Cruel Kisses (It's Just High School #2) - Thandiwe Mpofu Page 0,104

fucking,” he chuckles. “Call me later, okay, baby girl. Be happy.”

And with that, he ends the call.

So, since that call, I’ve been watching the two closely then I started to go in the gym with Julian. I somehow felt like I didn’t want him to be in there, alone.

To be honest, I’m the one who didn’t want to be alone. Not with how unpredictable my mind was.

Julian didn’t react when he walked in the gym and found me there. It’s like, he somehow knew that I’d come down here somehow. He quietly walked over to me the first time I started working out in here and kissed me senseless, then he left me alone to do my thing.

“You never listen to music when you’re working out?” I question now, as I watch his like a bitch in heat. God, he’s so sexy.

“I never want to be disconnected to what’s happening around me, so no music. I don’t want to be disadvantaged.”

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that there was a story there and for a person with a mouth like mine, a curiosity meter that could rival any fucking cat, I opened my mouth and asked, not really expecting an answer.

“Why?” I ask then swallow. He stares at me for a few seconds, as if searching my insides, looking for something. Like he’s trying to see whether or not I’m worth the vulnerable, most intimate parts of him.

“Because there was a day I tried drowning out the chaos and endless demands of this fucking world and it almost cost me both my brothers.”

Stunned into silence, I stare at him, my jaw somewhere on the floor of the gym. My stretches and poses forgotten, I watch helplessly as that empty look that he’s had for a long time enters his eyes again. Then he turns away, like we’re done with this, but we’re not.

“Julian,” I call softly, his name a strong connotation of safety and strength. “Look at me.”

He doesn’t respond so I drop the towel I was using to wipe away my sweat and walk over to him.

He’s tense and unyielding when I get to him but I don’t touch him. I’m well aware of how important space is when navigating dangerous trails formed in the mind.

“Julian, please look at me,” I whisper, desperate for that connection that we always seem to have even in the middle of a storm. Even when we hate each other, he’s still my raw connection, my anchor to this fucking universe. “Please.”

I’m not above begging. I need to be there for him as he’s constantly been there for me.

Slowly, he turns around, and I gasp as soon as our gazes catch and hold. There’s pain, utter, helpless, merciless pain in the depths of his eyes that brings hot tears to mine.

“What happened that day?” I whisper, stepping closer to him, knowing damn well that I’m going to be swept under the current of his turbulence, but I’m ready. I want this. I want him. “Please tell me.”

“You’re not ready for this,” he grits out, making me wince.

I don’t mean to react like that, but those words give me whiplash and raise my hackles.

“I’ve spent every single day of my life for the past two and a half years, living a lie. Watching my mother’s health deteriorate as my father lost everything due to poor financial decisions. So, don’t underestimate me, I don’t need that from you.”

“Mia…”

“Tell me, Julian,” I whisper. “What happened? You have nightmares about Aiden and that means you hardly sleep. Sometimes I catch you watching Liam like he’s going to disappear right in front of your eyes. I know you love your brother, adore him, but he’s not going anywhere.”

“He almost did!” He doesn’t shout or raise his voice, but I almost take a step back, the full force of his anger and suffering hitting me, but I don’t. I stay put. “You were there. You know that there are assholes out there who want to cripple me, take the only family I have away from me.”

His insecurities all come tumbling down. My heart aches for this strong man, but I understand him. I see myself in his eyes and the fact that I myself, am on the verge of losing my mother.

I reach up to grab Julian’s face with both my hands, knowing that I’m running out of time with him. If I don’t push him on this, he’ll shut down on me. “Liam is still here. He’s