10. A closer look at her

NOAH

I could tell that Damien was glaring at me from my peripherial view but I didn’t give a fuck about him.

I was seated at the back seat and so was he and beside me. Instead of his attention to be on the board, it was on me and I acted like I didn’t notice.

That’s the most he would be able to do. He can’t do anything to me.

Astrid entered the class, and everyone’s attention was on her. I’m guessing she just came from the headmistress office.

“Leave.” The teacher said to her.

“I was with the headmistress Mr. Steve, I…”

“You are still late. Not an excuse so leave the class.” Mr. Steve cuts her off.

“I…”

He cuts her off again. “I’m not going to keep entertaining you and as you can see, you can’t keep the class waiting so leave.”

She bows her head and walks out of the class. Curious to know what her discussion with the headmistress was, I followed her out of the class.

“And where are you going?” Mr. Steve asked but I didn’t give a fuck to answer him.

I went after Astrid and by the time I got to her, she was crying again.

“Do you always have to cry?” I chided, my tone coming off a little harsher than I anticipated.

She wiped her tears and my wolf scolds me for speaking to her that way. That was never my intention but she doesn’t make it easy for me every time she cries because I didn’t like seeing her cry.

“What is it?” She asked.

Instead of asking her what the headmistress said to her immediately, I pulled her with me up the rooftop so that she could get some fresh air.

“Where are you taking me to?” She asked.

“I need you to take a deep breath.” I said.

“What are we doing here?” She asked.

“Why don’t you shut up and appreciate nature?”

She does as told. I noticed how she closed her eyes, took in a deep breath and exhaled. She didn’t open her eyes after some seconds and while she had her eyes closed, I couldn’t help but watch her.

She was beautiful. I knew that she was but seeing her this closely on a broad day might just show a side of her that I never saw.

“Do you feel fine now?” I asked, clearing my throat and looking away from her.

She nodded her head. “Yes. I’m fine. Thank you.”

“You know, it’s not like I love to cry.” She said after a few seconds. “I should be used to the harsh treatment. I should be used to the pain. I should be used to all of this but my eyes keep failing me. That’s just the only way I can express myself.”

“What did the headmistress say to you?” I asked.

“How did you know that she was calling to ask me about what happened to me? Also, do you know who kidnapped me? Where did they take me to? Are you somehow involved?” She asked all in one breath.

“What did you say to the headmistress?” I asked her, ignoring her questions.

“I told her what you said to me. She said she needed to know to protect me. That the life of the other students might be at risk and it’s important I let her know so that she can protect the others but I told her I couldn’t recall because that was the truth. If anyone should know, it should be you.” She answered.

“Good.” I put my hands respectively in my pants pocket.

“Where was I taken to and what happened to me? Please tell me. Why was it taken? Is the life of others in danger too?” She asked inquisitively.

“You are safe now, that’s all that matters so forget what happened that day and if you like what’s good for you, you’d leave this academy.” I informed her.

“What?” She gasped in shock. “You want me to leave? Do you think it would be easy for me to leave? This is my hope. This is…” she trailed off as her voice almost failed her because she was close to crying again.

I couldn’t tell her the truth because that would mean blowing my cover and I didn’t know her that much to determine if I should give her a hint.

“What are you not telling me? What do you know and who are you? Where are you from?” She asked.

“The less you know, the better it would be for you. If you don’t want to get hurt then you’d leave and if you don’t want to leave then you’d learn how to fight because that’s the only way you will survive. I won’t always be there to save you and I hope you know that.”

She looked at me frantically. Each time she opened her mouth to say something, she’d end up closing her mouth.

She sighed deeply. “I don’t want to leave. I can’t leave because as I said to you before, I have nowhere to go and this is the only place I have.”

“I already have plans for my future. If I’m able to graduate with good grades, then I will get the scholarship to continue my education, that is I’m going to be close to surviving in this cruel world.”

I became curious to know more about her life and what she might be going through but I don’t push it. I just kept shut, looking at her.

“If you know that you cannot give me the answers to what I want to know then you might as well don’t tell me to leave.” She said before walking away.

“It’s going to be hard Xan. She’s not going to make it easy for me.” I said to my wolf.

“How can I protect her when she won’t leave?”

“You are right. I have a soft spot for her and she’s beautiful.” I admitted to myself with a smile on my face.