Forever Could Be Ours

Chapter 12. | Broken Boundaries

HAYLEIGH

"Alex?" I wave a hand in front of his pale face. "Are you having a panic attack?"

For a second I'm convinced Alexander has gone mute. The palms of his hands are pressed against the bedroom door, his crystal blue eyes slowly twitching in a mix of adrenaline and panic.

I'm unsure if it's the softness of my voice or my touch when I gently move a strand of hair away from his burning forehead that brings him back to reality.

"No," He still has a line of doubt on his face, his breathing settling when he presses his forehead against mine. "Hay, we're screwed."

I'm about to question what he means when the faint sound of talking appears from the hallway. My eyebrows furrow at one of the voices sounding awfully familiar and when I send a questionable glance in Alexander's direction, he flips it off.

"We need to get you out of here before they notice."

I press my hands to my hips firmly. "How?"

"I have a plan."

I await the next step in silence, slowly realizing whatever plan he has figured out, it's as blank as the look on his face. As I gesture for him to proceed, he responds with an innocent shrug.

"Alex, you don't have a freaking plan." I whisper-yell, panic slowly arising in the pit of my stomach. I knew I shouldn't have let my uncritical heart win over my thoughtless brain earlier.

When Alexander texted to meet up no questions allowed, the first thing that crossed my mind was Matty's words in the supply closet.

I think you should stop whatever you're doing before you develop serious feelings for him.

His words echoed like a pulsating beat but the moment I got the first notification from Alexander, the consonants and vowels dissipated into silence. My Friday night alone lacked excitement and I was drawn to knowing that he was thinking of me as much as I was thinking of him.

Alexander feels like a drug and I'm not even an addict yet.

Each day in tiny, countless, and sometimes unnoticeable ways, he grows on me. The simplest smile in my direction is enough to make my heart flutter. I have only been in love once, and as Brittany loves pointing out on several occasions, it ended in shattered pieces. I don't know if I was ready for the pieces to be collected, connected, and broken again like my heart is nothing but limed glass.

In that instance, I'm grateful that my heart overruled my brain. Each step of walking alongside Alexander and discovering more about him felt flawless, even when being soaked in the rain shower.

Alexander tucks at the roots of his dark brown hair. "No I don't, but it's hard to devise a plan when the only escape option happens to be downstairs."

"How about–"

We freeze at the sound of heavy footsteps coming from outside the door. He already seems to fear who's coming by the way he gently grabs my shoulder to prevent me from walking any closer.

He leans his mouth down to my ear. "Hay, promise me you'll be quiet for a second."

For a second? I squint a questionable glance at the door with confused eyes. "Why? Tristan has never met me befor–" His large hand clamps over my mouth when soft knocks appear.

"Reid, come on," A female voice wheezes through the door. "You're seriously not correcting assignments on a game night."

Her voice is soft but with a hint of raspiness, waking up senses of familiarity in my head. Alexander releases his hand from covering my mouth to replace it with his index finger. Whoever this is, he doesn't want her to know I'm here.