Page 54 of Tell Me Everything
“Elena, I'm so sorry...”
Sophie, the petite, curvy blonde with the doe eyes, stayed by our side. I'd never really talked to her, but I knew she was a friend of Nina's. Although she'd just injured me and made me stop playing in the middle of a match (something I hated), I couldn't blame her for a scratch. She already felt bad enough. I tried to reassure her as best I could.
“Don't worry. Accidents happen.”
Sophie gave me a grateful smile. Returning to the gym hall, the teacher motioned for me to stay on the bench while the rest of the group resumed the game. Sophie sat down next to me and we chatted for a while. Too bad I'd never talked to her before, she was pretty cool.
“Lena!” Alex jogged over to us. He placed his hands on my cheeks to check up on me, a worried frown on his face. “Are you alright? They told me you got hurt.” His attention fell on mybandaged hand. He furiously turned to Sophie. “Couldn’t you be more careful?”
His tone was so aggressive that Sophie shrank back. Several people came to stand around us when they saw Alex getting angry.
I needed to calm him down before he went completely berserk, and I elbowed him in the ribs. “Alex, stop,” I hissed. “I'm fine. It's just a scratch.”
His nostrils twitched. “It could have been worse.”
“But it's not, so don't be angry with her. It was an accident.” I nodded towards her for him to apologize.
We held each other's gaze until he reluctantly surrendered.
Alex turned back to Sophie with a scowl on his face. “Sorry.”
It was a lie—we all knew that. Alex was making an effort, much to everyone's surprise, so I couldn't complain. The famously taciturn bad boy wasn't actually half as bad.
“Alex, would you do us the honour of returning to the field?” His gym teacher approached us, his patience wearing thin.
Alex ignored him, his attention still on me. “Are you going to be okay?”
I rolled my eyes.What a mother hen!“Yeah. Now go!”
Alex returned to the game, and Nina sauntered over to us, applauding. “Wow! You tamed our beast.” Nina patted me on the shoulder, amused by what had just happened.
I turned back to Sophie, who looked like she’d been through a rollercoaster. “I'm sorry for his behaviour. Alex isn't a bad guy, but when it comes to me, he tends to be overprotective.”
“Cute.”
I bit my lip. With Alex, it was all or nothing. But that was just how he was, and I wouldn't change a thing. “He thinks I'm made of glass.”
“Obviously,” Nina said. “He's mad about you.”
“He is.”
Though he always thought that I was more fragile than I really was, I appreciated this overprotective side that would pop up as soon as he thought I was in danger.
Nina raised an eyebrow. “You're not even trying to deny it?”
“I know how he feels, so I won’t pretend otherwise.”
I just had to find a way to make Alex understand how I felt. Telling him I loved him wasn't enough. He wouldn't believe me.
***
“You okay, Soso? Not too traumatized by Alex?” Nina asked, grabbing her gym bag.
We left the changing rooms and headed for the park for our lunch break. It was strange to follow this duo like a lost duckling. Something about them drew me in like a magnet. Sophie shivered as she thought back to the morning's misadventure.
“I really thought he was going to hit me or something.”
“Same, and yet I've known him since elementary school.”
