Twenty-five: Listening to gossip

Aria’s POV

“You can’t keep running away,” Hailey voiced out but I ignored her.

Yes, I’d found an excuse to quickly escape from Shane’s presence when things started getting intense. I hated that I was always flighty around him, but I couldn’t help it. I could feel my body slowly giving in to the deep feelings that arose within me. Whenever I set eyes on him, my heart leaped and when he smiled at me, I could feel butterflies setting off in my stomach and I couldn’t even explain the warmth that always spread through me and the deep feelings of comfort that surrounded me whenever I was in his presence. But even at that, I was still struggling against all of these feelings.

“Not every man is like George,” Hailey spoke again, and I released a deep sigh as my shoulders slumped in defeat. For the first time, I acknowledged her words but my fear of falling into the wrong hands and landing into the same situation I’d barely gotten out of was far too great to let me believe those words. Instead,