Olivia’s POV
In school, I was completely restless throughout the day. I always found myself looking over my shoulder, trying to make sure that nobody was following me. I was scared, almost to the point of paranoia.
I did feel better last night when I was with Andre, but now, I am alone. All my fears rushed back into my head, and my heart was hammering wildly in my chest.
As I looked around, everyone looked suspicious. Every staring eye and every whispering lip seemed to spell danger for me.
I had tried my best to keep my relationship with Andre as secretive as possible. But now, the cat was out of the bag. Where had I been careless? Was it when we made out in the meadow? Was it our continuous car escapades? Was it our little shopping spree?
I frowned and thought again. It was most likely the shopping spree! Somebody had been watching us and the person had taken a picture and sent it to my mother. There was no way that it was just a coincidence.
Someone was telling Andre and I that things could not continue like this. This person knew who I was, and it was only a matter of time before he or she came to find me.
I spun around and looked around the school again. It was all getting to my head, and I felt that I was losing myself. What was going on? What was I even doing?
I suddenly felt a light tap on my shoulder, and adrenaline blitzed through my body. I jumped in fright, nearly falling down to the ground, but a hand held me and pulled me upright.
I turned to see who it was and saw Jaxon staring at me, quite confused.
“Are you all right, Olivia? It seems that I scared you pretty badly. Is everything okay? Did you see a ghost or something?”
I was breathing rapidly, and my hand was on my chest. It felt like my heart had stopped and started beating again, and I was trying to calm myself down.
“I’m… I’m just feeling a little uneasy. I’ve just had a lot to think about, and I didn’t know when you came up behind me. For future reference, please don’t do that again.”
Jaxon smiled at me, and I was puzzled about why he was grinning so widely.
“Well, if you are feeling uneasy, I have the perfect solution.”
I seemed even more confused.
“Really? And what is this perfect solution of yours?”
“There’s this great cafe shop I know that’s just around the corner. My sister works there, and she makes the best lattes that you have ever tasted. How about we go there and allow my sister to work some magic? She will help soothe your nerves.”
I was silent for a while, and when I opened my locker, I saw my timetable. I had a free period before lunch. I could definitely spare some time to hang out with Jaxon. It was the best idea since I didn’t want to stay alone. It was better I stayed with a friend.
“Sure, I think that’s a great idea. How about we get going?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” He said to me with a wink.
We both grabbed our bags and headed out of the school premises. It didn’t take long, and soon, we were at the cafe.
I got us a table while Jaxon went to speak with his sister and get our orders ready.
Though I was with Jaxon, I still felt a little uneasy, and my eyes kept darting around the cafe, looking at every face and trying to notice anything suspicious about them.
“Our coffees are here.”
“Arggh!” I said, jerking slightly from being startled again by him.
He placed the tray down and took a seat in front of me.
“Olivia, are you sure you’re okay?”
I nodded quickly and tried my best to get my composure.
“Yes. Yes, I’m fine. I am really sorry for startling you.”
I took a cup from the tree and marvelled at the beautiful latte art of a flower that Jaxon’s sister had done on my coffee.
“Wow. This is beautiful. How did she learn to do these.”
It didn’t take long for a conversation to build between us, and soon, we talked about various topics. He told me about his sister and his family while I told him about my dad, my old pack and my mom.
Jaxon was very soft-spoken despite being one of the popular kids in school. He was also a very good listener.
“Well, last night at the party, if your mother didn’t tell us that you were actually her daughter, I would have thought that you were a fraud because you look nothing like her. You must look a lot like your father.”
I smiled, and my mind drifted back to my time with my dad. I hadn’t noticed it at first, but as I grew older, I realised I didn’t look much like him either. That was quite strange.
“Yeah, sort of.”
He leaned in closer, and I looked at him quite surprised.
“I know that most of the people at school are already acquainted with each other. But you can always talk to me if you are lonely or out of place.”
I smiled at him, and he passed me his phone.
“How about I get your number so that we can talk more?”
I suddenly realised that I wasn’t with my phone.
“I’m sorry, but I left my phone at home.”
He beamed pleasantly and put his phone back into his pocket.
“That’s all right. If you ever want to talk, I can always drop by. Everyone already knows where you live.”
I beamed lightly at him and then excused myself for the bathroom.
I entered a stall, and when I came out to wash my hands, I saw a note stuck in the mirror. I gasped and looked around again. Maybe it wasn’t for me. That was what I wanted to think until I saw my name signed at the bottom.
“I guess one isn’t enough for you?”
I gasped, and I saw my face go pale in the mirror.
“What the fuck!”
I looked around nervously and checked all the other stalls, but they were all empty. I was alone in the bathroom. Who could have left this note here?
I snatched the notes from the mirror, shoved them into my pocket and dashed out of the bathroom to Jaxon.
“Olivia, what…?”
“Jaxon, we have to leave. Now. Let’s take our coffee and go. We need to get back to school.”