I felt so sad. The silence in the car had hurt more than a shout would have. I didn't want to see anyone, and I didn't want to go to my classes yet. My heart felt heavy, and my eyes were stinging with tears I didn't want to cry.
I walked to the college library. It was a big, quiet place. I went deep into the back, to a corner where no one ever goes. It was dusty and dark, but I liked it because I could be alone. I sat down on the floor, pulled a book from the shelf, and started reading. I hoped the stories in the book would make me forget about my own life for a while.
But I couldn't focus. Every time I looked at the pages, I thought about Alex's face. I thought about how he ignored me all day.
What I didn't know was that I wasn't alone.
Alex had entered the library right after me. He stayed in the shadows, his eyes fixed on my small figure sitting in the corner. He stood behind a tall bookshelf, watching me. He saw how sad I looked. He saw how I stared at the same page for ten minutes without moving.
He wanted to go to me. He wanted to say something, but he stayed where he was. He just watched me from the dark, his face unreadable.
I felt a strange shiver, like someone was looking at me. I looked up quickly and scanned the room. But I saw nothing. I thought I was just overthinking again. I looked back down at my book, feeling lonelier than ever.
Alex stayed there for a long time, silently watching me in my secret corner, before he finally turned and walked away without making a sound.
Alex found a chair in a dark corner of the library. It was the perfect spot because he could see everything Luna did, but she could not see him. He sat very still, his eyes locked on her.
He watched the way her eyes moved across the pages of her book. He watched how she would bite her bottom lip when she was thinking. To him, she looked more than just pretty; she looked perfect. He noticed her outfit—a soft sweater and a skirt—and thought about how cute and innocent she looked sitting on the floor.
Every time she moved a strand of hair behind her ear, his heart beat a little faster. He was supposed to be working, but he couldn't look away.
Luna felt another shiver run down her spine. The feeling was so strong now. She was sure someone was there. She stopped reading and looked around the big room again. She looked at the shadows and the tall shelves, but Alex stayed perfectly hidden.
"Is someone there?" she whispered quietly.
No one answered. Luna felt her heart racing. She felt like she was being watched by a ghost. She turned back to her book, but she couldn't read anymore. She just sat there, feeling the heat of Alex's secret gaze on her skin, while he continued to watch her from the dark.
Luna tried to ignore the shiver on her skin. She forced herself to look at her book, but her mind was full of Professor Alex.
Why is he so mad? she thought. Why is he refusing to talk to me? It felt so difficult to understand. To Luna, getting a little drunk at a party was not a big enough mistake to deserve this much silence. She felt like he was being too hard on her. But then, a new thought popped into her head—one that made her heart jump.
Is he like this because... he likes me?
She immediately shook her head. "Shit, Luna, you are gross," she whispered to herself. She felt embarrassed for even thinking that about her professor. He was her teacher, her mentor, and he was older than her. It felt wrong to think about him that way.
"Behave yourself, Luna," she muttered. She tried to tell herself that there was no way a man like Alex would like her. She didn't think she was attractive enough for him.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized how little she actually knew about the man living in the same house. Where was his real family? What was his life like before he became a professor? She was living in his apartment, but he was still a total stranger.
Luna felt a wave of sadness. She was caught in his world, but she didn't have the key to his secrets.
Across the room, hidden in his corner, Alex watched her lips move as she whispered to herself. He couldn't hear her words, but he saw the confusion on her face. He saw her shake her head and look down at her lap. He knew he was the reason for her stress, but he couldn't bring himself to step out of the shadows yet.