Chapter 130: Trying to Avoid

Everything changed after the incident in the park a few days ago. Everything felt different, and I realized that nothing would ever be the same as before.

The next day, I chose to remain silent. I tried to force myself not to ask anyone about Kenn’s condition. Even so, in the end, Dara still told me that Kenn refused to be taken to the hospital or the school health unit and chose to leave just like that.

"Frel, honestly, I felt so sorry seeing Kenn yesterday," Dara shifted her seat closer to me in the classroom. "He was in terrible shape, Frel. There was so much blood at the corner of his mouth, it even got on his uniform. But when we tried to take him to the school health unit or the hospital, he just coldly refused. ‘No need, don’t worry about me,’ he said, and then he left without even looking back."

I only stayed silent as I listened to Dara chatter about Kenn’s expression when I left him. The sharp gaze filled with pain, the tightly clenched hands to channel his emotions, and the drops of blood that he completely ignored.

Yet once again, I chose to remain silent. I put on a blank expression and did not respond to her words at all.

Tomi, who had been listening all this time, finally let out a long sigh. As his cousin, he certainly knew that stubborn nature well. "Frel, just trust Kenn. He’s fine," Tomi said briefly but firmly. "Kenn is strong, not as weak as you think. Once he says no, it will stay that way forever."

Tomi looked straight at me, as if he could read the anxiety in my eyes. "What he really needs is you, Frel. He needs your presence. That’s a cure more powerful than any hospital for him."

"I don’t know what to do, Tomi," I replied softly while lowering my head, avoiding both of their gazes.

When the boy they were talking about walked into the classroom, I froze. My gaze became unfocused. The bruise was still there.

I wanted to cry, but I held it back. I wanted to touch and treat his wounds, but that was impossible for me to do.

His steps remained calm as he walked toward me. He stopped beside Dara’s desk. Kenn looked at me intently, the corners of his lips pulling into a faint smile. As soon as I realized he was about to speak, I quickly turned my face away.

"I’m fine. Don’t worry, I’m still here," Kenn whispered as he passed me, his voice filled with deep bitterness.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a glint of disappointment in his eyes. I pressed down my own feelings that were growing more and more suffocating in my chest.

I didn’t want him to be hurt even more.

In the days that followed, I avoided Kenn even more. On the other hand, Kenn kept trying to get close to me, while Kevan became overly protective of me every single day.

He often contacted me to ask many things. What I was doing, where I was, and even who I was with at that moment. Not just once, but many times every day.

My phone vibrated again for the tenth time in an hour. "Baby, why did you only read my message? Who are you talking to right now? Send me a photo of your surroundings, I want to know who you’re with," Kevan demanded through a text message that made my fingers tremble.

Even in the school corridor, Kevan wouldn’t let me walk alone, not even to the restroom. "I’ll wait right here. Be careful, okay," he said while crossing his arms in front of the girls’ restroom door, making other female students look at me strangely.

Even though every word he said to me sounded gentle, I still felt that there was always pressure and demands behind it.

That restraint became even more noticeable when we were in the cafeteria with his friends. Kevan kept holding my hand, even while he was eating with his other hand.

"Kevan, let go for a moment. I want to drink," I asked softly.

"Use your left hand, or I’ll feed you," he replied without even turning his head.

Ari and Alvin, who were sitting across from us, exchanged anxious glances.

"Kevan, I think you’ve gone too far," Ari said carefully. "Frel also needs space. Don’t act like you’re imprisoning her."

Alvin nodded in agreement. "That’s right, Kevan. You’re at school, not in a war zone. Loosen that obsession of yours a little."

BANG!

Kevan slammed the cafeteria table, making several plates clatter loudly and drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "Just shut up! Mind your own business!" Kevan snapped, his eyes turning red. "I know what’s best for my girl. Just because you’re my friends doesn’t mean you can control how I take care of Frel!"

"But we’re just trying to advise—"

"I DON’T NEED ADVICE!" Kevan cut in again, his voice rising an octave. "If you interfere one more time, don’t expect us to be able to sit at the same table anymore!"

Ari and Alvin fell silent. They lowered their heads and continued eating in the suffocating silence. I could only bow my head in embarrassment, feeling the stares of so many pairs of eyes fixed on us.

I felt this was too much. I felt distrusted. My freedom was being taken away. Little by little, I could go crazy!

Time passed quickly, and soon the semester exams arrived. Kevan and I now entered the classroom of XII IPA 1. Inside the room, many students were already seated in their respective places according to the numbers they had received. The desk-pairing system at this school turned out to be almost the same as at my previous school. One room contained two different classes. Just like now, my class was combined with Kevan’s class.

"What number did I get?" I murmured while looking at a small laminated square paper displaying a number in my hand.

I scanned every empty desk in front of me. There were so many senior faces I didn’t recognize yet. Tomi and Dara were nowhere to be seen; maybe they were in the next room. Then, accidentally, my eyes collided with Kenn’s dark eyes.

I found Kenn staring at me openly. His gaze seemed to be focused only on me. I stood frozen. The noisy atmosphere in the room suddenly felt distant and faded away, as all my attention was fixed on him alone.

I felt the grip on my fingers tighten, and I flinched. Realizing Kevan’s presence beside me, I immediately broke my gaze from Kenn.

I quickly turned to Kevan as our intertwined fingers slowly loosened. Kevan smiled, then firmly wrapped his right arm around my waist.

I gasped as I felt his embrace grow tighter. It was as if he was showing his ownership over me.

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