They Don't Know About Us (BWWM)

Chapter 4

For a few moments, Ava couldn't even bring herself to talk about the weather with him. She awkwardly glanced away, subtly nodding her response as she stayed at least a foot away from him. She didn't want to get too close.

"At least now we can have a fresh start at meeting each other," Gavin spoke again, his voice now lower as he continued to gaze at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ava nearly whispered the words, staring at the tips of her sneakers to avoid his eyes. They were far too intense to look into. She wished that she could just disappear from the room, to be in the safety of her dorm room, but she was stuck. She felt trapped by him.

Gavin placed his forefinger under her chin, forcing her head to tilt up so that she looked at him. "Really now?" Gavin murmured beneath his breath, cocking an eyebrow at her.

Ava's breath shuddered at the touch, not believing that his violent hands were actually touching her skin. She couldn't will herself to pull away from him, like his touch froze her to her very bones. She didn't even know how to answer him. She had tried to play dumb so that he would know that she wouldn't say anything, but he wasn't taking that answer. He wanted to talk to her about last night and what she had seen him doing. "Maybe I saw something."

Gavin chuckled softly, nodding his head as he dropped his hand from beneath her chin. He drifted his fingertips along the wooden podium, drawing her eyes down to notice what looked like makeup on his knuckles.

Ava realized he was trying to hide the bruises adorning his knuckles from last night. He was smarter than she thought he was originally. He knew he had to hide, and he went through the measures to do so, but what all was he hiding? "You hurt that man."

"That man hurt me," Gavin commented right after her words, his head turning to gaze at her intensely again. When she flinched a little, he offered her a small smile. "I'm harmless to those who don't cross me. You understand?" He murmured, his voice coming out soft, but the meaning of his words were harsh.

"Yes," Ava breathed out, knowing not to mess with him. It would be a fight she wouldn't walk away from. "I'm not going to tell anyone," she promised, despite her friends already knowing. However, she figured it would be wise of her to not tell her friends about the conversation she was currently having. They were great and protective, but they would spiral this whole situation out of control by talking to higher up officials, and she didn't want that. Only trouble would rain down on her because of that.

"I know you won't. You seem smart," Gavin commented, flashing his white teeth at her in a knowing smile.

Ava nodded quietly, her eyes trailing back down to the floor. "My name wasn't on the roll," she told him, hoping to get through to the end of the conversation so that she could just leave. She hoped that this was the last close interaction they would have so that she wouldn't stress about him coming after her. She had plenty to worry about trying to be independent.

"Ah, yes. What's your name?" Gavin asked as he turned away from her. His fingers tapped away on his laptop, bringing up the document with all of the names of the students in the class. He went down to the bottom, placing his hands on the keyboard to type in her name, his eyes looking up at her expectedly.

Ava paused at his question, almost not wanting him to know her name. She knew that wasn't a possibility since she was in his class and he had to grade her assignments, but she wished as much anonymity on her as she could around him. "Williams," she merely told him her last name, her teeth nervously biting into her bottom lip.

"And your first name, Ms. Williams?" Gavin prodded her to answer, his lips wavering a little like he was trying to withhold a smile.

"Ava," she mumbled, shifting on her feet awkwardly as she stood there.