JULIE'S POV
I wake up the next day with my arm a little sore. The mark was fading, but a purple hue was still present, reminding me that I would have yet another problem to face at college. I put on a blue sweater, which would keep the bruise out of my parents' sight, and choose a pair of dark jeans. Once I'm ready, I go downstairs and find my parents at the table having coffee. I look for Arthur and don't find him.
_ Good morning, mom. Good morning, dad. _ I greet them with a kiss on the cheek like I always do and they kiss me back in the same way. _ And Arthur? _ Strange, he's not awake since in the last few days he's been waking up earlier than me.
_ Still sleeping. _ Mom answers as she brings her cup of coffee to her mouth.
_ I'm going to wake him up. _ I rush upstairs to find him and get my good morning kiss. I enter his room and find him hugging Teddy. His breathing was slow and his chest rose and fell in rhythm. I smile at the image of my little brat sleeping peacefully.
I approach the bed and kiss his forehead, he stirs and grumbles, turning over to the other side.
_ Arthur, time to wake up. _ I sit on the bed next to him and he looks at me with sleepy eyes.
_ I don't want to go to school. _ He grumbles and pulls the blanket over him completely.
_ Can I ask why? _ I take the blanket off him and he looks at me with a clearly irritated expression, which makes him even more adorable. I bite my cheek internally to keep from laughing and encourage him to talk.
_ It's Lili. She doesn't want to talk to me anymore. _ Suddenly the angry expression gives way to a sad one and my heart aches when I see the pain in his eyes.
_ Who is Lili? _ I asked.
_ My girlfriend. She saw me talking to another girl and got really angry. _ I hug his tiny body and he puts his arms around my neck, resting his head on my shoulder. _ I swear, little sister, I didn't do anything wrong. I just wanted a stinky little pen.
_ I believe you, my little brat. _ He sighs and comforts me.
_ But she doesn't believe me. What do I do? _ Arthur moves away from me just enough to look me straight in the eyes, his little eyes shining with anticipation.
_ Try to explain to her what really happened and if she doesn't want to hear what you have to say, draw a really pretty picture showing what you feel and give it to her. I'm sure she'll love it. Now get your little body up and let's go take a shower, you have to smell nice when you talk to... _ I stop talking when I forget the name of the little girl who was bothering my brother. _ Lili, little sister. _ He answers as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. _ That's right, with Lili. _ I continue and he jumps out of bed, stopping in front of me while holding out his hand to me. _ I want to be cheesy for Lili. _ I smile at the sweet way he said the words and take him by the hand, leading him to the bathroom.
[...]
I cross the college gate and a shiver runs through my body, bringing a feeling of dread to my stomach. I didn't want to meet Penny, much less after what happened yesterday when Scott noticed my injured arm. I can even imagine that she must have been furious when he went to get satisfaction from her and was afraid that she would take out the anger she was feeling on me. Which was most likely.
I walk through the hallways practically running and looking everywhere. When I was already entering the hallway of my first class, I see her coming towards me. When she sees me, she stops for a few seconds, but quickly looks away and goes in another direction.
I enter the room without understanding what had happened. I expected to find her huffing and puffing and calling me the worst names while threatening me, and all I received was a look of indifference. I have no idea what Scott said to her, but whatever it was, it had an effect.
I sit down in my chair and open a book that I had been wanting to read for weeks. I was lost in the fascinating book in my hands when someone dragged a chair and sat down next to me. I didn't even need to look up, I knew very well who it was.
_ How is your arm? _ It was the first thing he said when I had the courage to lift my head and look at him.
_ It's much better. _ I answer and a half smile appears on his face.
_ Is three hours okay for you? _ I stared at him without understanding what he meant. _ Work. _ He clarifies and I nod before answering.
_ Sure, it's great. _ He agrees before picking up my notebook and a pen that were on the table. He writes something and hands it to me. I look at where he was pointing and look at him confused.
_ My number. The one on top is my cell phone and the other is my home number. This makes it easier for you to communicate with me about work. _ I was still looking at the notebook in my hands when his words made me look up immediately. _ Now I want yours. _ I'm not going to give you my number. _ The words just come out as if they were on the tip of my tongue waiting to be said. _ I wouldn't give it to him anyway, who knows what he would do. Scott spent a year insulting me non-stop and just a few days ago he had been showing a sudden change. There's a big difference when compared to a year with a few measly days. I still didn't trust him and much less trust giving him my cell phone number so he could have the chance to bother me outside of college. _ You mean you can have mine and I can't have yours? I think that's a little unfair. _ He puts his elbows on the table and looks directly into my eyes, feigning a hurt expression that didn't suit him at all. _ Who knows what you're going to do to him. _ I intended for the words to be said only in my thoughts, but the sound of his laughter made me realize that I had said them out loud.
_ And what would I do with a cell phone number? _ He looked at me after he managed to stop laughing _ I know, I can track your number and plant a bomb in your house, or who knows, kidnap you while you're walking alone down the street. The latter wouldn't be a bad idea. _ He says everything so naturally and all I do is look at him without knowing what to do before looking back at my open book on the table _ What is it? I'm kidding.
Miss Evans, the physiology teacher, enters the room and Scott stops next to me after getting up and putting the chair back in its place.
_ See you at three then. _ He smiles at me and goes to the back of the room.
After this uncomfortable moment, I concentrate on my classes and try not to think about the disaster that my afternoons will be from now on. I just hoped this wouldn't last too long and that I could get rid of Scott as quickly as possible.
_ I'm going to wake him up. _ I rush upstairs to find him and get my good morning kiss. I go into his room and find him hugging Teddy. His breathing was slow and his chest rose and fell in rhythm. I smiled at the image of my little brat sleeping peacefully.
I approached the bed and kissed his forehead. He stirred and grumbled, turning over to the other side.
- Arthur, it's time to wake up.- I sat down on the bed next to him and he looked at me with sleepy eyes.
- I don't want to go to school.- He grumbled and pulled the blanket over him completely.
- Can I ask why?- I pulled the blanket off him and he looked at me with a clearly irritated expression, which made him even more adorable. I bit my cheek internally to keep from laughing and encouraged him to speak.
- It's Lili. She doesn't want to talk to me anymore.- Suddenly, the irritated expression gave way to a sad one and my heart sank when I saw the pain in his eyes.
- Who's Lili?- I asked.
- My girlfriend. She saw me talking to another girl and got very angry. _ I hug his little body and he puts his arms around my neck, resting his head on my shoulder_ I swear, little sister, I didn't do anything wrong. I just wanted a stinky little pen.