Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Space Between Us : Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 8

The first thing I learned about Great was that he had absolutely no respect for other people's property. The second thing I learned was that he looked annoyingly good while doing it. I stood at the entrance of Lecture Hall B, staring at the stranger occupying my seat. My seat. The seat I'd been sitting in since the beginning of the semester. The seat I'd chosen because it was close enough to the lecturer for me to hear everything, but far enough from the front that I wouldn't be volunteered for every question. And now some guy was sitting there like he had paid rent. I tightened my grip around my notebook. "Excuse me." He didn't move. I cleared my throat. "Excuse me." Nothing. He was staring down at his phone, one earbud hanging loosely from his ear, completely oblivious to the fact that I was standing directly in front of him. I tapped the edge of his desk. He finally looked up. And for one stupid second, I forgot what I wanted to say. He had the kind of face that wo

The next morning, I arrived on campus determined to prove something to myself.Great Williams did not affect me.Not his stupid smile.Not his irritating confidence.Not the way he'd looked at me under that umbrella yesterday.Nothing.I walked into the lecture hall, dropped my bag onto my usual seat, and opened my notebook.Two minutes later, someone sat beside me.I didn't look."Good morning."I recognized the voice immediately."Morning."Great leaned closer."You sound disappointed.""I'm not.""You didn't even look at me.""I don't need to look at you to know you're here."He chuckled."Interesting."I finally turned toward him."Where's my notebook?"He placed it on the desk between us."Good morning to you too."I grabbed it."Thank you.""You could at least smile.""I am smiling.""That's not a smile.""Then stop looking at my face."He laughed.I tried not to smile.I failed.He noticed.Of course he did."There it is."I immediately looked away."Don't flatter yourself."Be

I didn't sleep.Not really.I spent most of the night staring at my ceiling, replaying the phone call in my head.Stay away from Great.The voice had been deep.Calm.Too calm.There had been no anger in it. No hesitation. Whoever had called me hadn't sounded like someone trying to scare me for fun.They had sounded like someone who knew exactly what they were talking about.I turned onto my side and pulled the blanket closer.Maybe it was a prank.Maybe someone was jealous of Great.Maybe Vanessa was behind it.That thought made me sit up.Vanessa.She was the first person who had warned me about Great.You don't know what kind of person he is.And now someone else was telling me the exact same thing.Coincidence?I didn't believe in coincidences anymore.My phone lay beside me on the bed.I stared at it.Part of me wanted to call Great.The other part reminded me that he had already given me more questions than answers.So I didn't.Instead, I closed my eyes.My phone vibrated.I ju

"Chisom, if he's telling the truth, then the man who raised you wasn't the only person your mother lied about."Great's words hung in the air.I stared at him, waiting for him to take them back. Waiting for him to laugh and tell me it was a terrible joke. Waiting for anything that would make the ground beneath my feet feel solid again.But Great didn't smile.He looked as frightened as I felt."What does that mean?" I asked.My voice sounded unfamiliar, small and weak, like it belonged to someone else.Great rubbed his hands over his face. "I don't know everything.""Then tell me what you know.""Chisom—""No." I stepped away from him. "You don't get to do that. You don't get to stand there and tell me that my entire life might be a lie and then say you don't know everything."He opened his mouth, but I wasn't finished."That man called me by my name. He looked directly into the camera and said he was my real father. You watched the same thing I did, Great. And now you're telling me t