42. Thinly-veiled threat

After having dinner at that old classic diner last night, Julian had taken her back home as promised. He'd safely led her to her front door, even making sure that she'd gotten in and locked all of her doors and windows, seeing as her parents were once again running late; being caught up with work as always.

She'd ran herself a nice and hot bath like she'd originally planned to, trying to relax her sore muscles and overwrought mind. It didn't work though. She'd tossed and turned all night, too restless to even close one eye. She hadn't gotten a wink of sleep.

There was something odd about the way that Julian had uttered those words. Like he knew that something bad was about to happen. Something very very bad. It made her feel so uneasy, despite his words of reassurance.

It didn't make it any better either; the fact that she'd noticed him keeping an eye on her ever since. He'd been at his window when she checked, climbing out of bed to have a look outside as she couldn't sleep anyway.

And now he was trailing after her on his bike, following her to school. He could've overpassed her car. Multiple times. Yet he chose not to. Tailing her until she arrived in the school's parking lot.

She hastily climbed out and locked the car, pretending not to notice him. She wasn't too thrilled about the idea of being seen with him there anyway. She had to keep that pretence. Acting as indifferent as possible towards him.

She hurried to the front entrance, keeping her head down even though she could definitely feel his presence, trailing right behind her. Like a dark shadow. A some sort of bodyguard. Her fingers curled tighter onto the strap of her bag, rushing to get to the girls' changing rooms. Where she could finally rid herself of the menacing shadow. Breathe, if only just a little.

She was about to turn when she suddenly found herself slamming into a mass of dark blue, staggering a few steps back. She timidly looked up, her heart jumping as she noticed Mike staring down at her with a menacing look on his face. He opened his mouth as if preparing himself to yell something nasty at her when his gaze suddenly flittered past her shoulder. His aggressive stance abruptly faltering.

Still, he stepped closer to her, jaw clenching as he quietly spat in her ear,

"You're lucky now that he's still here. But we'll see about that after the pageant, when he'll be gone and you'll be all alone again,"

Her breath hitched. Eyelids fluttering as she watched him retreat. Blinking from the staggering shock and fright.

"What did he say to you?" She startled, quickly whirling around. Eyes wide and lost as she peered up into Julian's. Noticing that brewing storm within them.

"Lydia," he calmly uttered her name. A desperate attempt to gain her attention. Make her speak. But she only shook her head and turned back around, refusing to say anything. It would've made no difference anyway. Mike was right. Julian was not going to be present at their classes anymore after the pageant. She will be all alone again. Meaning that she would be forced to deal with anything that was going to come her way by herself. Plus that she didn't want for Julian to make a scene like he did the last time Mike tried to touch her. That could've only drawn unwanted attention.

So she chose to just ignore him altogether and continue her way to the girls' locker rooms, her footsteps rushed. He thankfully didn't try to pester her again.

**

All changed and ready, she hurried and entered her classroom. Gaze unintentionally slipping to that corner where Mike usually hung around as that weird encounter in the hallway was still plaguing her mind. She happened to look just in time to notice him fixating her with a look full of disdain. She rushed to look elsewhere. What was his problem? Why did he seem so pissed again all of a sudden? What did she do? She couldn't help but wonder, gaze cast downwards and dejected as she made her way towards Sebastian.

She thought that he'd let go of that grudge. Moved on from that sick distraction of tormenting her. *Apparently not*. Maybe he'd been just patiently waiting. Bidding his time. And now that Julian only had three days left to work here with their teacher, he was preparing himself. Readying to start again.

She could only blow out a tired and saddened sigh at the thought of that, barely having any energy at all for the upcoming session. She was drained. Mentally and physically. She could barely force out a smile even as Sebastian kindly greeted her, casually falling into their usually chatty routine as they started to perform their stretching exercises. But she forced herself to go on, knowing that there wasn't anything else she could do at the moment. She had to continue working to build her future after all.

She let Sebastian grab a hold of her leg and keep it upright for one minute as he continued to talk about some fancy shoes, absently nodding throughout the whole one-sided conversation. Her gaze sneakily darting to Julian. Noticing that murderous look in his eyes as he gazed exactly where Sebastian's hands were touching her body. She blinked and looked away, feeling her cheeks pinching with heat a little. Remembering what he'd told her last week. About him hating the sight of another man touching her. It wasn't like she could do anything about it after all. Sebastian was her dance partner. Nothing less, nothing more. Whether he liked it or not.

They continued to do their warm ups, the girl barely listening to her partner's rants as she occasionally let herself drift away. Thinking about a special place. Pretending for just a few moments that she wasn't actually there in that studio and instead she was floating in an empty space. Away from everything. And everyone. Safely tucked away from this chaotic mess of a life she was currently living. A place where the input of her parents in her life didn't exist. Or the menacing presence of her ex-boyfriend. Or Julian's complicated background.

They could've been so happy, had he been a totally different guy. Someone with less tattoos. A totally different attitude and with less...family issues. Someone her parents would've liked and approved of. Someone... That wasn't him.

But then...she...wouldn't have liked him as much. She faltered and blinked as realization suddenly dawned upon her. She wouldn't have felt as attracted as she was to him. Those sexy tattoos covering his body. The way that he could make her feel. Those hot piercings. That bad boy attitude of his that had drawn her in in the first place. That sweet gentleness that he had treated her with. All those special things that made him...him. All that wrongness that felt so right to her.

She wanted him. No one else and only him. And it pained her. So damn much that she wanted to just scream. Rip her hair out. Tell her parents that they could just take all those money they were paying for her tuition and lifestyle altogether and shove them where the sun doesn't shine. That she was quitting. On everything.

Sadly, she knew that was not possible. She was too much of a coward for it. To give up on her parents' support, for him. She was way too dumb to survive on her own. Too much of a pampered little girl. Too stupid for life in general, like Mike had told her so many times before.