All Chapters of Beauty From Ashes : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

NATASHA'S POVYears Later, as a young woman and no longer the naive girl I had once been, I realized there had been so many signs.But I was too naive or too blind to see them. There had been signs, as red as scarlet and as big as billboards that told me just how jealous my best friend had been of me.Or how much she really didn't like me by the way she talked down on me or the words she said, insults masked as jokes just to put me down.Or how much she didn't care about me by how she forgot important things about me or laughed when others pulled me down.But I was a young girl, full of hopes and dreams, plagued by insecurities and esteem issues that didn't make me any wiser.I asked myself so many times now why I made all those excuses for her. Why I chose to ignore everytime she did something that wasn't nice.Or said something that cut a little too deeply. But she was my only friend for a long time and I didn't want to lose her.And somehow I felt grateful and perhaps too dependent

NATASHA'S POV I didn't hear from Layla at all by the time dinner rolled around.I wondered if she had gotten home and decided not to tell me anyway. Or maybe she forgot.But didn't she realize that I was worried? Wouldn't that be the only reason I would ask her to text me when she got back from Trent's?She was being careless again. What if she was in trouble? How could she even trust someone she had only known for two days?An elite by the way. What was she even thinking?I let out another sigh, forgetting I was at the diner table.I was picking my food and I kept checking my phone every ten second.My chest was tight and my stomach was in knots. I couldn't shake off the feeling of anxiety washing over me.“Nat, are you okay? You look anxious? Is anything the matter?” Mom’s voice startled me, pulling me out of my thoughts for a while.I stared at her, and I noticed the tired lines on her forehead and the bags under her eyes.Has she been going through a lot of stress lately? She di

NATASHA'S POV“Hey, Nat. What's up?” I turned and a smile broke across my face as I saw Patty walking towards me.She clearly just got here. Great. I could walk in with her to class.“Hey, Patty. You're here. Let's walk to class together.” I said cheerfully.She smiled and nodded as we started to walk to class together.She was looking at me, a wide mischievous grin on her face.“Ready to see your Professor today?” She asked with a teasing tone.I laughed and stared at her in disbelief.“Oh my God, Patty. You're unbelievable! My professor?” I asked, whisper _ yelling.She shrugged, as she strung her bag more securely over her shoulders.“Oh come on! I'm just excited about your crush. I have a feeling it's probably your first time.” She said.I blinked, thinking about what she said. You know…now that she mentioned it, I realized she was right.I had always been insecure about my size so I stayed away from boys in grade school and high school. All the guys in my class bullied me and al

NATASHA'S POV The rest of the day passed by in a blur after Professor Cain was done. I found myself wishing we wouldn't have any more lectures after him but we had two or three more that day. We saw Mr Melton again. He took one of the classes and later Patty and I would meet him for a course outline on the course. I was worried Professor Cain wouldn't wait for me and would leave by the time I was done. I had no idea where his office was either. I was a bit disappointed not to find him waiting outside the class or the gate. I didn't bother about Layla. I was coming to accept this would be our routine. I wouldn't see her in school unless we had a class together and I couldn't count on going home together. That meant taking a walk everyday after school or waiting for Layla. I didn't like the possibility of either. Before Patty left, I remembered to talk to her about having dinner with us. “Don't worry. My dad will drive you home once we're done.” I told her, before I remember

NATASHA'S POVThe girls were chattering excitedly amongst themselves while the guys pretended they weren't affected.But I didn't need to hear their conversation to know who that guy was.Peter Melton. I had locked eyes with him. As he walked past the door, our gazes had met.It didn't last more than a few seconds but in those few seconds, I felt something I had never felt before.Attraction. Electric, like it had been pulling us towards each other.What I felt for Professor Cain was nothing but an innocent crush but for Peter…it was attraction.Was I stupid to believe he felt it too? That kind of attraction was something two people felt.But that was ridiculous. There was no way Peter Melton was attracted to me.He was so…hot. And some of the girls were right. He looked like a foreigner.His skin…God, he was gorgeous. Those strikingly gorgeous blue eyes, the detail of his face.I supposed he was what they called a Greek god. I imagined if Zeus or Poseidon were a teenage mortal, they