Chapter 82 SOMETHING'S OFF

Chapter 82 SOMETHING'S OFF
OWEN'S POV

Something was so fucking wrong, and I could almost taste it at the tip of my tongue. The worst part was that she wasn't telling me anything. Or she didn't want to tell me, rather.

The look that Derek was giving me from the side told me everything as well.

I ran a hand through my face, trying not to lose my mind. I cared about her so fucking much. It was quite a shame that I couldn't bring myself to tell her that.

To tell her that I had managed to find my way into her room almost a hundred times, trying to see if she was going to turn up somehow.

But she didn't. And every single person didn't even know a thing about her. Not even her best friend, Carina.

Iris looked the same and sounded the same. But there was something underneath. A different kind of energy that I could feel coming off of her.

I held out my hand for her to take, and she looked at it like it was going to hurt her.

I could feel the hurt rolling off me like steams.

“I'm not going to hurt you, Iris,” I whispered, and even Derek was looking at their, waiting for her reaction. Something had definitely happened between the both of them. They were fighting tooth and nail the last time, and now, they're suddenly so close that she seemed comfortable coming to school with him. I couldn't even wrap my head around it.

She finally dragged her eyes away from my hands. “Of course,” she said in a slightly hoarse voice. “I knew you weren't going to hurt me.”

My lips were pressed into a thin line at that. I extended my hand for her to take again, and she did this time without hesitation.

I squeezed my fingers around hers, and she gave me a small nod and a smile.

“You didn't call me,” I said, and she pressed her lips into a thin line.

“I know.”

“You didn't reply my texts either,” I said.

“I know,” she said again.

“I came looking for you countless times.”

“I know.”

That was enough reason for me to suddenly stop in my tracks and turn to face her. She stopped as well.

“Iris,” I started.

Just for a split second, I could see something flicker in her eyes. It wasn't light or shadow.

It was something else. And the second I saw it, it disappeared.

What the fuck?

I narrowed my eyes, hoping that it was going to appear again. But it didn't. Nothing of that sort happened.

She pressed her lips to a thin line again, and that was when. I turned back, noticing that Derek had been following us the whole time.

“I'm sorry,” she said in a whisper, and I could tell that she meant it. Her eyes were fixed to her shoes, and I was forced to tip her chin, making her look at me.

“You don't have to be sorry,” I muttered, and she gave me a small nod.

The fact that she had apologized didn't make things any better. I wasn't even angry with her to begin with. But I couldn't be okay with the fact that she had disappeared for what was turning into weeks.

It took a lot for me not to turn back and ask Derek to leave us the fuck alone. His hands were stuffed into his pocket, and he was starting to look a lot like a third wheel.

Iris didn't even seem to mind. She was comfortable having him there. I wasn't about to ruin whatever connection that they were both having.

This was when I remembered that she was supposed to get engaged to him. She didn't somehow agree to any of that, did she?

I looked down at her finger, and I noticed that she had her ring back on.

No, no, no. She wouldn't do that. She knows that Derek wasn't even the right person for her. She couldn't make that mistake.

Not after everything that he had done. She suddenly forgave him? It was hard to wrap my head around.

Yes, Derek Nashe had enough money to get her anything she wanted, by Iris wasn't the type to be bought over with gifts.

She couldn't have suddenly changed.

“You haven't answered my question,” I finally said. “What happened to you?”

The look on her face told me that she wasn't even going to answer my question. The question hung there in the air between the both of us.

This time, I was the one stuffing my hands in to my pocket. Something way worse had happened, and I didn't even know what was going on.

Iris opened her mouth over and over again. She wanted to explain something, but she couldn't even bring herself to say it. I didn't know if that broke me more than it was supposed to.

She was definitely carrying something heavier than her own mouth could say.

I looked over at Derek. If the both of them had gone missing together, then he should have the answers if she didn't.

“You know what happened to her, don't you?” I asked, and he gave me the small shake of his head.

“If she wanted to tell you what's happened to her, then she would. You don't have to force the truth out of her.”

That was enough for me to run my hands through my hair.

What the fuck was he talking about?

“You know you're just being an asshole, right?” I asked, and he cocked his head to the side.

“I'm just protecting Iris,” he said, and I couldn't even help but click my tongue.

I was just about to say something else when someone bumped right into Iris, and the girl apologized, before running to her class. Just before Iris turned to look at me again, there was something that shone in her eyes.

The same color as before. And this time, I was forced to freeze.