The Unsuspecting

Chapter 7

*Sean's POV*

    I don't know what to say to my mate. She asked me what happened to the horrible man who was ready to r**e, kidnap and kill her and I can't get myself to tell her the truth. She's human so she won't understand that since he was part demon it was better off that I just kill him and burn the evidence. He even had powers, so they would never have been able to keep him in jail. I don't know if I should tell her that he was arrested by the police or that he was able to run away after we beat the s**t out of him. Should I use the excuse that would make her more comfortable or the one that would require less evidence? I'm leaning towards the cops story, but as I look into her eyes I realize that I can't start our relationship with lies. 

    "Tommy and I made sure that he won't ever be doing anything like that ever again."

    "You didn't call the police? And what does that mean? Did you beat him up?"

    I can see the panic in her eyes and all I want to do is hug her and tell her everything is going to be okay because I'm a werewolf and that demon's weak magic doesn't work on us. I settled for putting my hand over hers and squeezing it a little to get her attention. I can tell that she feels our bond, but she doesn't know what to think of it. I've heard that some mates are able to push certain emotions through their bond, so I thought I might as well try it now. I try sending her calming thoughts and things that give me peace. I instantly see her body relax and her eyes slightly glaze over. This is crazy! Most mates need to be fully mated to do this and I've done it before I've even had enough time to learn her last name! Oh god, I don't even know her last name.

    "Don't worry, we took care of it and everything will be fine. He went back to where he came from and you will never see him again." 

    "You mean he was an illegal and was sent back to his country? He didn't look foreign, where was he from?"

    "Uhh... I don't remember the name of it." Yeah I do. It's called Hell.

    "Okay, I guess he can't go to jail if he isn't even a citizen. I just hope he doesn't try to do it to anyone else."

    I just nod in confirmation and start eating with my other hand and watch as she starts eating as well. She takes the cutest little bites but eats really fast. I've never seen anything so adorable. I start to take another large bite of my pasta when I pause as I remember my question I had to put on hold earlier. 

    "Bell, what's your full name?"

*Annabelle's POV*

    Sean and I had a great lunch and I kinda wished I had more time to spend with him, but I had to get back for my second shift. We're walking to the tutoring center while holding hands. I don't really know how it evolved to this, but he grabbed my hand to calm me down while we were eating and now we can't stop. At one point we had to let go to get rid of our trays and I immediately grabbed his hand as soon as it was available again. I was never this brazen before, but I just couldn't stop myself. He didn't seem to mind though. He actually seemed really happy about it. 

    We finally make it to the tutoring room and as I look through the doorway I see that it's mostly empty. Josh is leaving to fill up his water bottle and I stop him to ask what happened.

    "Josh, why's the center nearly empty?"

    "Oh the majority of the students had tests an hour ago or right now, so it's going to be easy sailing for the next four days or at least until the first assignment is due. There are a couple upper level classes that won't have tests until next week, but we won't have to deal with those students." Josh pauses as he looks from me to my hand intertwined with Sean's then to Sean. "Hey man! How're you doing?"

    "I'm good! We just had lunch together and thought I'd walk Bell back for her shift since I'm done with all my classes for the day."

    "Well since there won't be any students for Bells to tutor today you could probably hang around here with us. We always have random math friends drop by to talk when we're not busy."

    "Yeah I'd love to stay! Tommy's in a class right now and I can't leave campus without him, so I might as well just hang out here."

    "Cool man! I gotta go fill up on water." Josh says then leaves us alone again. Sean turns to me with the cheesiest smile waiting for me to lead him to a place to sit so we can talk for the next couple hours. I can't blame him for being happy, but I have this horrible tiny voice in the back of my head asking me how long it'll take for him to lose interest in me like my last boyfriend. I don't think I could handle having another boyfriend fall in love with another girl while he's dating me. I was honestly planning on never dating again for the rest of my life, but here I am on the cusp of a new relationship. I can already tell that this is going to be one that'll last a long time and when he breaks it off it'll be devastating for me. 

    As if he can tell what I'm thinking about he lets go of my hand and envelops me in one of the warmest hugs I've ever had. I feel this calm feeling overtake me for the second time today. I don't know how he does this but I have never been so grateful for a hug in my life. My head floats to his chest and I breathe in his masculine scent of pine trees. And I feel so at peace that I'd be okay if the world ended right now. What am I saying? I need to get ahold of myself. I force myself away from him then I unconsciously grab his hand and lead him to my usual table.

    "How do you know Josh?"

    "He's in my history class and we're working on a group project together."

    "Wow, does that man know everyone on campus? I mean I know that most of the students went to high school here but there are four different high schools in this town. How does he do it?"

    I hear him chuckling at my comment and my hands stop unloading my backpack so I can look at him. 

    "Tommy and I were thinking the same thing, but we're from a small community where there aren't nearly this many people."

    "Yeah I'm from a small town too and I'm not used to talking to strangers just yet."

    "Me too."

    We settle into a comfortable silence as we start working on our homework. Josh came by to discuss their group project for a little while and left again after they were done. I got through the rest of my assignments due for the week and decided to start working ahead for my calculus II class. I became extremely engrossed in the textbook and could feel a heavy stare on me. I look up and make eye contact with Sean who's now leaning across the table staring at me.

    "What's wrong?"

    "You know someone just left the class across the hall bawling about their test and half the tutors in here left to console her because she was so loud. You didn't even notice. It's like you just entered your own world." As he says this I look over his shoulder to see three people trying to console a girl who's hiccupping from all her crying. I'm feeling pretty grateful that there're others here to console her because I'm horrible with making people feel better. My mom's way of making me feel better was to make me go to my room so she didn't have to hear me cry. By the time I realized I was lacking in my ability to show empathy, the damage had already been done.

    "Oh, I grew up in a house with a lot of younger siblings and I guess I just got used to shutting out any noise while I'm studying."

    "Really? Does that mean you want to have a lot of kids?"

    "I think I only want two of my own, but I always wanted to adopt more too. I feel like there are too many people out there worried about contraception and abortion, but not enough willing to help out the kids who've already been born and need our support now." 

    "That's the most perfect answer I've ever heard." Sean says with with an expression like I just hit his soul with a sledgehammer. I figure it's not really the place to get into a deep conversation, so I changed the subject. We talked for a little while until Tommy came looking for Sean. He seemed really worried about something.

    "Hey Bell, nice to see you again." He says to me and I just nod in reply. "Sean we need to leave for home now. I forgot that I was supposed to be the one to feed the dog and let him out today since no one else would be home." Sean stiffens at this and replies by saying he'll meet him at the car and turns to me to say goodbye. 

    "I'm sorry I have to leave, but can I have your phone number before I go?"

    "Sure, give my your cellphone and I'll put it in." I say and take his phone from his hands. He has a flip phone. I didn't even know they still sold these. I haven't seen one since middle school and it was already starting to become uncommon by the time I was old enough to have one of my own. It was still pretty easy to figure out. I quickly entered my information then sent myself a text so I could have his number too. I gave it back to him after I saw the text go through on my phone. "Okay all set. My last class gets out at 7 so you can text or call me anytime after that."

    "Okay, I'll be calling at exactly 7 tonight" he says with the sweetest smile as he gets up to leave. "Bye Bells"

    "Bye Sean" I say as I watch him head out. I'm suddenly left with this strange urge to go after him and never leave his side. I still have 20 minutes of my shift though and a class to go to afterwards, which is the only reason why I was able to stay where I was. Maybe I do need to see a therapist. For now though, I think I'll have to settle with my roommate's opinion on everything.