Chapter 27: New Title.

Melissa's POV.

Immediately after Lex and Selena left us up there at the balcony, I fixed my gaze completely on Landon. A lot was running through my mind, but I managed to find my voice after a few seconds of blankness.

"Landon, I don't know why you do this, but I guess I owe you an apology, not just for this but for what you did earlier today. Thank you," I muttered; my voice was slow and uncertain.

I was confused and slightly mad at him for thinking he could play with me.

"Didn't you say that we were going to keep a safe distance from each other? "What then brought you up here disturbing my peace?" he asked, looking away from me.

"You mean to ask who it was that dragged me up here and wanted to disfigure my face?"

I saw him smile, but it quickly faded away before I could take a proper look. He looked different when he smiled; it was almost as if what I had said was amusing, even though I did not see how funny it was.

"You know you should really avoid Selena; she can do anything for Lex. Even though he doesn't give a shit about her, she is always pressing for a romantic relationship between them, and I don't think you can compete."

His voice was gentle and concerning, very different from the way he spoke to me earlier that morning; it was almost like the way he spoke to me in the library the previous day, and I was beginning to believe again that he was concerned.

"Compete? Who's competing with whom? I mean, why would I ever compete with Selena over Lex? Why would I do that?"

I couldn't tell if it was something about my tone or the expression on my face, as he kept smiling at my words.

"I already told you, you are different, Lisa, and I wouldn't be surprised if he comes for you. I only need you to know that it is not going to be easy for you in here, and aside from Lex and Selena, you will have other enemies, people who are too loyal to the both of them that they would automatically see you as an enemy."

"Tell me about it, Landon. I mean, the whole school threw stuff at me the other day; they even dropped dead animals on my desk."

I straightened my skirt as I tried to take a step away from the spot where I was standing the whole time, but I felt a sharp pain.

I was like a thunderstrike climbing up my body right from my foot, and that was when I recalled the moment Selena was dragging me up the stairs and I cracked my ankle.

"Ouch!"

The pain was so unexpected and sharp that I couldn't hold back the scream.

"What's wrong?" His voice came almost immediately as he i rushed over to my side staring my face.

" i don't know Landon, I think I injured my foot while being dragged up here."

My tone was casual, almost as if I was feeling nothing, but the pain was cutting deep as I struggled to find a painless balance.

"With the way she dragged you up here, I'll be a little bit surprised if you didn't break a bone."

He squatted right beside me, gently massaging the area of my left ankle.

"What are you doing?" I asked even though it was obvious what he was doing; he was trying to help me relieve the pain, but he was in no position to do that.

"Why? You're not going to let me touch you because I'm not Lex?"

I couldn't tell if he meant that for real or if he was only trying to play around, but it didn't come well to me.

Despite the pain I was feeling on my ankle, I pulled away from him forcefully staggering some steps back before maintaining a balance as I stared directly at his face while he slowly stood from the ground where he squatted.

"You think I am not haunted by that too? You really think I'm so proud of letting a random guy fuck me on my very first day and also take my virginity in such an unimaginable way? If you really think that I'm happy with that, then get the fuck away from me. I've always known that you were never going to be much different from Lex; you both are the same kind of people. You feed on others' weaknesses and think you're superior to them every single time."

My eyes betrayed me as tears began to cloud them. I stopped speaking for a second, thinking I could hold it in, but it came rolling down my cheek, and I could feel it.

He stood there like a mannequin, staring at me the whole time as I spoke. I sniffed and began to wipe the tears off my face with the back of my palm.

I didn't wait any second longer as I began to stagger towards the stairs to the hallway, but every step I took with my left foot caused me so much pain, I couldn't help the wincing.

"Lisa, stop, stop, you're going to make it worse by forcing yourself to walk," he said from behind me.

His voice was close, and I could tell he was walking behind me.

"So what? Is it like you are going to carry me or something? Keep your distance from me, Landon; I've had enough from you."

I thought I had warned him to back off, but without warning, he carried me in his arms completely off the floor, and I was staring so closely at his face as he held me up in his arm. My face completely flushed.

"Put me down," I managed to whisper.

"Just hold on; we'll get your leg treated."

He carried me through the long hallway to the clinic, and at the sight of him, the nurses started rallying around me, acting with so much more care than the last time I was there alone.

"Will she be okay? Do I really need to sign this?" Landon accessed the next one, which presented him with a sheet of paper asking him to sign his consent for my treatment.

"I've signed it," he said, handing over the paper to the nurse.

"Is she really your girlfriend?" The nurse seemed obviously shocked at the contents of the form that Landon handed over to her, moving her gaze from the paper to Landon and then to me with wide eyes.

"Girlfriend?" I asked too, looking up at Landon.