Chapter 2

"What do you want, Amanda?" I snapped out of her grip. Now I was no longer a little girl to be intimidated by.

"with what right do you approach my boyfriend like that and want to defend him as if the girlfriend were you? Locate yourself"

"I just ..." Actually she was partly right, Kaleb was nothing of mine and I had come as if I had rights to him. I actually cared about him and acted on instinct nothing more. "I wanted to be nice." I crossed my arms.

She laughed.

"Well, it's the last time you get close to him or else next time you'll see them with me, Cristinita, and I don't care that your father is the..." She was silent.

"My father what?"

"I don't care if your father or mother later come to claim me, you have been warned." She shoves me and passes me, back to the cafeteria. I followed them. Inside was an uproar.

"Cris!" —Maia approaches me carrying my bag— what happened?"

"Nothing, what happened to Kaleb?" I looked over her, there were more guys that were separating them, we got a little closer to get a better view. The others had separated them. I was surprised by what I saw, Kaleb had a lot of blood on his face and the other guy almost nothing. The rude boy who still didn't know his name looked me straight in the eye, he was panting and furious, very furious that he even scared me. His gaze gave me chills, it's like he's looking at me with... hatred.

His eyes were so dark that they surprised me and then they looked familiar to me but I couldn't identify where. The boy got out of the grip of the others and walked towards me, but he passed me giving me a little push. What was happening? Because I didn't understand anything.

Kaleb was looked after by his friends, but it seemed like he was fine. The other boy's friends followed him.

"Liam!" One of them called.

What's his name Liam...

At that the bell rang announcing the entrance to classes.

"Come on, we don't have anything else to do here."

I didn't want to leave Kaleb, he wanted to go there and heal him, but he couldn't. Also, until now I was realizing what I did, I knelt in front of Kaleb Gray in front of everyone and even his girlfriend. What is Kaleb going to think of me now? I'm dying of shame.

So I ran away from there long before he saw me.

•

"Thanks for bringing me, Dad," I tell him.

"I wouldn't let you come alone," he tells me, "how was it today?" We got out of the car.

"Good," I replied somewhat subdued.

"I know it didn't go well for you," he says, putting his arm around my shoulders as we headed toward the house. "Tell me, let's see if I can help you."

I don't really know if I should tell him what happened, but I have a lot of confidence in him. Yet I feel sorry for it.

"Is that today...

"finally arrive!" Mom leaves the house a mess. It was all dirty and full of flour. She looked so funny.

"Mom, what happened to you?" I almost laughed.

"I tried to bake some cookies but it didn't work out," she pouted as she approached Dad like a little girl throwing a tantrum.

"Carolina, you know that you and the kitchen are not the best of friends," he says, "but I told you to wait for me," he reproached her.

"I just need to learn to do my own thing," she says.

"Always stubborn, but what if the three of us go to dinner today?"

"Yes, please, I don't recommend going into the kitchen right now," she says with some dissimulation.

That means the kitchen was a mess.

"You go, I'm really tired and I need to do homework." I entered the house.

"Safe?" My father asks.

"Yes, Dad, have fun."

"It's okay. I'll go change and then we'll go. "She gave my dad a peck on the lips and went up the stairs.

•

While I was watching TV and eating some strawberries, I heard a knock on the door. It was two hits. Smooth and slow. I looked at the clock and noticed that it was ten at night. Who will it be at this hour? I stood up and headed for the door.

"Who is?" I raised my voice a little. I was a little scared to be honest, my parents were not there and who knows who it will be at this time.

But no one answered from the other side.

"If you don't tell me who you are, I won't open the door," I said again. But the two slow blows returned. Okay, this seriously scared me. I took my phone and wanted to dial my dad, but I stopped. I would not do it. I was too old to defend myself.

Also, I should start to be a little braver and stand up for myself. I was no longer a little girl. I took the doorknob and opened it. But there was no one outside. A gust of icy wind made me hug myself and close. So I locked the door this time. I turned around to go back to my place but gasped at the man in front of me. And not just any man.

"Liam," I said his name without thinking.

"Good. You found out my name" He smiled half satisfied. And then I remembered the fight.

"What are you doing here? How did you go inside? At what time...?" I looked from him to the door. I'm hallucinating?

"You should lock all the doors." He winks at me and heads into the living room. To my living room.

"Hey! Still! I don't know you and I don't know why you are in my house. Go away please" I stood in front of him but at a considered distance. I hated that Liam was so sexy that I even felt a little nervous if he approached me.

"I was walking through the woods and I saw you." Look at my house very carefully.

"How did you see me?

"The window, Cristine."

"Anyway, what do you want?"

"Nothing about you," he says, "what could you offer me?" He approaches me dangerously.

"M-my parents are coming," I said and wanted to slap myself for being nervous. So I cleared my throat.

He laughed.

"Nervous, Cristine?"

I need to find my voice!

"You're crazy, I don't even know you." I walked away.

"Then why are you getting like this?" He approaches again.

"What do you want of me?" I dared to ask. He was thoughtful.

"Everything. I discovered something interesting, Cristine.

"Oh yeah? What thing?"

"I discovered that you are mine" breath "and what is mine nobody touches it"