Ecstasy of Love

Chapter 36: No peace

"Hero? Oh my God! Long time, no see pretty boy!" Melissa exclaims as soon as she opens the door to our dorm. "What are you doing here?"

White jealousy burns through my stomach. I can't fucking stand the feeling, and her. Did she just call Hero pretty boy? I swear I'm seconds away from pushing her head against the wall.

But I think Hero can see through me because, softly, he wraps his fingers around my wrist, keeping me rooted to my spot. He glances uncomfortably at Melissa, his other hand raising to rub his eyebrow.

"Hey, Melissa." He greets politely.

She finally averts her eyes away from him, to me. "Oh, Josephine. I didn't know you'd be here today," she says in that fake tone of hers, it makes me almost roll my eyes.

"This is my dorm too," I reply coldly, sending a glare her way.

"Yeah, yes of course. But after you sneaked out at 2 a.m. last night, I thought you wouldn't be coming back until later today. Like you always do."

I feel my eyes widening in horror, even against my efforts to keep my expressions neutral.

If hot anger was already coursing through my veins, now I really want to smash her head against the window. What's worst is that I cannot even blame her for spilling what should've stayed unknown to Hero because there's no way she could've known.

Still, I want to fucking hit something.

Ever since I determined that my car races should stay secret from Hero, it's become almost ten thousand times harder to keep them a secret.

Hero's gaze whips back to me, his eyes questioning me without judgment, just curiosity. And I wish with my entire breaking heart that I could tell him, but the fear of losing him has a bigger chokehold on me.

"Nothing," I mouth to him. His gaze remains on me for a few seconds before he dubiously nods and tries to let it go. We're good, at least for now.

"What's all this?" Melissa's voice startles me, reminding me that she's still in the room.

"I'm moving out," I state.

She looks at me with disbelief, "What? Oh no, it's such a pity. I was totally looking forward to sharing the dorm with you next year, too. You'll be missed." Her lips rise in false sympathy as she walks up to me and rubs my arm in a comforting gesture. I swiftly step back before she can reach me.

Better to prevent any of her fakenesses rubbing off on me.

"And what a sweet friend are you, Hero, helping her to pack her things. Gentlemen like you are missing these days. I didn't know you two were that close."

I chuckle and gloat internally. Oh boy, we're closer than what you think. If only you knew what we were doing just before she crossed that door.

Does he even think about you at all?

Hero lets out a small chuckle at the thought of us being just friends. "Jo's my girlfriend," he states, stepping beside me and wrapping his arm around my waist. As if the possessiveness in his eyes wasn't enough, he bents his head down, leaving a kiss on my temple. I'm internally smiling. The biggest, fullest smile.

The three of us stand silently uncomfortable as we have no idea what to say next. The tension has increased ten-fold with Hero's words, so much it could be cut off with a knife.

The only thing I want right now is Melissa to be gone. I'm sure Hero wants that too, but he's too polite to throw her away. Luckily, she does the work herself as she says, "Well,...you finish packing your stuff. I'll be back later tonight."