Page 7 of Silent Desires

“Back off, shit head, I saw her first,” Brad angrily replies while squeezing me closer. My face scrunches in pain. His hand is just above my injury and it’s taking everything in me not to throw up.At least I’m not sobbing, I think as I watch my tears carry themselves silently to the ground.

“What the fuck? She isn’t a lost item you can claim. And you’re hurting her, so I will ask you one last time to get your filthy mitts off of her before I make you.” He says all of that without shouting, but I can sense the anger radiating from him. I want to look at him, but I’m afraid of him turning his anger on me.

“I’m not hurting her, she likes it. She’s my girl, right, babe?” Brad squeezes me again and I can feel his eyes on me.What do I do?If I disagree, I’ll probably be in more trouble, but I don’t want to agree. I don’t want to be his anything.

The guy in front of me squats down to put his face level with mine, but I make sure to keep staring at the ground, avoiding his eyes.What does he wantfrom me?

“Sweetheart?” he asks softly, his tone so much gentler than the one he used on Brad. I still don’t know what to do, so I squeeze my eyes shut tight.

“She doesn’t want to fucking talk to you man, you’re making her uncomfortable, just get out of my way!” Brad responds angrily, trying to angle me away from the new guy.

“Sweetheart, just look at me for a second. I won’t hurt you, I promise.” He sounds so gentle and sweet I can’t stop myself from opening my eyes to look at him. As I tilt my head up, I’m shocked by his familiar gorgeous face and the concern I see there.

Forget what I said about Brad being big.This guy is huge.He makes Brad look like a toddler. His brown hair is pulled back into a bun, and his green eyes seem familiar. In fact, the more I look at him, the more his whole face seems familiar.

Jasper?No, it can’t be, Jasper’s had short hair, and this guy is wearing his hair in a messy man bun. I have to admit, both versions are highly appealing.Oh!This guy must be Jasper’s twin! I stare at him with wide eyes while he smiles softly at me.

“Thank you. Now just tell me, do you want to go with Brad?” I only have to think for a split second. Jasper had been nice to me and his twin makes me feel like I can be honest right now and won’t get punished for it. Although I know hope has never been my friend before, I decide to take a chance and shake my head once.

The gorgeous man smiles at me, then stands up as the smile drops from his face and he looks at Brad again. “Drop the arm. NOW.” He says it so forcefully, I find myself wanting to obey everything he says.

Brad huffs as he slides his arm off my shoulders. “Whatever. I’ll be seeing you again soon, babe.” I keep my head down but feel him trailhis thumb through the tear tracks on my face. I watch him in shock and horror as he sucks his thumb into his mouth. My eyes nearly bulge out of my head at the sight.

“Mmm… delicious,” he says with a wink.

“Don’t fucking touch her!” The twin snarls, shoving Brad’s shoulder and moving to stand between us.

Brad just chuckles, leaning around him to give me one last message. “I’ll be seeing you around, babe.” Then he gives me a frightening smile before he turns and walks away. My whole body trembles as I quickly wipe at my skin where he touched me. At first I thought he didn’t realize he was hurting me, but now I’m certain he didn’t just know, he loved it. He was literally tasting my pain.

My eyes start getting blurry at the thought. I can’t do this. It’s too much. I’d rather be locked in the basement than deal with guys like Brad. My breathing starts to quicken and I realize, too late, that I’m having another panic attack. Black spots start to invade my vision as my head grows dizzy.

No no no, not again!Not here on the steps to my new school! I fight to regain control of my breathing when a voice penetrates my rampant thoughts.

“.... me? Sweetheart, look at me, can you hear me?” I realize the twin who saved me is kneeling on the ground, holding my face in his giant hands.How long has he been touching me like this?I expect the fact that he’s got his hands on me to send me deeper into the panic attack, but it does the opposite. The feeling of his hands on my face helps to ground me. I grip his hands with mine as my breathing starts to even out, the dizziness quickly fading.

That’s when I notice his expression. He looks worried.Why is he looking at me like that?

“That’s it. Good girl. Breathe nice and deep. Yes, just like that. Good girl. Do you feel a bit better now?” I slowly nod my head once, not breaking eye contact with him as I try to puzzle out what he wants from me.

He pulls a tissue from his pocket and leans towards my face, stopping with it inches away. “May I?” he asks, looking into my eyes. I nod once and he gently wipes the tears from my cheeks, his expression looking worried again.

“There we go, as good as new,” he smiles as he stands up, tucking the tissue away.

“Is it your first day here?” I shake my head and hold up two fingers. He stares at my fingers with confusion for only a moment before he seems to come to some realization. Maybe he’s figured out I can’t speak. “Can I see your schedule?” I nod my head and pull my schedule from my bag and hand it to him, being careful not to jostle my arm.

He smiles at me warmly as he speaks. “I’m Max, by the way. Let’s get you inside, you must be freezing, where’s your coat?” He looks around like it might be laying on the ground somewhere, but I just shrug, unsure how to explain that I don’t have one. He seems to understand and turns his attention to my schedule instead as he grabs my hand and gently leads me towards the entrance.

“Hey! You’re in my math class! I didn’t see you yesterday. I guess you missed it, orientation or something?” he asks, glancing at me. I give him a simple nod.

As we enter the building, I realize he’s still holding my hand. It feels so strange. I thought it would make me feel trapped and restrained butinstead, it makes me feel protected and safe, like as long as he’s holding my hand, nobody else can get to me. I know it’s a stupid thing to think, especially when I barely know him, but sometimes you can’t explain your feelings.

As we walk through the halls, I gaze around at everything. Everyone is looking at me with wide eyes. Some appear interested, some seem angry and others are just smirking, like they know a secret that I don’t.

My mother’s voice echoes in my mind,eyes down, don’t interact with people! At that memory, my eyes immediately move to the floor and I don’t dare lift them until I hear Max speak.

“They are looking at me, not you,” Max whispers near my ear. I glance up at him with confusion, because that doesn’t seem right at all. He chuckles a little. “You see, I haven’t been here that long myself, and I have a bit of a reputation already for... not being known to... That is... I don’t really... Uhh... What I mean is...”

“They’re all jealous,” a girl cuts in from my other side, making me jump in surprise. I furrow my brows at her and she gives me what I think is a friendly smirk. Her pixie cut is dyed bright blue, and she wears a crazy amount of jewelry on her wrists and neck. Her bomber jacket is short and matches her hair color almost perfectly.

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