↠48↞

The roommate

I can't believe what's just happened. I wanted to be honest, and I had both; Anaya's and Will's back, but Rayna still decided to think that I lied to her, even after Will had accidentally shared with her the truth about Beverly's death — something that he never wanted anyone else to know.

"Are you okay?" Anaya asks me, her hand rests on my arm in a comforting manner.

"Yeah," I mutter under my breath. "Are you?" I ask Will because he hasn't said much since the very moment he opened up about Beverly, and even though what Rayna said about him really hurt me, I know that he must really need someone right now.

"Can you leave us alone for a second?" Will asks politely, directing his words at Anaya.

"Sure." She strokes my arm once more before she disappears into the house.

"Please, don't let what Rayna said get into your head," Will mutters, his voice is calm but sorrow.

"Is that true, though?" I ask.

"It is, but that conversation between me and her was ages ago," he explains, his eyes wander all over my face. "You've changed since then, and so have I."

"But she was right about you having no feelings for me, wasn't she?" I question, even though I already know the answer. I just want to hear it from him, this time a straightforward response, no indirect ones.

Why? My subsconscious goes back to being her obnoxious self. So you can feel less guilty about missing Nathan?

"I'm afraid so, Davina. I'm really sorry if this hurts you, but you don't want me to be dishonest with you, do you?" He raises his eyebrows, his hands instead of landing on my body like they did all night, disappear into the depths of his pockets.

"No, of course not," I mutter, my voice is faint.

"I am a very . . . prudent person when it comes to feelings, and you know the reasons behind it. I don't want you to think that there is something wrong with you. You are an outright beautiful girl, and I feel inexpressibly comfortable around you, but when it comes to me falling in love . . . I don't know. I can't even tell you if it would be worth waiting for me to catch feelings because even if I didn't run this time, I still have got no idea if I'd make a great boyfriend," he explains, and sighs, intently studying my face that involuntarily falls.

"It's fine. I get it." I give a shrug of my slacking shoulders.

"But," he says, removing one of his hands from his pocket. He then places it on my cheek. "I am not blind. I can see that you care about me more than a friend would do. And I am flattered, honestly–"

"But you will never feel the same way about me," I mutter, gently removing his hand from my cheek.

"I never said that I won't. I only said that that's not how I feel now."

"And if you do in the future, then what? You'll push me away just liked you warned me?"

"If I do develop any feelings for you, then I promise to tell you, and we will talk about it, okay?" he asks, his eyes withhold honesty. "You are not indiffirent to me, that's what I want you to know. I do care about you, hence I'm not beating around the bush," he adds, and shortens the already minimal distance between us. "I am madly attracted to you, Davina. I had to inwardly chide myself all night so my dick wouldn't get hard. Also, I saw the way Connor kept glancing at you, but I didn't say anything, and whatever he said, I don't believe it's true."

"One thing was," I mutter in embarrasment. "I did have a phone sex with him on that app."

"Did he try to force you to do anything after he'd found out that it was you?" Will asks, his eyes turn cold within seconds.

What really surprises me is that he doesn't seem to care about my dirty conversation with Rayna's boyfriend.

"He threated me at first. Said that he would tell her everything, and then he tried to make me kiss him." My voice seeths with loathing.

"Do you want me to do something about it?" He awaits my answer, his mouth settles into a hard line.

"No, it's fine. Rayna seems oblivious anyway." I shrug. "I just want to forget about it."

"I know a very good way that could make you forget," Will says, his fingers slowly trail down my naked arm. "Do you want me to show you?" he asks, his lips appear dangerously close to my ear.

"Can you not tell me instead?" I gulp, my insides stir as he twists his fingers into my hair, right above my neck, meanwhile attaching his lips to my cleavage. At this point I don't even care that there are people around us. We're in a secluded area, at a damn party, and most importantly, Will is the host.

"Telling you requires me to open my mouth, and I'd rather make a better use of it," he teases, the fingers of his other hand start to play with the v-neck of my blouse. "Just let me," he seduces, his voice as soft as his lips.

"I've got a friend waiting inside," I mutter, gently pushing him away.

It's not that I don't crave for him, I really do, but his confession about the uncertainty of us ever ending up together puts me off, causing Rayna's words to return unbidden to my mind. This is the person you've ruined your relationship with Nathan for.

"Are you rejecting me because of Anaya or is your aloofness caused by what I said earlier?" he questions.

"It's caused by many factors, Will." I sigh, my head starts to hurt from the weight of thoughts that race through my mind. "Everything is just so complicated."

"You mean I am." He looks at me, his jaw clenches.

"Yeah, that too."

"I'm not complicated, Davina. I just know what I want and only because my needs don't necessarily match yours, it doesn't mean that I'm a human puzzle," he states.

Words suddenly fail me. Wow. Just wow.

"Are you going to act different towards me now because I put my feelings straight?" His voice is dry, his eyes grave.

Let me reload my shotgun. My subconscious offers, but I dismiss her with a wave of my hand.

"No, Will. I am not going to." I sigh. "You still haven't answered my question, though." I look at him, his forehead creases. "I know that you didn't mean to divulge that you witnessed Beverly's suicide," I add in a wary tone, anxiously chewing on the inside of my cheek.

"You're right. I didn't."

"I am always here for you if you need me," I declare, gazing into his dark eyes that first narrow slightly in suspicion, then cogitation.

He must be contemplating on whether I'm being sincere with him or not, which is deeply disappointing, the fact that he has grown up in a house with barely any love, which led him to this moment, questioning a simple act of a human benevolence.

"Are you going to say something?" I finally ask as he keeps staring at me in silence.

"Can I hug you?" he mutters, his voice is unrecognizably weak. His usually dancing with mirth eyes are now saddened, his face bleak. He looks so fragile and vulnerable in this moment that I feel like cradling him.

"Of course you can," I say kindly, and open my arms, eliciting a faint smile from him that lifts the corners of his lips, and that sight is truly heart-melting.

Will wraps his arms around my small in comparison to his body, bending down a little to rest his chin on top of my head. He then says something that makes my sadness blossom into happiness again. "I might not be in love with you, but I am in love with who you are."

~~~~~~~~~~

Next evening I am in a taxi, on my way to the dorm, feeling utterly relieved that at least the rest of our night went well.

We re-joined Anaya at the party. She was indescribably supportive, concerned not only about my well-being after everything that Rayna and Connor had said, but she also wanted to make sure that Will was feeling alright. She didn't ask him any questions about Beverly or how did he happen to witness her death. She just simply told everyone who dared to look at him for longer than a few seconds to mind their own business and find something better to do, which on a side note, made Will laugh each single time.

I stayed with him for the night because he asked me to, and even though we didn't do anything sexual, neither did we cuddle, he told me that there is no way in which he could possibly express how much my presence meant to him.

As the taxi stops in front of our university, I give the money to the driver and with a simple 'thank you' I hop out of the car. I make my way into the building, slowly walking up the stairs, and as I find myself in the corridor leading to my dorm, my stomach churns at the sight of Nathan, who's walking in my direction.

His hair is an appealing mess, his black jeans cling to his slim legs, his loose, Purple Rain T-shirt composes with his ankle, chunky Martens boots. There is a thick, link chain necklace around his neck and an identical bracelet adorning his bony wrist. His mint-green eyes are locked on the screen of his phone, and as he unconsciously approaches me, I feel the sudden urge to say something.

"Hi," I gush. My mouth becomes parched from the sudden stress that consumes me when his feet come to a halt.

He notices me.

His forehead creases in surprise, his jaw clenches. He then decides to eventually respond, "Hasn't your mother taught you not to talk to strangers?" His voice is cold alike his eyes whilst he walks past me, and as he does, my stomach constricts in a painful cramp.

I swallow the bile that rises in the back of my throat, and with a single wipe of my hand, I get rid of the tear that involuntarily ran down my cheek. Then I continue to make my way back to the dorm, and eventually find myself in front of the door. I push it open, immediately knitting my brows in shock.

All of Rayna's stuff is gone, a small suitcase stands next to her emptied bed. The worst thing is, it doesn't belong to her, which means that someone else is moving in.

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