Chapter 2

Laura

I did not hear the car at first.

The fountain was doing that soft water sound and the wind was picking up a little. I had my eyes half closed. Just sitting there with my knees pulled up and my chin resting on them. Thinking about nothing. Thinking about everything.

Then I heard it.

A low rumble. Not like a regular car. Deeper. Meaner. The kind of sound that made you look up before you even decided to.

I looked up.

A black Bugatti was pulling into the roundabout. I did not know cars that well but I knew that one. Everyone knew that one. It was too expensive. Too loud. Too much for a high school visiting day.

My first thought was who the fuck drives that here.

My second thought was gone because the car stopped and the doors opened.

Two men got out first. Not men. Guards. They were wearing dark suits and their eyes were moving everywhere at once. Scanning. Checking. The way people check a room when they are used to being ready for something bad.

They glanced at each other. A quick look. Like they were saying something without words.

And my chest tightened.

I did not know why. Nothing had happened yet. No one had even looked at me. But my body knew something before my brain did. My hands went cold. My stomach dropped. I stopped breathing for a second.

The guards stepped aside.

And he got out.

I did not know who he was. Not yet. But I knew he was someone. The way he moved. Slow. Easy. Like the world moved for him, not the other way around.

He was tall. Dark hair. Suit but not stiff. The top button of his shirt was open. No tie. He looked like he had just finished something important and decided to show up here like it was nothing.

His face was hard to read. Not mean. Just blank. The kind of blank that made you want to know what was underneath.

He did not look at me at first. He looked at the school. The building. The windows. Like he was calculating something. Then he looked at the guards. Gave a small nod.

One of the guards said something I could not hear.

Then he turned.

And his eyes landed on me.

I felt it in my chest. A punch. Not painful. Just sudden. Like missing a step on the stairs.

He did not look away fast. Neither did I.

For a second we just looked at each other. Him by the car. Me on the fountain. The whole world got quiet. No water sound. No wind. Just his eyes on mine.

He was older. That was obvious. Not old. Just grown. The kind of grown that made boys like Rick look like children.

I should have looked away. I knew that. It was rude to stare. Weird. A girl sitting alone by a fountain staring at a man who clearly had guards and a Bugatti and better things to do.

But I could not look away.

His mouth moved. Not a smile. Just a small shift. Like he was amused by something. By me maybe.

That broke the spell.

I looked down at my hands. They were still cold. My heart was beating too fast. I could feel it in my throat.

What the fuck was that.

I did not know him. I had never seen him before. He was probably nobody. Just some rich dad here to pick up his kid. That was all.

But my body did not believe that.

I heard footsteps. Not toward me. Toward the building. The guards were walking ahead. And him. He was walking too.

I looked up again without meaning to.

He was passing the fountain now. Close enough that I could see his hands. Big hands. Clean. One of them had a ring on it. Silver. Simple.

He did not look at me this time. His eyes were straight ahead. Focused on the doors.

But something happened.

He slowed down.

Just a little. Just for a second. Like his body wanted to stop even if his brain said keep going.

Then he kept going.

The guards held the door open. He walked inside. And the door closed behind him.

I was alone again.

The fountain was still running. The wind was still blowing. The sky was still that color between blue and orange.

But something was different.

I felt different.

My hands were shaking. Just a little. I pressed them between my knees to make it stop.

Who was he.

Why did my chest tighten when the guards looked at each other.

Why did I not look away.

Why did he slow down.

I pulled out my phone. No new messages. My parents were still not here. I did not care anymore. I could not remember why I was waiting.

I thought about his eyes. Dark. Steady. They did not rush. They just looked. Like he had all the time in the world to figure me out.

I thought about his hands. The ring. The way he walked. Like nothing could touch him.

I thought about the way he slowed down when he passed me.

That meant something. Did it. Maybe I imagined it. Maybe I wanted him to slow down so my brain made it happen.

I did not know.

I hated not knowing.

I stood up from the fountain. My legs felt weird. Wobbly. Like I had been sitting for too long but I had only been out here for maybe ten minutes.

I walked toward the building. I did not want to go back inside. The common room was loud and crowded and Rick was in there with his easy laugh and his habit kisses.

But I wanted to see him again.

The man in the suit. The one with the guards and the Bugatti and the eyes that did not look away.

I pushed open the door.

The hallway was empty. Quiet. I could hear voices from the common room. Laughter. Someone calling a name.

I walked slow. My shoes squeaked. I hated that sound.

I turned the corner.

And there he was.

He was standing by the vending machine. Alone. The guards were not with him. He was just standing there looking at the snack options like he had never seen a vending machine before.

He heard my shoes.

He looked up.

And his eyes found mine again.

This time he did not look away first.

Neither did I.