Hollow

Chapter 23

~Sebastian~

~ ~ ~

I stepped up onto the porch, pausing to take a deep breath. It wasn't every day I introduced myself to a girls parents. I almost couldn't believe I had agreed to this today.

I wasn't one to act without thinking, but I needed to see Bella today. I had gone the entire day not seeing her once, and I knew she was avoiding me. I had assumed she'd gone cold because I had taken her first kiss, but that wasn't it.

Now, I was confused and slightly hopeful, but I needed to figure this out. There was still so much I didn't know about her. She was so secretive, with her vague answers about her past. I knew whatever she'd been through couldn't have been good and I was dying to know what it was.

I tried to figure her out, but it was hard. She was tough, but gentle. Defensive, but sweet. She had a hard exterior that was intimidating, but once I'd gotten her talking I was introduced to a soft side that grabbed ahold of me.

Now she gave me honest smiles that made me weak, and when she looked at me with her big blue eyes full of innocence- I was a gonner. Something about this girl completely captured me. I needed to know her- all of her.

I was eager to meet her parents. I needed to see what type of people they were, to send her away for most of her life. Bella had obviously hated it at that government school. I couldn't understand why they'd keep her there for so long.

I'd searched online for schools like it. Places that had strict schedules and rejected music and self-expression. The closest thing I found was a list of military schools or facilities for delinquents. Bella wasn't like that, though, so none of it made sense.

She had fast reflexes and she was stronger than any average teenage girl I'd come across, but it was more than that. She didn't know how to act with other people. There were simple things that she couldn't figure out.

No school could have had that kind of an impact. Wherever she had been, she'd been completely cut off from the world. I was determined to figure it out.

I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. Not even ten seconds later, the door swung open and a woman with bright red hair and blue eyes that matched Bella's opened the door. Her wide smile caught me off guard.

"Sebastian?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yes, Ma'am, it's nice to meet you." I responded, holding my hand out.

"It's so great to meet you too, honey. I'm Miranda." She grabbed my hand and pulled me through the door. I moved over the threshold, nearly tripping in front of her.

Miranda placed her hands on my shoulders and assessed me. I tried not to look too uncomfortable under her scrutiny. With a grin she stepped back and let her hands fall.

"You are just the cutest thing." She said finally and I relaxed slightly. Her eyes were warm and full of kindness. I found it hard to imagine this woman sending her daughter off to such a harsh place.

"Thank you." I responded awkwardly.

"You aren't what I was expecting at all." She said.

I placed my hands in my pockets and stood back. "You aren't what I was expecting either."

She smiled, not questioning me. A second later a man walked in with a curious expression.

"Is this him?" His question was directed at Miranda, but his eyes never left me. Bella's father, I assumed. He stood, straightening himself to his full height which was  around 5'10.

"This is Sebastian." She answered him.

I held out my hand for him to shake and he squeezed it tightly, causing my eyes to widen. He was doing a great job at intimidating me, which I was sure was his plan.