Chapter Twenty-Two

I closed my locker and was momentarily surprised to see Connor leaning beside my locker. "Hey". I greeted him with a friendly smile.

"What's up? I noticed you weren't in school yesterday". He scratched his neck somewhat embarrassed.

"Had I known someone would miss me, I would have fought all odds and been here". I teased him and a flush crept up his face.

"You can't put it like that. I only looked here and there because I had something—"

"You even looked for me?" I quirked an amused brow.

He stared at me a moment and turned on his heels. Laughing I caught the hem of the button down shirt. "Can't a girl joke around. We have English together right? Sit with me".

His face lit up then he masked it with an 𝘐-𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵-𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦-𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. "Well if it's you asking I can't say no".

With a knowing smile, I let him have the last word.

We were walking to our first period when I noticed a familiar blue green eyes glaring at me from across the hallway. The harshness of this glare stopped me from moving any further. I relaxed and rolled my eyes when I realized that it was Samson. Seriously, he needed to get a new hobby other than glaring at me. He pushed himself off the wall and began strutting purposefully in my direction, effectively slicing the hallway filled with busy people and never taking his angry eyes off me. I don't know how he did it but he kept me rooted to my spot when I felt like running away and hiding.

Connor's eyes flickered between Samson and I. "What did you do now?" The accusation rushed out of his mouth.

I eyed him somewhat hurt. "Why would you think I'm the offender? I didn't do anything".

"Really?" He frowned. "Then why does he looks like he caught you trying to poison his tea?" I gave him the look befitting someone who was being dramatic and he grinned.

"Never mind then. I'll protect you".

𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘩. I did not miss the bead of sweat that magically appeared on one of his brows.

Samson reached us and when I thought he was going to stop he kept on coming closer until he was 𝘵𝘰𝘰 close. I moved back and he moved forward again and towered over me shooting spears from his eyes.

"You do know what personal space is right?" I hissed at him.

"What's up, Bro?" Connor asked with forced glee.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?? Was bro one of Samson's name? I frowned at Connor. "What was that?"

The sweat on Connor's brow multiplied in numbers. "Uh..."

With eyes still on me, Samson growled, "Leave us".

"Huh?" Was the only thing I could say. It took me a moment to realise he said that to Connor and not to me.

Connor shifted awkwardly on his feet not wanting to go until Samson shifted the intensity of his glare to him and he immediately muttered a 'Sorry' to me and walked away.

Wow, talk about terrorism.

"Connor is your brother?" I asked sure that surprise was boldly written in my face in capital letters. How come I never knew this?

"When did you start talking to that loser?" He threw back at me, ignoring my question.

I sighed and said with great patience like I would to a toddler. "Connor is my friend and not a loser. Ask him yourself if you think you have a right to know. He's your brother after all". Having said that I made to walk away but the cocky part of me felt the need to pause and add, " You-don't-intimidate-me".

A squeal escaped my mouth as Samson roughly shoved his body into mine until I was backed up against a locker and trapped between his arms. Ignoring my screaming back, I quickly bent and made to escape through his under arms. But that escape plan went awry when he caught my hands with his much larger hands in a tight grip and roughly pushed me back to the locker, pinning my wrists above my head.

Another hit like this and my backbones were really going to lose it.

His broad chest whose outline I could see in his sweatshirt heaved up and down slightly brushing my boobs which were also going up and down following my harsh breaths. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴.

Going tomato red, I glanced up at him wondering if he was doing this intentionally. His glare had disappeared and was replaced my a more smoldering look. A look that made me nervous and panicky. I twisted my hands trying to release it from his tight grip but he only tightened it more.

"W-what are you doing?". I stammered weakly feeling my eyes sting. I didn't like how vulnerable I felt with him so close to me like that.

He tilted his head and whispered in my ear, his breaths becoming a bit ragged as it fanned my neck leaving goosebumps behind. " What about now, Princess?"

I could only stare at him, my mind was blank. "W-what do you mean?"

He chuckled softly and in that brief moment, it sounded like music. "Do I intimidate you now?"

I blinked at him still wondering what he was talking about and I finally remembered after acting like an idiot. "No". I hissed through my teeth. "You still don't. Let me go this instant".

He gave me that weird look that made me feel exposed, bare to him. I looked away not sure how to respond...not sure I could respond. His eyes lingered a few seconds more, before he quietly let go of my hands and ambled away. My wrists felt like a thousand pounds as they dropped to my sides. With my back still against the locker, I slided to the floor and drawing up my knees against my chest, I focused on breathing evenly again.

****************

After English was over, Connor ran over to my seat. His eyes roved all over the visible parts of my body, probably checking for injuries. Thank God I was in long sleeves today. My very red if not purple wrists from where Samson gripped me would have caught his hovering eyes.

"Are you okay?" I could see he was genuinely concerned and had worried about me. "I'm sorry for bailing on you like that. It's just I've always been... No matter how hard I tried..." He trailed off again.

I kept quiet and just watched him without judgement despite the many questions I had in my mind. It seemed to me that what he wanted to say was not particularly easy for him so I gave him a listening ear and waited for him to continue.

"After her divorce with dad, my mom got married to Samson's dad five years ago whose wife had passed away. We moved in and started living together. Samson and I from day one started off on wrong footing and never hit it off. I had tried countless times to befriend him but it always ended up in a fight. Maybe it was the fact that he always beat me and won in those fights that I became afraid of him". Connor shrugged a shoulder with a faraway look in his eyes. "I got tired of trying and gave him the space he wanted. Though we live in the same house, we are like strangers. His older sister who's in college is much nicer. I wonder many a times if they actually share the same blood". He shrugged again.

Whoa, this was news. I had been confused why the last names were different not to mention the absolute lack of similarities in the looks department. "Why did I not know this?".

"He did not want anyone to know and I couldn't care less about that. Only a few of his friends know".

I nodded my head and my mind went back to Samson, to what had happened earlier in the hallway. Something, though I know not what it was, had definitely happened between us in that moment. I shook my head, simultaneously pushing the thought away for later. Now I had a class. "What do you have next on your schedule?"

"Geography. You?"

"History". I answered disappointed he didn't have it with me, then I remembered Sam was going to be there and brightened up. "Later then".

I took my bag and books from the table and went outside, Connor solidly behind me. I was going to ask him why he was still following me when I saw something that made my skin crawl in disgust and made me stop in my tracks for the second time today without warning making Connor bump into me with an 'oh'.

Funny how it was because of the same person.