Cecilia's father, a well-known and successful lawyer, was tired of her problems. Tired of the issues she had been causing for the family and it's name.
After an incident, which she kept claiming wasn't even her fault, she's sent away to a boarding s...
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"Are you okay?" A timid voice breaks my attention. A shadow overtakes the words on my page of East of Eden, and I look up to see Cecilia's guilt-ridden face hovering above me.
I don't answer immediately; instead, I cock my head to the side to study her. From this angle, and this lighting, her brown freckles stand out vividly against her tan skin, and her hazel eyes-that look more green from here- twinkle beneath the sunlight splintering through the window.
"Hello?" She waves a hand in front of my face. "Did I say something to upset you?"
Technically no, she didn't say anything to me that upset me. Nor did she do anything. There was no explainable reason as to why my mood had turned sour.
"No." I reply flatly, turning my attention back to my book.
"Oh, well, okay." I catch a glimpse of her shifting feet. I briefly glance up, just barely catching her crestfallen face before she turns her back to me. Seemingly unsure, she takes a step away from me.
"Cecilia." At the sound of her name, she turns around, her pretty doe eyes shining with hope.
"Sit." I tell her, pulling my legs off the cushioned seat next to me to make room for her. She listens and does so, quite quickly in fact.
She watches me, and I watch her back, a feeling of curiosity within me. My book becomes unimportant and I close and toss into onto a desk.
She leans back against the window, interlocking her hands on her lap. "Are you sure you weren't mad at be before?"
The mention to earlier causes me to remember just why I was upset. And it brings that same gut wrenching feeling back. I mean tell her no, but my words come out in the form of a question that makes me feel pathetic.
"Do you like him?" I know once I've said it that I sound as desperate as I feel.
I was expecting for her to be clueless, to not understand what I was talking about. But she knew. Her eyes took on this sad look of guilt. Was she guilty of her feelings? I didn't want her to be, I just wanted to know to get it over with.
"No." Is what she whispers.
"No?"
"No." She says firmer. There's so much truth in her voice, and I just know she's not lying to spare me. Relief strikes me hard, and I don't hide my satisfaction. "Good."
"Why would it bug you if I did? Like Grayson, I mean," she clarifies, a tinge of curiosity and something deeper lining her voice.
"What makes you think it would?" I arch an eyebrow as I stare at her. I cross my arms over my chest and lean back, mirroring her posture as my back meets the cold window.
She falters for a moment, but then a smirk rises on her lips- one I'm unfamiliar to seeing on her face. "Well, your reaction this morning, for one. And the murderous looks you've been sending Grayson since this morning."
I give her a glare, but I don't bother to deny anything. My voice lowers as I address her earlier question. "I think you know why it would bother me, Cecilia, don't play clueless."
Her cheeks glow red as I lean in closer to her, and I'd pity her discomfort if she wasn't staring right back at me with a burning heat beneath her eyes. "W-what do you mean?" She stutters, and annoyance flickers in my chest at her feigned ignorance.
I tut at her, my tongue clicking the roof of my mouth. "Come on, I don't like it when you play dumb."
Now it's her turn to glare at me despite the blush staining her cheeks. "I'm not dumb."
"I didn't say that, did I?" I tease, leaning my head to the side, keeping my eyes locked onto hers. "You're pretending to be dumb. But you're not, are you?" I bring a finger out to her face and lock it around a loose strand of hair. Twirling it between my fingers, I watch in amusement as she burns brighter.
"I- um- I- what?" She stammers, looking adorably flustered.
"Tell me, why do you think I was mad at Grayson before?"
"I- I don't know..." she trails off, a pout settling on her lips.
I sigh and shake my head in mock disappointment. "Fine. Let me help you out then."
Brief confusion washes over her face, quickly replaced by shock as I lean in and press my lips to her soft, pink ones. .
For a fleeting moment, uncertainty hangs in the air as she freezes beneath me. And then, just as swiftly, her tentative lips are softly moving against mine.
