chapter4:WHO IS TREX

I dropped the cake last night. I didn't even care where it fell. I was so angry and confused that I just climbed into bed like that.

But I couldn't sleep at all. I kept tossing around. The next morning, I woke up and my head was still full. I was still remembering last night and everything that happened in that hallway.

Then it hit me. Oh my God, I had class today. I jumped up from the bed and rushed to the bathroom. I took my bath quickly and tried to wash the memory of last night away, but it was still there.

I wanted to feel good today. I wanted him to see me different. So I wore a very tiny short, the one that exposes my laps completely.

Oh my God, when I looked in the mirror, I look so hot in this short. I paired it with a small sleeveless top. I wore my glasses and I packed my long hair up so my back would be fully exposed.

Then I heard Mom calling from downstairs. "Mila! Come down for breakfast!"

My stomach dropped. Breakfast meant I would see him. I walked slowly down the stairs, one step at a time. My heart was beating so loud I thought everyone could hear it.

And then our eyes met. He was already sitting at the dining table with his coffee. His eyes felt different from yesterday. Yesterday they were dark and angry, today they were soft and he was looking at me like he had never seen me before.

But I won't lie, his eyes are beautiful.

My Dad looked up and smiled. "My baby, you look beautiful today." "Thanks Dad," I said and kissed him on the cheek. I sat down opposite him, opposite Andrel.

Our eyes met again across the table. I quickly removed my eyes and looked at my toast. My hands were sweating.

Then my phone buzzed on my laps.

A message from Andrel. He was sitting right in front of me, but he was texting me.

I opened it under the table.

"Keep looking down. If you look at me like that again in front of your Dad, I won't be able to stop myself

I froze. My breath caught. My whole body got hot.

I didn't reply.

I locked my phone. Slowly, I looked up at him across the table. And I bit my lip.

His eyes went dark,and a shiver ran down my spine. My whole body felt strange. Tight. Hot and cold at the same time.

Then my mom broke the silence. She placed more eggs onto my plate and glanced at me.

"Mila, how's school? Is that boy from your department still bothering you?"

My heart sank.

My dad looked up from his newspaper and added, "You mean Trex? The boy who keeps calling her?"

I froze. Why did they have to bring him up now? And right in front of him?

I felt the atmosphere at the table shift instantly.

Andrel's expression changed. The soft, unreadable look he had been giving me just seconds ago disappeared. His jaw tightened,he set his cofee cup down a little too hard against the saucer, making a sharp clink.

He looked at my mom, his voice low and controlled. "Who's Trex?"

My mom sighed. "Just some boy from her school. He has a crush on Mila and doesn't know when to quit. He keeps calling her, following her around campus. Mila doesn't like him at all."

I stared down at my plate, my cheeks burning. "Mom, it's nothing. I already told him I'm not interested.

But I could feel Andrel's gaze on me. Intense. Unmoving. He wasn't smiling anymore. He wasn't acting like my uncle in that moment he was looking at me like a man who didn't like hearing that another man was chasing what he was starting to want for himself.

He didn't say another word. He just kept staring at me, and I knew with absolute certainty that he was going to ask me about Trex later. When we were alone. When my parents weren't around to interrupt us.