27

LAURA

I really didn’t understand how it was possible that I had seen this man countless times and yet every single time I saw him, my heart slammed against my ribcage. At first, it stopped beating, then started all over again with a vengeance, racing so fast in my chest, that I wouldn’t be surprised if it just ran itself into a heart attack.

It was like I was seeing him for the first time all over again. Was that even normal?

I would ask Balery if it was, but she would only see that as an opportunity to blow things out of proportions and, God forbid, tell me that I had feelings for him.

He was lying on his bed with his back to the headboard, a laptop on his thighs, and eyes narrowed in concentration as he typed away. When I closed the door, his head lifted and his eyes landed on me. My breath caught when they lingered for all but three seconds, then I exhaled when he looked away, going back to what he was doing.

That little action hurt more than it should have and I hated it.

Squ