Page 70 of The Bleak Beginning

“My notebook!” I snap, taking a step closer.

A slow smile spreads across his face, “I think you’ve swallowed too much water. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

My blood boils, my vision blurring at the edges. “Don’t play dumb with me, Bishop. I know you took it. Where is my notebook?”

He shrugs, his nonchalant attitude grating on my already frayed nerves. “Look, I don’t have your precious little diary. Maybe you misplaced it. Or maybe…” His eyes glint with malice. “Maybe it’s at the bottom of the water with the rest of your stuff. I’m surprised you didn’t see it the other day.”

Something inside me snaps. Was he really making a joke about me nearly drowning?

Anger pulses through my veins, scalding and uncontrollable. “I know you took it. Give it back. Now.”

“No.”

“No?” I repeat, caught off guard.

“That’s right. I said no.” I stumble back as he advances, his imposing figure looming over me like a dark cloud. His eyes, a piercing shade of emerald, glint with pure danger as he closes in on me. I was once again trapped, with no escape from his overpowering presence.

I move back until I collide with the wall. His gaze shifts down, fixing on my face. A rush of fear and another emotion I can't quite name surge through me as I realize I'm trapped in this corner.

“Listen carefully, Prescott, because I’m only going to say this once,” he says, his voice low and menacing. “You don’t get to come barging up here, making demands like you own the place.”

My throat tightened like a cinched corset, my emotions swirling and striking like a storm. I pushed down the sudden ache that threatened to consume me, like a bitter pill that I refused to swallow.

“You mean like you did when you came tomyroom?”

He laughs, a harsh sound that sends chills down my spine. “Oh, Prescott. You really don’t get it, do you? This isn’t about some stupid notebook. This is about you learning your place.”

His words sting, but I refuse to let him see how much they affect me. I lift my chin defiantly, meeting his gaze with as much steel as I can muster. “And what place is that, exactly?”

His lips curled into a cruel smirk. “At the bottom, thepit, where you belong. You arenothing.”

“You’re delusional,” I say, trying to push past him, but Bishop is faster. He reaches out and grabs my wrist, stopping me from leaving.

The moment was charged, like the sun breaking through the thunderclouds of this dreary university. His grip felt like a jolt of electricity, my heart beats faster while my thoughts race in every direction.

“Am I?” he murmurs, tugging me back closer. “Or are you just in denial?"

His words hang in the air between us, heavy and suffocating. I try to pull away, but his grip on my wrist is solid like steel. The warmth of his hand seeps into my skin, and I hate how it makes me feel.

“Let go of me,” I hiss.

“If that’s what you want, then make me,” he taunts, his other hand jabbing a finger towards his temple. “Make me forget about you, Prescott. Relieve me of this burden. Leave Altair.”

My heart lurches in my chest as I struggle to keep my composure. Why did his words sound like a desperate plea? Was there something deeper behind his desire for me to leave?

I stare at him, my mind reeling. The anger that had been burning through me moments ago begins to cool, replaced by confusion and a strange sense of... anticipation? No, that can't be right.

“You’re wrong, Bishop,” I said, my voice steadier than I feel. “And if you think stealing my notebook will make me leave, then you’re even dumber than you look.”

“Careful,” he warns, his fingers digging into my skin. “You’re playing a dangerous game.”

I flinch at the force of his grip, but I stand my ground. “This isn't a game. I just want what's rightfully mine.”

“Do you honestly believe you deserve anything?” he sneers.

“Maybe not,” I concede. “But it certainly caught your attention.” I retort, causing him to release my hand as if it burned.

A deep growl resonates from within his chest. “You're playing with fire. And you have no clue who you're up against. We went easy on you before.”

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