Page 77 of Shadowed With Fear

I shrug. “Yeah, I mean, I’m staying with him right now— “

“What?” His head snaps at me.

“Yeah. Brahm…has to leave for a few days and with those girls missing, he felt better knowing I was staying with someone, so.”

Issac scoffs. “You couldn’t stay with Liz, or your dad? You have to stay with him?”

“It’s easier. He lives a few minutes away. It’s not that big of a deal,” I mutter, eying him.

“Have you forgotten he’s the reason you got attacked last year? He just left you on the side of the road!”

I’m speechless. “I don’t blame him for that. You know that, Issac. And besides, he didn’t leave me, I got out of the car.” I watch him, jaw tensing, eyes heated. “How did you know that anyway? I don’t think I told you.”

He pauses, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. He takes a deep breath, eating another M&M. “Liz told me what happened that night. I was worried about you.”

I nod. “Everything’s okay now. Between me and Grayson. Me and, well, the world I guess.” I laugh nervously.

“Yeah,” he mutters.

Then it’s awkward. It seems like most of the time, my interactions with Issac end up this way.

I glance at my phone and curse, pretending I’m late. “I got to go. I have a meeting with a professor…Um, office hours. I’ll see you later.” I stand grabbing all my stuff as he watches me intently.

“Alright. I’ll see you at lunch or photography.”

“Um, yeah! Bye!”

I rush away from the plaza, trekking up the small hill between the science and math buildings. I can go there and wait for class to start at least. As I’m making my way up the sidewalk, the feeling of someone watching me stops me in my tracks. I turn, expecting to see Issac still watching me from the table, and I do. But he’s not the only one. From where I stand, I can see behind the large oak tree Issac was pulled behind, and there, standing with a smirk is Ethan. He wags his fingers in a taunting wave.

I turn around, quickening my pace.

No matter how much I hate math, I’d rather spend the whole day in that building than another second with Ethan’s stare freezing the back of my head.

Grayson

Dahlia walks through my front door with the ease of someone who has been doing it for years and not three days. I like the sight of it. Her wild curls in a halo of golden light shining behind her in the doorway. She looks like she belongs here in the cream-colored walls of the living room and kitchen, in the midst of framed photographs I took. She looks at home.

Thankfully working as a freelance photographer has given me the ability to make my own schedule, so for the last three days of Dahlia staying here, I’ve been home as much as humanly possible. Waiting for any chance I can to spend time with her.

“Hey, D. How was school?” I ask peering over my shoulder standing at the stove.

“Good, good. I called Liz during lunch. Told her that my masked savior stopped coming around, but that’s fine because me and you have made up and everything’s just peachy in Dahlia World.” I chuckled at her sarcasm.

“What’d she say?”

“She was heartbroken I wasn’t living my ‘gothic romance fantasy’ but she said she would be supportive although slightly disappointed if I decided to go the romcom route with the brother’s best friend.” She grins at me amused and I snort, shaking my head.

“Whatcha cooking?” She slumps into a chair by the table.

“I’m making nachos.”

She moans. “God, nachos sound so fucking good. I haven’t gotten to eat today.”

“Why not? You should be eating, sweet girl.”

Her cheeks turn that lovely rosy color I love to see. “It was…weird today with Issac. I don’t know what’s going on there, and Liz was home. She skipped and I didn’t want to have another awkward meal with Issac, so I just studied during break.” She lifts her shoulder unphased, but my brows crease in concern.

“Still though, you could’ve gotten a snack or something,” I mutter. I look to the left at the pantry, walking over and scanning the inside before landing on a couple of granola bars. “S’mores, peanut butter, or chocolate chip?”