CHAPTER THIRTY - FIVE

NICK WALKER ©

We had already left the house, and the drive was so very awkward. Neither of us said a word as the car moved through the morning traffic.

I sighed and turned my attention to the window.

My palms were sweaty. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened.

“Just drop me off here. Thanks,” I said when we reached the street close to my house.

I didn't want Avery finding out where I'd spent the night.

But Enzo didn't slow down, he kept driving and I turned to look at him.

“Did you hear me?” I asked but his eyes stayed on the road as he continued toward my house.

“Stop the car,” I said. Enzo glanced at me before looking back at the road.

“I can drop you off at home and drive you to school afterward,” he said and pulled up a stop in front of my house.

I groaned.

“Didn't you hear what I said earlier?” I asked. “I don't want my friend finding out about this.”

One of his eyebrows rose.

“Shouldn't I be the one concerned?” he asked. “I had my student at my house to take care of me.“ ”

I rubbed my temple. Enzo wasn't helping at all.

My hand stayed on the door handle, but I couldn't bring myself to get out as panic slowly crept into my chest.

“You can take your leave, sir. Goodbye,” I said as I opened the car door and stepped out.

The moment I stepped out, I froze. Avery was already standing outside the house.

Her eyes moved from me to the car parked behind me, then back to me.

She raised a finger and pointed at Grayson's car.

“You were with him?” she asked and my stomach dropped.

I turned around and found him standing outside the car.

Didn't I tell him to leave?

I rubbed my temple and let out a sigh.

“Let's just go inside and get ready for school,” I said, trying to pull Avery's attention away from the situation.

Before she could say anything, the front door opened and Mira came running outside.

The moment she spotted Enzo, her face lit up.

“Uncle!” She raced toward him and threw her arms around him.

Enzo smiled softly and ruffled her hair before lifting her into his arms.

“I've been asking about you,” Mira said excitedly. “Didn't my brother and Avery tell you?”

Enzo's gaze shifted toward me and I immediately looked away.

Avery walked over to me with her arms folded across her chest.

“Mind explaining what exactly is going on?” she asked and I let out a tired sigh.

“Avery,” I said, “can we talk about this later and focus on getting ready for school first?”

She narrowed her eyes at me but I didn't wait for her reply.

I quickly headed inside and made my way to my room to change my clothes to get ready for school.

∆∆

~ COLLEGE ~

The semester exams were approaching and would start in two weeks. Everyone had been busy, and that includes lecturers and students.

Most people spent their time in the library studying, and that included us. The only difference was that Avery and I weren't really reading.

I kept glancing at Avery, who sat across from me, waiting for her to ask the questions that were obviously running through her mind.

“You told me to ask Mr. Kyle, and I did,” I said with a low voice at last.

Avery finally looked up from her books.

“So how did you end up at Professor Grayson's house?” she asked.

“Well, Mr. Kyle took me there to...” I trailed off, unsure if I should complete my sentence.

Avery gave me a look.

“...to take care of him. I mean, I found out he was sick when I visited his office, but I didn't know it was that serious,” I said and she let out a quiet scoff.

“Then, you decided to sleep over?” she asked, and I quickly shook my head.

“I fell asleep last night, and I left my phone somewhere else. That’s why I couldn’t answer your calls,” I explained.

She nodded slowly and went back to her books.

I watched her for a second, then sighed.

“Why aren’t you saying anything anymore?” I asked.

“Because I have nothing to say,” she replied, still not looking up.

“Yes, you do,” I said, and she sighed.

I knew Avery well. She had a lot of questions, but she was holding them back.

“Well,” she said slowly, “you went to take care of the person you've been worried about. And you ended up sleeping at his place, Nick.”

I sighed.

“I slept there by mistake,” I said.

She nodded like she didn't fully agree, but she didn't push it. Instead, she went back to her reading.

Just then, my phone vibrated and I looked down at the screen.

Professor Rude:

“Mind coming over to my office?”

Is he having a fever again?

Why the fvck am I even this concerned about him?

I glanced at Avery, who was still reading, and sighed.

“I'll be back,” I told her and headed down to his office.

When I got there, I knocked on the door and slowly turned the doorknob.

But as the door opened, I paused.

Professor Douglas was already inside his office too.

She leaned close to him and adjusted his tie, then brushed off his shoulders when she noticed I was there.

I bit my lip. My chest tightened at the sight.

“I'll take my leave then,” she said.

I bowed slightly as she walked out of the office.

The moment she was gone, I looked back up.

Enzo and I locked eyes and my throat went dry.

“Why did you call me here?” I asked.

“To help in checking if all these papers align,” he said, dropping a stack on the desk in front of me.

“Why don’t you call other students?” I asked.

“Because you’re all I have,” he replied without looking up.

My heart jumped at his words.

He didn’t even seem to mean it in that way, so why was my heart reacting like this?

I swallowed and tried to steady myself.

“Are you feeling better already?” I asked after a brief moment of hesitation.

“Took you long enough to ask me,” he said, lifting his head to look at me.

“You were more worried about what your friend would say if she found out we spent the night together at my house,” he added.

“We didn't spend the night together,” I quickly said.

“We didn't?” he asked and my words were caught in my throat.

“Well… not like… not like what you mean,” I stammered, trying to find the right words.

He stood up from his chair and started walking toward me.

“What do you think I mean?” he asked, stepping closer.

My back hit the couch in his office as he stood over me.

I looked down at his trousers to avoid his eyes, unfortunately, that only reminded me what had happened at his house earlier.

My heart started racing again as he slipped his hand behind my neck.

Then the door suddenly flew open and a woman and two men walked in.

“I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Vadim,” the woman said from the doorway.

Enzo snapped his head toward her, his expression changing at once.

His hand slowly slipped away from my neck.

“Vanya?” he said and the woman took off her dark sunglasses.

“Hello, love,” she replied with a small smile.

The air between them felt tense as they locked eyes.

I stood there, frozen while watching them.

Who was she?

And who exactly was Vadim?