Damaged || Cody Simpson

20

"Bella, stay focused." Cody gently taps my arm when my head falls against the desk in the library. A slight groan escapes my lips as I shuffle in my position, shutting my eyes tighter. "This is what you get when you stay up until 4am studying." He sighs.

"This test is really important for my final grade." I say, reaching for the coffee sat by the end of my book. "I'll be fine after this, I promise."

"You always say that, I'm starting to believe that you're not fine at all." He licks the tip of his finger, flicking to the next page of the text book. "What's the square root of 64?"

"Cody." I laugh, resting my head against my arms. "I'm tired, not stupid, give me a harder question."

"Tell me the square root of 64, and then I'll give you a harder question." He chuckles, his eyes burning into mine as he waits for me to answer the question.

"Eight." I roll my eyes, my finger softly tracing against the solid wood desk. "You underestimate my intelligence sometimes."

"I really don't." He smiles, reaching for my hand from across the table. "You seem to think that you can live without sleep. You can't, Bella."

My eyes trail down to his hand holding mine, his thumb gently tracing against my skin. "I haven't been sleeping well lately."

Codys eyebrows furrow, the look of curiosity spread across his face. "Maybe you should see a doctor."

I abruptly shake my head, pulling my hand away and reaching for the text book so I can find the questions myself. "I don't need a doctor." I push my fingers through my hair, quickly flicking through the pages. "I've just lost my sleeping pattern, I'll get it back."

Cody suddenly grabbed the text book and slid it towards him before slamming it shut. "No more studying." He sighs, his hands securely over it. "Come on a walk with me, the fresh air will do you some good."

"What about my test?" I ask, not wanting to leave the library. "It's in an hour and 30 minutes."

"You were up until 4am studying, Bella." He repeats himself, pushing his chair back. "If you fail, I'll let you hate me."

"Tell me something." Cody says as we walk down the pavement. His hands in the tight pockets of his faded black skinny jeans. "Something only I know, something we can share between us."

"Like what?" I ask, taking in the breeze as it blows my hair out of my face and over, past my shoulders.

He shrugs his shoulders, his head falling back as he looks up towards the clear blue sky. "Something that you're too ashamed to tell people."

"Well." I sigh. "Bella's not my actual name."

Codys snaps his head up, his eyes widening as he thought of a way to process his next sentence. "Well, what about Bella Smith?"

"You can still call me it." I giggle, falling into his arm with my own. "Or, you can call me Arabella Smith." My teeth grip onto my lower lip, nerves filling up in the stomach by the thought of my real name.

"Arabella." He smirks, his eyes studying mine. After a moment of silence, he lifts his head back up. "I like it."

"Don't repeat that in front of anybody!" I practically beg, lifting my head up to meet his gaze. "It's horrible, and none of my friends know, not even Alli and I tell her everything, so please-"

He cuts me off by abruptly holding me against the wall and placing his hand gently over my mouth. "It's between me and you." He whispers, moving his face in closer towards mine. "I promise, not to tell anybody."