Worst days

Aria pov

"Did... did the almighty Blake Reed just walk up to me?" I whispered under my breath, my hands trembling as I hugged my notebook tightly against my chest.

My heart was doing violent backflips against my ribs. My cheeks felt like they were literally on fire, glowing a deep, unshakeable pink. I sat alone at the library table, staring at the empty chair across from me, completely unable to wipe the silly, giddy grin off my face.

"What on earth just happened?" I murmured to myself, leaning my hot forehead against the wooden table. "He walked up to the real me. Not the anonymous texter. Not a profile picture. He saw me sitting here, came over, and offered to tutor me!"

It felt like a sweet, incredible dream. For months, I had been watching him from the top row of the ice rink, feeling completely invisible, convinced that a guy like Blake would never notice a girl like me. And now he noticed me. Oh my gosh!

I took a few deep, shaky breaths, finally gathering my courage and my heavy books. I stood up, adjusting my oversized sweater over my hips, feeling a sudden surge of lightness in my step as I made my way toward the library exit.

As I walked past the quiet study cubicles in the far back corner, my eyes accidentally caught a dark, familiar silhouette sitting by the window.

It was Jaxon.

He was sitting completely still in a high-backed leather chair, his broad shoulders slumped forward, staring blindly at the glass. He wasn't on his phone. He didn't have any books open. His face looked hollow, pale, and completely drained of life, his sharp gray eyes fixed on the gray sky outside.

I froze for a second, my chest tightening with a sudden, unwanted pang of pity.

I remembered the explosive argument at the dinner table last night. Today was the anniversary of his mother's death, the day his father had so carelessly dismissed, choosing to go on a tropical vacation with my mother instead. Underneath all his cold, vicious armor, Jaxon was just a heartbroken boy grieving the loss of his mother alone in a giant, empty world. I knew that exact hollow feeling, and for a brief moment, I felt genuinely sorry for him.

I took a soft step back, intending to slip away quietly without disturbing his peace.

Thump!

Out of nowhere, a high-pitched, exaggerated scream echoed through the quiet aisle.

"Ahhh! Oh my gosh!"

Before I could even process what was happening, Chloe slammed hard into my side. She threw herself onto the cold linoleum floor with a dramatic, crashing thud, scattering her designer handbag and lip glosses everywhere.

I gasped, staggering backward from the sudden impact. "Chloe? Are you okay—"

"My leg! Oh my god, my ankle!" Chloe shrieked at the top of her lungs, grabbing her left foot and rolling around on the floor as if she had just been run over by a truck. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes, completely fake and practiced. "Aria, you crazy monster! You just slammed right into me!"

Students from nearby tables instantly popped their heads over the dividers, gasping and whispering.

"I didn't hit you!" I protested, my hands flying up in shock. "You ran straight into me!"

"You crushed me!" Chloe sobbed hysterically, pointing a trembling finger up at me while holding her foot. "You walked right into me like a blind bull! I heard my bone crack! Oh god, my ankle is definitely broken!"

She looked up at the gathering crowd, putting on the performance of her life. "She's so heavy she literally knocked me off my feet! Look at what she did to me!"

Before I could defend myself, a heavy, suffocating shadow fell over me.

Jaxon had stormed out of his corner. He didn't look at Chloe. He didn't check her ankle. And he didn't give me a single glance or ask what actually happened. He just stepped directly into my personal space, his face twisted into a terrifying mask of pure, unadulterated rage.

"What the hell is wrong with you, you fat pig?!" Jaxon roared, his voice booming through the silent library like thunder.

The entire room went dead, terrifyingly silent. My heart dropped straight into my stomach, my face burning with a brutal, agonizing rush of shame.

"I didn't touch her—"

"Shut your filthy mouth!" Jaxon screamed right in my face, his gray eyes flashing with lethal venom. He stepped even closer, towering over me, forcing me to back up until my spine slammed against the sharp edge of a wooden bookshelf. "Are you blind, or are you just so massive that you don't realize when you're crushing people under your heavy weight?!"

A few students in the crowd let out quiet, cruel giggles.

"I didn't do anything!" I pleaded, my voice trembling, tears burning behind my eyelids as I clutched my heavy textbooks like a shield against my chest. "She threw herself onto the floor!"

"Do you think anyone believes a word that comes out of your pathetic, gold-digging mouth?!" Jaxon spat, his voice dripping with pure disgust. "Look at you! You walk around this school like a clumsy, oversized disaster, ruining everything you touch! You don't belong here, Aria! You're an eyesore to this entire university, and I am sick and tired of looking at your miserable face!"

The humiliation was a physical blow, stealing all the air right out of my lungs. Tears finally spilled over my eyelashes, burning hot tracks down my cheeks.

"Jax, my ankle hurts so bad," Chloe whimpered from the floor, batting her eyelashes, enjoying every single second of my execution. "She did it on purpose because she hates me!"

Jaxon’s icy glare narrowed on me, darker and more ruthless than I had ever seen it before. He pointed a long, commanding finger directly down at the hard, cold floor at his feet.

"Kneel," Jaxon commanded, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous growl that sent a terrifying shiver straight down my spine.

My breath caught in my throat. "What?"

"You heard me, pig. Kneel down right now," Jaxon hissed, his hands clenching into tight fists at his sides. "Get on your knees on this floor and beg Chloe for forgiveness for being a brainless, heavy monster. Do it right now, or I swear to God I will make sure you and your mother are kicked out on the street by tonight!”