Chapter 18 CHAPTER 18: Close Enough to Burn

Chapter 18 CHAPTER 18: Close Enough to Burn
Elizabeth''s POV 

I wasn't supposed to feel safe. But that was the problem. I actually felt safe. And I didn't know how I was supposed to build my walls again. Remind myself that I was alone in this school. 

My eyes slowly fluttered open, and I took in the feeling of my room. I was back to the loneliness, but the first thing I remembered was Andy's arms around me. How unnecessarily warm and safe they felt. 

And how firm they felt against my skin. It felt a little too familiar feel something that we didn't even have. 

I forced myself to a sitting position immediately. It had to be the sleep. Or the tiredness. What kind of thought was that?

But it did nothing to calm the heat that I was feeling at the bottom of my stomach. 

I was in that school to live and survive. I wasn't supposed to go past those two things. I wasn't supposed to feel more than that. 

Getting back into a sitting position did nothing to help. 

I could still remember the feel of his hands against mine. He was more than reassuring. I could still hear the pounding of his heart beat in my ears. The way he didn't even hesitate to hold me. And the way he held me like I was something delicate. Like I wasn't the girl that was about to be taken by three weird looking creatures. 

It made me feel fragile for just a while. It made me feel delicate. 

I hated that it even mattered to me. But when was the last time that someone held me that kind of care? I couldn't even remember. 

A part of me wanted to fill in the things that would have happened after I collapsed. He would have carried me in his arms, and someone from the hostel would have seen it. I was so sure of that. 

It didn't matter. None of it. What mattered was that I was alive. And I was well. 

I managed to force myself to the bathroom. Why couldn't I push away the thought that I needed someone to be there and watch me? After all, I was in the bathroom when I felt the energy calling out to me. 

I stared at myself in the mirror, and I tried to breathe. It was getting harder as I looked at myself. 

But then, I wasn't there to keep looking at myself. I was there to go to class. And after everything that happened yesterday, I wasn't supposed to go to school. But my grades mattered. And I didn't see a school that cared about grades as much as this school did. 

I had my bath, tying my hair in a ponytail. A hairstyle was one of the things that I didn't want to even bother myself about. Not right now. 

As I slipped into my uniform and put on my shoes, I felt slightly better about myself. I sniffled, heading out of the hostel. 

The hallways were empty, and I couldn't help but smile. It had to be a good day. 

By the time I got to the school building, the first person I saw was Andy. He was in the corridor, talking to two vampire seniors. 

There was something about the way he was standing. Very controlled. Like the school was beneath him. Like nothing happened last night. 

That just showed how oblivious the other students were. They didn't know what had happened. But that was for the better. 

I turned to leave. 

“Elizabeth,” I heard him call out, and I stopped without a second thought. It was a little too fast. Like I had been waiting for him to call me. 

I closed my eyes, as I lived in the self embarrassment in my head. 

I turned around to face him slowly, taking in his features. It was the first time I was really looking at him and…

Did that touch change the way I thought?

He took a step towards me. It was a little too close. 

People were staring for goodness sake. 

“You collapsed,” he said, and I swallowed hard. 

“I didn't,” I answered. “I was just tired.”

“You did.”

I exhaled slowly. He obviously wasn't going to let this go. 

“I'm fine.”

“No, Elizabeth,” he muttered. “You're not fine.”

I didn't even know what else I was supposed to say. I stood there, and the silence stretched. His eyes were fixed on me. 

“Why did you come last night?” I asked in a whisper. That was the first thing I thought about the second I saw him. He wasn't supposed to be there. I didn't even know how he managed to feel me. Or to know the right place. 

The same went for the other two. 

“Because I don't ignore threats,” he said shortly. That was the perfect answer, if I was being honest. 

But I still went ahead to press my lips together. “Is this what I am to you?” 

“No,” he answered quickly. “That's what they are to you. No one exactly has you in their best interest. At least not within the four walls of the school.”

I nodded at him. It took a lot for me not to ask him if he was going to be there for me when I was having my own issues. 

Maybe… just maybe I wanted someone that was going to fight for me. And I couldn't push away the thought that he was going to be more than capable. 

The three of them were more than capable. 

I shook my head at the thought. 

“Maybe we can have lunch together some time,” Andy suddenly spoke up, and my head jerked up faster than it was supposed to. 

Gosh, could I stop doing that?

“Maybe,” I replied, pressing my lips together. “And Jasmine?” 

Andy cocked an eyebrow. “I knew you were worried about her. You didn't even mean to do what you did.”

He knew exactly how I was feeling, and the things that I even meant to do. 

Well, that was fucked up. 

“How is she?” I asked, and he gestured towards the hospital building. 

“She's surviving at least.” he said, and I felt myself feeling slightly relieved. “And you don't have to worry about it. She won't be coming after you either.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “You think I'm worried about her coming after me?” I asked, and it took a lot for me not to burst out laughing. 

She was one of the last things that I was worried about. 

The few minutes that I had stood there made me feel the lightest that I had felt in the last few months. 

It was a little too wrong. 

“I should go now,” I said, instead of my usual method of just turning around and heading out. 

Even he cocked an eyebrow. “Very well then. I'll let you know when we can have that lunch.”

“Of course,” I said, looking at him. I was the first one to look away. 

With the way he was looking at me, there was every possibility that I was going to start believing the things that he was saying. 

And that wasn't even one of the things that I wanted to do.