Puckered Hearts

Chapter 26

•KAIA•

I quickly ran up the steps and hurriedly made my way towards the elevator. My class starts in less than five minutes, and I started to panic because I thought that I wouldn't make it on time.

I was always the punctual type. I hate getting late to any event; I don't believe in all that crap about 'arriving fashionably late'.

But to be honest, it's the embarrassment that I can't stand. I don't like showing up late to any place and earning myself unnecessary attention from people who had made it there on time.

That's what drives me insane. I cannot live with myself if that happens. I just can't. I don't like it at all.

I'm one of those people who would literally pass out on the spot or wish that God would just open up the ground for me and swallow me whole so I could disappear.

So, I was rushing to my class, hoping that I wouldn't get myself into that nightmare situation. The worst part was that the classroom was located on the third floor, which means the only way to get up there is by getting into the elevator.

But my heart dropped when I looked up and saw the doors about to close. I wasted no time in rushing towards it, hoping I'd make it before it fully closed.

"Hold the door!" I shouted at the person inside.

But, of course, they didn't hear me. Or they chose to ignore me. Both were still worse because I missed the elevator, and the doors closed right in my face when I finally got there.

"Son of a bitch." I swore under my breath before bending over with my hands planted on my knees to catch my breath.

But to my surprise, the doors slowly opened, and I immediately looked up in relief.

What I didn't expect was to see Adrian standing inside with one hand on the button, his eyes narrowing at me.

"Can't this day get any worse?" I voiced the first thought that popped into my head the moment I saw him.

"You're welcome." He remarked with a forced smile.

I quickly stepped inside and shifted right to the corner, leaving a great amount of distance between us. He finally released the button, and a couple of seconds later, the door closed again.

To my greatest disappointment, there were no others getting in, and that just leaves me and him. Alone. Inside.

"Did you just call me a son of a bitch?" He suddenly asked, and my eyes widened with surprise.

He chuckled while leaning back against the wall, and I slowly turned to the side to face him. He tilted his head in my direction, and I caught the cold look in his eyes.

"I held the door for you, and that's what I get as a thank you?"

I swallowed the tight knot forming in my throat and quickly looked away, on the floor.

"I didn't mean to say that. It just came out."

He scoffed loudly in a sarcastic way, and I frowned at him.

"You, Kaia Lilian, always seem to find a way to do a lot of wrong things, and yet, you can never apologize for it."

I quickly folded my arms and narrowed my eyes at him.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

He tilted his head forward and did a little shrug with his shoulder while shoving his hands inside the pockets of his blue varsity jacket.

"And that just proves my point. It seems like you always love to run away from your problems; you tend to forget about them too."

I took a step forward and glared at him.