Deep (Heavy Hearts Book 2) by Sarah Duncan (reading tree txt) 📕

Allison’s smile drops, and she almost looks as if she’s going to cave, but the stupid girl doesn’t. Luckily for her, Miss Dice approaches right before I get the chance to make her move.

“Off to your next class Allison.”

Allison shoots me a brown-eyed dagger before she throws on a fake smile and turns to Miss Dice, passing by her.

Miss Dice frowns before looking at me.

I shake my head. “Don’t ask.”

Shooting me a sympathetic smile as I pass by my favourite teacher, I make my way to PE class. As I walk, I try my best to ignore the whispers and stares. When people stare too long, I shoot them a glare that makes them turn away, and when I see Sophie and Abbey, I look each of them in the eye as I pass. Abbey looks away immediately, but Sophie mutters, “Skank”. I just shoot her a toothy grin trying to show her she doesn’t affect me, even though she does.

Marcus and Shaun catch up with me on the way to PE and flank me, giving me a little more confidence as we walk. Abbey is meant to be in this PE class, but she isn’t anymore. Her parents must have moved her out, which is fine by me. All my boys are in this PE class, and for once, I actually enjoy playing today's activity of basketball.

Unfortunately, there’s a little problem. These boys, my boys, are being a little too overprotective. Dylan Brent, a guy I have always been friends with, gets totally blocked from talking to me on the court. When he approaches me, Marcus steps in front of him while Garrett leads me away. At first, I thought I imagined it, but I know for sure that these guys are up to something after the third time it happens. It does nothing but piss me off. By the end of class, I’m so angry that I storm off the court and into the girls change room before the boys can catch up with me, and I’m thankful for the breather from their intense hovering.

After I change back into the uptight FP Catholic formal uniform, I shoot the group chat a message to say that I’ll catch up with them, and I wait patiently in a toilet cubicle for everyone to clear out so I can sneak off to the Library to hide out during recess. When the coast is clear, I go straight to my usual spot in the back corner and force myself not to think about my time there with Ayden when he sat with me while I slept and hid from going to class. It’s hard not to think of him while I’m here, though. I swear I can almost smell his spicy scent lingering in the air.

It doesn’t take long for my phone to blow up with messages from the boys. They’re worried, and it makes me feel like shit for ditching them. Not enough to go to them, but enough to send them a message to let them know I’m okay and I’ll see them later.

After recess, instead of double Art, I have my first counsellor's appointment, so I reluctantly drag my feet to the administration building to get it over and done with.

The door to the counsellor’s office is open when I approach, so I tap on it popping my head in. A tall man with a shaven head, dark facial hair, and ear-piercing stretchers sits behind a desk in the far corner.

“Ah, you must be Lexi. Come on in.” He has a deep friendly voice and blue eyes that are nearly as blue as Ayden’s. Damn it! Why do I compare everything to Ayden?

Walking in, I close the door behind me, taking a seat in the one he gestures to as he comes to join me in the seat opposite.

“I’m Mr Matthews, but in this room, you are welcome to call me Stephen.” In his hands, he holds a red clipboard that has a file attached. Great. He’s going to be taking notes. This whole situation makes me uncomfortable, so I keep my mouth shut and cross my arms over my chest.

Mr Matthews chuckles quietly. “I get it. Seeing the school counsellor isn’t your sort of thing, but we have to meet for at least thirty minutes every week, so let’s talk about something.”

“Like what?” I ask, unimpressed.

“Well, anything. You can talk to me about how you are feeling today, or about what happened a couple of weeks ago at home, or even what boys you are crushing on.” Mr Matthews seems like an okay guy, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to divulge all of my secrets to him.

“What if I’m crushing on girls?” I smirk, and he smiles back.

“It’s fine if you are. Is there a girl you’re interested in?”

“Nope. That’s gross.”

Mr Matthews laughs. “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?”

“Nope.” I shake my head again.

“You don’t trust me?” He asks, and I shake my head. “Do you trust anyone?”

I shrug.

“I’m guessing you have more people in your life that you don’t trust, than you do. Is that right?”

I shrug again, looking away because he’s hit a nerve, and I don’t want him to see. When I look back, he’s writing something in the file.

“What does my file say?” He looks up, surprised at my question.

“I’m sorry, that’s confidential.”

“But it’s my file. Shouldn’t I be privy to what it says? How am I meant to trust you when you’re keeping things from me?”

Mr Matthews regards me for a moment and then nods his head. “Okay, Lexi, I’ll read you what is in the file if you tell me how you are feeling today. Deal?”

He’s good at what he does. For all I know, this is how he gets all the kids to talk. I nod because I really want to know what the hell is in the file.

“Okay. The file says your