The Opposite Of Attraction ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Two

SOPHIA

I hadn't slept in days. My nightmares were relentless since receiving that letter from him. All the progress I'd made towards recovering from my trauma was erased. I was tortured day and night by what he did to the point where I'd get a flash of a horrible memory every time I blinked.

I hadn't felt so terrified in a long time. With Victoria so sick and now the knowledge that he was still trying to torture me, I was constantly on edge.

Whenever I drove to or from school I was always looking back to make sure no one was following me, and other than school I didn't leave the house. And when I was home I made sure every window and door was locked, even my bedroom door.

I knew I was acting insane but I didn't want to repeat history. I wouldn't survive something as traumatic as what happened last time.

The only thing stopping me from checking myself into a padded room where no one could hurt me, was Damon. He was my rock. Even though he didn't know about the letter he could tell something was wrong so he was doing everything he could to cheer me up.

But it didn't take long before he tried to figure out what the problem was. He wanted to know so he could fix it, but I couldn't tell him. I needed to keep everyone safe, so no one could know about the letter. If there was a possibility that he could somehow come for me I needed to make sure no one else got caught in the crossfire. So instead of telling him what pushed me over the edge of paranoia I told him about Tori. I explained how sick she was, and that I couldn't visit her for a little while.

He seemed to believe me but I could see the suspicion in his eyes. He knew there was something bigger going on but he didn't push the subject. Instead he just tried harder to ease my fear, which started with using his new nickname for me.

Sweetheart wasn't exactly original but for some reason it still made my heart flutter anyway. Everyone knew that Damon wasn't the type to give girls nicknames. And now that I think about it, Damon wasn't the type to give any girl the time of day, let alone a nickname. That in itself made me feel very special.

But there was still a part of me that was hesitant about Damon. We had been enemies for years before it suddenly all changed. What if this was all just be one big plot to ruin my reputation? He could pretend to like and care about me, then once I'd grown to trust him, he could easily humiliate me in front of the school by revealing all my secrets. My popularity would disappear and he would win the competition once and for all.

This wasn't about popularity for me anymore, but what if it still was for him?

But was it possible for him to be that cruel? Especially after finding out everything that had already happened to me? There was no way any sane person could ruin someone's life after it had already been ruined so thoroughly before. Right?

Damon had always been a pain in the ass but he never did anything seriously awful before, I had no actual reason to believe he would now.

And hadn't he proved enough that he cared about me? He didn't have to beat up his best friend for me, he didn't have to cheer me up, and he didn't have to listen to my life story. He deserved my trust, but I couldn't give him it all. I trusted him more than anyone else but there were still things I couldn't get myself to tell him. Maybe that was my subconscious warning me about him?

With everything going on in my life, the last thing I needed was for Damon to blindside me, so I decided to keep him cautiously close. I couldn't let him know that I had suspicions about him so staying away from him wasn't an option. I had to let him continue trying to help me, but I would keep my guard up and a close eye on him.