When A Bully Falls In Love by Valerie Sax (i wanna iguana read aloud .TXT) 📕

~AOIFE~

It’s been a few days since I saw Xander in the library. The last encounter with him was more than enough for me. I decided on the same day to stay away from him. His presence gives me shivers. Bad or good, I don’t know. But he suffocates me. His piercing eyes made me feel something else. Even though I could not look at him, from the corner of my eyes, I could feel his eyes traveling through my body, observing every bit of my emotions. Well, what amazed me was he took my side in front of his chick. He was like a mystery to me I could not solve.

I would definitely keep a distance from a man who doesn’t respect a woman. Shaking my head, I want to drop every crippling thought of Xander coming into my mind. I am not here to study his behavior. I am here to fulfill my dreams. It seems my apology to Xander worked; the last few days went well; no one bullied me.

I started enjoying college, getting myself busy completing assignments and projects. After college hours, most of the time, I used to spend with Aunt Agnes, helping her to arrange books and getting books from the library for a longer time. Trust me. It’s the best feeling for a bookworm like me.

Sometimes Matt used to join us in the library for coffee. I used to call him my savior. He is helping and not rude like his other classmates.  We agreed on a point where he would inform me about Xander’s coming, so whenever Xander came to meet him, I used to hide or engage myself in another part of the library. 

Tell me, who wants to see her bully?

Today I finished my presentation as I got an appreciation from my professor, Mr. Mason. Did I mention I was a topper in my high school? Happily, I went to my dorm. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed the taste of appreciation. But today was when I got my pride back; my mind was dancing on cloud nine.

 I plumped on the bed and raised my arms, and it turned out I was stinking like a skunk.

Ewww. 

I was about to enter the shower when my phone chimed with an unknown number. “Hello,”

“Hello, Aoife. It’s me, Caleb.” The voice coming from the other side touched my heart. I had been waiting for his call for such a long time.

“Where the hell are you?” I literally screamed on the phone.

“Aoife, listen to me,” Caleb answered in a shaky voice.

“No, you listen. Do you even know how stressed we were for you? You are out somewhere, and you didn’t call us for the last six months.” I screeched.

Happy tears fell from my eyes, knowing he was good.

“Aoife, I need your help.” He hissed. 

“Where are you, brother? Tell me; I will get you back home.” My voice distorted.

“I can’t come home. I left our home for a girl I loved. She dragged me into this drug world, and now she ran away with another guy.” He answered while crying.

I knew something was wrong with him.

“What? You left our home for a girl you loved? I thought you left it for drugs.” 

“She introduced me to drugs. I thought we would survive this together, but she left me.” He replied.

“Please come home. We will take care of you.” I requested.

“I want to come clean from these drugs. And for this, I need your help.”

“What help? How can I help you?”

“I want to go to rehab, and for this, I want money. Please, can you arrange that for me?” He begged.

His voice shook me to the core. He has been suffering for the last six months. But how am I going to help him? I don’t have money.

“Caleb, I think we should inform Aunt Jeena.” 

“NO... NO... NO..,” He screamed.

“You will not call my mom. Do you get that? I trust you. Please, help me.” His tone was not contained. Sometimes he was angry, and the very next moment, he was crying.

“Ok, ok... I will help you. Tell me where I need to come?” I answered, trying to calm myself first.

“No... No. You don’t need to come. I have checked all the details of the rehab. I just need money.” He answered.

“Ok, give me some time. I will try to send it by the end of this week.” I need time to think.

He hung up the phone immediately. My heart was heavy, the thought of his suffering. I looked at my phone screen; saw our family picture.

Is it ok to call Aunt Jeena? And tell her about Caleb? No. Caleb would never call me if he got to know about this.

But Aunt Jeena deserves to know this. Oh! God, what should I do?

I was roaming here and there with these unexpected situations. He wants money. From where could I arrange it? Should I go out and look for work?

No, the server job will not pay much, and it would take my entire day to work. Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

There is a vacancy for a library helper. It’s best for me, and I am sure it would give me some money.

I thought of calling Aunt Agnes, but it’s late already. 

I decided my first activity would be to talk to her in the morning.

******

It’s morning, and I crammed myself to reach the library. Once I reached, Aunt Agnes was busy talking to her husband. “Good morning,” I smiled.

“Good morning, pretty girl,” Uncle answered immediately.

“Good morning, dear,” Aunt answered.

“So soon? What brings you here?” She said,

“I hope I am not asking a big thing from you guys.”

They furrowed their brows. “You are looking for a helping hand, and I need a job. My brother wants to admit himself to rehab, and he wants my help.” 

They listened to me carefully.

“But..” Uncle wanted to say something.

“Do you want money? We can help you.” Aunty said.

“No... No. No. I want this job. I want to work here. Please accept me as your helper.” I requested them with all my heart.

They smiled and nodded their head.

Before I spoke about my paycheck, the uncle said.

“I will talk to management. We will pay you biweekly. Is it ok?”