Mortal (Book One) by Bella Lore

Author:Bella Lore [Lore, Bella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2023-03-07T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"Winter?" Alec crouches down and inspects me. "Are you okay?"

I look away so he won't see my tears and ignore my aching arm, which I landed on. "I'm fine."

He offers me a hand. I hesitate, but having him so close proves irresistible. The moment I touch his hand, heavenly warmth shoots through me.

"Who are you running from?" He pulls me to my feet.

"No one." I wipe my face with my sleeve. "I was just going somewhere ...else."

"You have no shoes on." He frowns, staring at my feet, and I follow his gaze.

Turns out, I ran all the way across the frozen ground without even noticing my lack of footwear. I left my shoes back in the locker room.

"I took them off." I cross my arms and try to look tough.

"You took your shoes off in the grass and walked across campus barefoot?"

I shrug. "I guess."

"Are you trying to get sick?"

"No." I look away so he won't see the tears in my eyes. "I was just going to my dorm."

My dorm that I share with Heather.

Okay, so maybe that's a bad idea.

Is there somewhere else I can sleep? Maybe an empty room?

"You don't have to worry about me," I say to Alec. "I don't want to cause any trouble for you."

He frowns. "You're not a troublemaker. You're not a troubled person."

"I'm not?" I touch my face and find that it's still wet. "You don't know me."

"Yeah, well, ignorance is no excuse," he says. "And anyway, I seem to be the only one here who sees that."

"I'm sorry you had to come to my rescue." I wipe my face. "I'm not really worth it."

"Better than some." His lips turn down. "This was Heather, wasn't it?"

I glance around. There are still a few people in the hall, even though it's close to curfew.

"Let's talk about this somewhere else," I say.

"How about lost and found? We can find you a pair of shoes."

He leads me down the hallway and in the direction of the offices. In a small room, he roots through a large cardboard box with a "Lost and Found" sign on it.

"Here we go. These look like they might fit."

He hands me a worn pair of sneakers, and I put them on.

He's already looking through another box. "Ah," he says. "A sweatshirt. It's a little big, but with the sleeves rolled up and the hood up, no one will notice."

I take the baggy sweatshirt and adjust the sleeves. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he whispers.

We're standing only inches apart in the small room, so close that when he exhales his breath tickles my cheek. Butterflies flit through my stomach, and a magnetic force pushes me toward him. It takes Herculean effort to not lean in and melt against his chest.

He touches a lock of my hair. "What happened?"

"I'm sorry," I whisper. "I don't want to talk about it."

He searches my face. "Why?"

"Because I'm a freak." I turn my face from his and stare at the floor. "I can't get close to anyone. I can't tell anyone anything.

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