na'
fear. I barely had any sleep at nigh
, the d
stood on the porch, his expression unreadable and his posture stiff. He didn't offer a greeting when the door opened. H
dining room," I said,
he table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. His moveme
materials were laid out on the table as well, ready to be used. Seeing he was bein
ke, Julian responded with the bare minimum required for me to go
tion exercise?" I asked, sl
ed me the notebook without
," I noted, pointing to a line of his sharp, aggressive h
if he was trying to force down his words. "I unde
rying to keep my tone professional. "If you are not going to com
yes made me swallow hard. "My commitment is not
pes of grammar that he clearly already understood, but he forced me to repeat myself by offering n
is textbook, and for a split second, the side of my hand brushed against his forearm. The reaction was instant. Julian did not flinch, he remained
" I whispered, my he
he muttered, his voice
ice trembling slightly despi
matters. Like we are jus
e are, Julian,"
backwards. "Don't lie to me. I see the way yo
s. "You are being ridiculous. I am trying to help you,
l I was backed against the sideboard. "You're the one who keeps pushing, pretend
ring against my chest, I n
r blatant disrespect. If you cannot handle a simple lesson without turning
r tutor? You think I would let
. "You come into my home and treat me like an inconvenience. You act like my presence is a burden yo
are a constant, agonizing distraction. I spend every second of these lessons trying not to notice the way yo
g. "If it is such an agony for you to be n
back. "That is the damn problem. I want to leave, and I want to stay, and I want to tear these book
as crumbling. "You are just looking for a reason to be cr
ounter beside my head, the sound making me jump. "You thin
dge of defiance. "Stop the games. Stop the coldnes
to the icy demeanor he had arrived with. The argument reached a hot pitch, our voices clashing in a blur of resent
ed, my eyes searching his.
he whi
ad stopped, but the energy in the room was louder than ever. I opened
hunger, his hand sliding into my hai
fr
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