Victor: Her Ruthless Crush by Theodora Taylor (beach read book TXT) 📕

“Victor?” I asked against his hand, my panic morphing into confusion.

The steel arm bands eased. And just like that, I was free.

I turned around, and sure enough, there was Victor. He looked like the human embodiment of a raven with both his hair and his long black coat whipping in the wind.

“What the hell, Victor?” I demanded, too upset to sign.

He took off his other glove to answer, “I didn't want you to scream. And I knew that if I tapped you on your shoulder, you would scream.”

“So you decided to scare me half to death instead?” I signed along with my words this time. Just yelling at him wouldn’t fully convey how pissed off I was. Like my mom, I needed the sign language back up.

Victor answered in a rush, his strong hands pale against the black backdrop of his coat. “I was worried when Donny said you didn’t arrive at the station. And you didn’t answer my calls. I was going to take the train to Adachi-ku. Make sure you are okay. I thought that would be faster than having Donny drive me since it’s rush hour. I saw you come out of the station, but you didn’t see me. You walked right past me. I followed you, but I didn't know how to get your attention without scaring you and making you scream. I didn’t want you to scream.”

Guilt instantly replaced my anger.

“My phone doesn’t work underground,” I explained. “And I was in such a hurry to get to our appointment. I didn’t even think to check it. Sorry.”

He looked at me, looked away, then he signed, “Do not apologize. I am glad you are safe and here.”

An awkward silence dropped down between us. And, okay…

I knew he had a girlfriend. Like, the hottest girlfriend ever. Her name was Ayane. We exchanged polite hellos whenever the Thursday tutoring sessions went too long and interfered with their date plans. Which was a lot.

I also knew that I was just some goofy girl his dad had hired to teach him ASL.

But I couldn’t keep myself from signing in my terrible CSL, “You were going to my home? Why didn't you send Donny?”

Strangely, he answered back in CSL too. “I wanted to see with my own eyes. I wanted to know you are safe.”

Okay, my brain knew that Victor and I were just friends. And obviously, he was very loyal to his friends. I mean, he talked more about “his brother” Han, who wasn’t actually blood-related to him, than he did about himself. But my heart…

My heart turned into a puddle of goo inside my chest.

I step closer to him to sign in CSL while speaking in English, “I'm sorry. I'm sorry I scared you.”

I would have preferred to say “worried,” but I didn't know that word in CSL, which gave me an idea.

“Maybe we should learn the sign for WORRY today,” I signed said in ASL. “Do you know that word? It's, like, fear, but not scary fear. It’s like the fear a mother feels for her kid. Like, all the time. Even when she’s being ridiculous.”

He frowned down at me, his expression suddenly becoming as hard as a statue.

And I grimaced, realizing my mistake. He probably had no idea what I was talking about since he didn’t have a mother who worried unnecessarily over him. Ugh! What a clueless thing to say. First, all the missed calls, and now this.

I was about to sign another apology when he grabbed me out of the blue again—this time by the chin.

“Okay, what's happening?” I asked when he turned my face directly into the beam of a nearby streetlight.

He let go of my chin. But only to sign in ASL, “What happened to your face?”

Oh, that…

Somehow the pain of getting face punched less than an hour ago had faded as soon as I saw him.

“Nothing,” I answered in CSL. “Accident.”

He gave me a skeptical look, his eyes sharp and suspicious.

But then, instead of questioning me further, he signed, “You were walking the wrong way from the station. My apartment is this way.

Then he started walking in the right direction, leaving me to catch up to him.

I did, but his gait was so much longer and faster than mine, I almost had to jog to keep up.

Christmas wasn't really a thing in Japan in the Christian sense. But in the “hey, everybody, let's shop!” sense, it was totally on—at least in the Roppongi district. The window displays of the high-end shops we walked past on the way to Victor’s building were strewn with bright fairy lights, custom wreaths, oversized gift box displays, and ultra-fashionable mannequins who looked like they were having the times of their lives.

The responsible tutor in me wanted to use all that visual material as an opportunity for an impromptu Christmas signs lesson. But the girl in me was too worried to say or sign a word.

Victor and I were friends. He had cared enough to come looking for me when I didn't show up for our tutoring session.

But his silence was furious, and I didn't know what to do or what to say to lighten the mood.

We made it back to his place before I could come up with anything. I mumbled an apology to Donny in Japanese as we walked in past him. He said something back, but I didn't understand it. I was too upset about Victor being upset to be at my best for listening comprehension.

Victor entered his suite first and hung back to slide the doors closed behind us after I walked into the room.

Usually, he left them open. But I was still too weirded out by Victor’s sudden mood change to say anything, so I just sat down at my usual spot.

There was a bowl sitting in the middle of the table. It was filled with fruit, a few kinds I didn’t even recognize.

At first, I was super confused, but then I realized these were the favorite snacks