Page 107 of Introvert

"Good," he said and took my hand.

We stepped on the bus with seconds to spare. Essie gave me a nod and off we went. But thetension never fully left Felix's eyes.

#

The next morning, I was making a bowl of cereal. Felix passed by me in the little kitchen area. I went to return the milk but bumped into him.

"Sorry," I said quietly, hoping not to wake anyone.

It had been a long night of driving, but at some point, we finally made it to our destination.The sun was just beginning to rise. Even with the air conditioning, Georgia's summer heat warmed the space.

"No problem," Felix said.

He didn't move back.

I looked up, feeling my heart rate accelerate at his closeness.

"Want some milk?" I asked.

"No, I'm good."

I swallowed as he leaned in.

Felix put his lips beside my ear and whispered, "Morning, princess."

"Morning," I said softly, closing my eyes and breathing him in.

It was another perfect moment.

Unfortunately, that shattered a second later when we heard arguing. It sounded close too. Like maybethey were right outside.

"What's that noise?" Hayden asked, getting up from his bunk and stretching.

"Don't know," Santio said with a yawn. "But it's too early to be that loud."

"So loud," London echoed.

As the volume increased, we could somewhat make out voices.

"Is that…Essie?"

We scrambled overto the window and peered outside. London was right. It was Essie and another person. Looked like she was having a face-off with a man. I didn't recognize him, but the others seemed to.

"Is that…?" Hayden trailed off.

"Yeah," Santino said and thew a nervousglance at Felix. "It's been a minute, but I think so."

"What are they saying?" Elliot asked.

Hayden put a finger to his lips, went to the front of the bus, and used the lever there to crack open the door. Suddenly, we couldhear exactly what was being said.

"You have to let me on," the man said.

"I don't have to do anything," Essie replied."It's my bus."

"Ah, come on."

"No."

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