Beastly: Sequel to "Mr. Perfect"

Chapter 29: Receptionists and Background Extras

🌸Faith (P.O.V.)🌸

I didn't even hear the door open at first—just the sound of Evan's breath catching.

I froze.

Tybalt's arms were still around me, his hands steadying me from when I'd slipped.

My towel clutched barely above my chest. His face was too close. His body was too close.

And Evan—standing there in the doorway.

I jerked away from Tybalt so fast the towel nearly came undone.

Beside me, Tybalt slowly let his arms fall to his sides as he didn't look at Evan or me, his gaze fixed somewhere on the floorboards.

The silence just wasn't awkward—it was suffocating.

I could feel Evan's presence—the weight of his eyes, but I didn't look up.

My chest tightened, not from guilt but from the horrible, choking awareness of how this must look, how I must look. Wrapped in a towel, dripping wet, standing too close to someone I had no intention of standing close to.

"Evan," Tybalt said. "Look, man, I—I am sorry. This looks bad, but I swear it's not—I didn't—"

"It's okay," Evan cut in, voice steady. "Really. Don't worry about it."

Tybalt nodded quickly, still not meeting his eyes.

Then he turned to me.

"Faith," he said quietly, "I didn't mean to make you—"

"I'll talk to you another time," I said sharply, tightening my towel with one hand, still staring at the floor.

My voice was flat and cold. It was unlike how I usually spoke to anyone, but I couldn't help it as my skin crawled with embarrassment, irritation, confusion—too many things at once.

I couldn't look at him; looking at Evan was even harder.

"I just wanted to—"

"Another time," I cut him off again.

"I...okay. I'm sorry. Really."

His voice drifted smaller with each word, like he was retreating even before he physically moved.

He brushed past Evan—carefully, almost timidly—and left the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

Evan didn't move or speak as he just watched me with that steady, unreadable expression.

"Evan," I finally said.

He didn't say anything, lifting his head slightly.

"It's not what it looked like," I said. "I swear it's not. I just—I just got out of the shower. Like, literally just. And I didn't even know Tybalt was in my room. I didn't hear him come in or anything. I had no idea. And when I walked out and saw him standing there, I got startled and slipped, and he just—he just grabbed me so I wouldn't fall."

I could feel my face burning, a horrible mix of embarrassment and panic twisting in my chest.

I hated how desperate I sounded, but the sight of Evan walking in on that—God, it made my stomach flip.

"And I'm sorry," I added quickly. "I should've been more careful. I didn't even know Rashida let him into my room, and you got to see all of—"

"Faith, relax," he said, cutting in gently—but firmly enough that it stopped me mid-sentence.

"I will. I just...wanted you to know. Since it looked really bad, and I didn't want you thinking—"

He sighed heavily, stepping closer.