Page 62 of Withered

“Please, just call me Caleb,” he says.

Jake raises an eyebrow, throwing daggers my way, and I feel goosebumps rising on my skin.What the hell did I do?

I give Professor Caleb a tight smile. Talk about awkwardness. At the same time, the professor’s phone rings. “I have to go,” he says after checking it. “Rose, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

When he walks away, I mumble "Bye." Staying here now that Jake is here is pointless.

I grab my things in a hurry to leave, and Jake asks, “Where are you going?”

“Back to my house.” I start walking when he catches my wrist. He pulls me back and pushes me down on my seat.

“What the hell?” I grit my teeth in annoyance.

He rolls his eyes and asks, “Who was that guy?”

“Are you deaf? Weren’t you listening?”

“Don’t call me that. I was certainly paying attention.” He narrows his eyes.

“Then don’t call me a nerd or uptight.” I raise my voice, anger rising inside me again. Jake loves to bring out the one emotion in me that I detest the most.

“Is this all about that?” He asks.

“What?”

“You left me in my mum’s café because I said that stuff to you.”

“Yes,” I say.

“So what? Isn’t that what people call you?” He states.

“Yeah, so?” I ask.

“Then why only shout at me?”

Although I have overheard people call me a nerd, I never felt anything. Why only him? Did my words just backfire on me?

“Because I proved it to you. Not to them,” I stammer, irritated with myself. This entire conversation is useless. Why do we always fight?

I pick up my latte and drink it, hoping the caffeine will calm my nerves. When I’m near him, I can’t think clearly. He has this powerful aura around him that destroys my brain cells.

He is looking away from me and down under the table, but I can’t see because I am short.

“Are you done?” He is amused.

I hum in response.

“Let’s get you home,” he says this, standing up.

I stand up and state, “I can go by myself.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he says, walking towards the door.

I follow him and walk past him in powerful strides.

“Oh, not happening.” I hear him say it behind me.

He snakes an arm around my waist so quickly that I lose my balance, but he steadies me. When I gaze at him, his face is so close that my eye level is almost at his lips.

---