly, hoping Brody would realise the consequence of his words. I can’t be seen hanging out with the school’s most popular boy.
“What’s wrong with that?” Brody questions, his eyebrow raised high at me.
“Are you ashamed to be seen with me?” He adds, his tone serious. My eyebrows shoot up in surprise and I begin to stutter, hands shaking by my sides.
“N-no! Of course not! It’s embarrassing for you to be seen with me!” I mumble, feeling my heart ache from my loner status in school. I drop my gaze to the floor of the bathroom and fiddle with my fingers, feeling insecure. Brody lets out a scoff, his eyes turning a shade darker.
“You’re not embarrassing Bella. I don’t care about what anyone else has to think either.”
My eyes shoot up to study him and from the intense stare he’s shooting my way, I know he’s telling the truth. My frown depends, eyebrows creasing unattractively.
“You don’t care that you’ll be seen with the school’s weirdo? Freak? Mute?” I question him, my voice firm. I stand up straight, noticing the wobble in my knees has disappeared.
“You aren’t any of those things,” Brody shoots back, taking a step forward himself. His chest is rising and falling as he breathes and it’s my turn to tilt my head, study him intensely.
“I can’t be seen with you Brody,” I say quietly, sadness filling my eyes. My heart skips a beat knowing he doesn’t care whether he’s seen with me or not. He’s the first person in the entire school not to care.
“Why not?” Brody frowns further, taking another step towards me. He’s slowly closing the distance between us again and I can feel my nerves increasing the closer he gets.
“Because it’ll make everything worse,” I explain, hating the way things have to be. Damn Beatrice.
“You mean Beatrice?” He questions instantly, eyes burning holes through mine. I nod silently, my teeth gritted tightly together at the mention of her name.
“I can help you with that,” he responds and I immediately shake my head.
“No. I know you want to help but it’ll only make things worse. Please understand,” I beg him, pleading with my eyes. I know if Beatrice saw Brody and I hanging out together, she’d never leave me alone.
He’s part of the popular group, one of her. All of the popular’s either hate me, feel sorry for me or don’t even know of my existence. No doubt about it, the news of Brody and I would spread throughout the entire school and I’d have more attention then ever before. The thought alone is making me nauseous, threatening to bring up the eggs I’ve eaten for breakfast.
I can’t be put in the school spotlight, it would break me and ruin everything I’ve worked for. Brody is silent for a few moments, thinking hard about my proposal. He slowly nods, his eyes dropping to the floor in defeat.
“I understand,” he says quietly, his voice a low mumble. My shoulders relax at his words.
“You think it’ll make it worse, don’t you?” He asks me and I nod, my chest tightening. Moments of silence pass between us until I watch Brody stand up straight, his eyes lighting up. I give him a questionable look —
“What?” I ask him, intrigued at his new sudden thought.
“Who says people have to find out?” Brody smirks, taking another step forward. He’s so close to me, I can once again see the gold flecks shining in his green eyes.
“What do you mean?” I whisper, my gaze dropping to his lips. His tongue flicks out to lick his bottom lip before he speaks again.
“You, Bella Winters — ” he starts, his hand reaching up towards my face. His fingers linger over a strand of my hair and he wraps it around his finger loosely, letting it drop back around to frame my face. He opens his mouth to speak again, his voice a smooth whisper.
“From now on, you can be my blonde little secret.”