Disguised as a Nerd

Chapter 20

A tear slips out and I rush to wipe it away.

I know if Tatiana sees that I'm tearing up, she will continue to do worse. Seeing me in pain is like adding fuel to her anger.

Then she kicks me one more time in the pit of my stomach. I start wishing for someone to walk into this bathroom and help me. 

I close my eyes once I feel her hand come in contact with my face. She grabs my neck and holds it just enough for me to look directly at her eyes but not strong enough to actually choke me. 

"Hey, Nessa..." she whispers with so much hatred. "You thought I wouldn't find out about your little trip with the guys?" she chuckles. "Didn't I make it clear that I'm going after Asher, you should take the hint that it also means you should back off from him," she continues. So, this is what it's all about. Asher and Asher only.

"Next time I see you and him together, I won't be as nice," she says with so much venom on her voice. She stands up to leave not after pushing my head back to hit it against the wall. I look down until I no longer hear the sound of her heels against the concrete floor.

I slowly push myself up as I feel all the pain rush back to my body. I limp towards the mirror and see my reflection. All I see is a broken girl. A girl who is about to give up. Then I softly laugh. This is what I wanted, right? 

I wanted to be treated for me and not because of my money. I lift a bit of my shirt up to see a red spot with a bit of blood. I grab a paper towel and clean up the bit of blood. Then I try covering up the mark of the slap she gave me. 

Once I'm satisfied with my appearance which is good enough to not alert anyone, I leave the bathroom and head to my class. I walk in and see the class working on an assignment. The teacher simply greets me and helps me catch up with the task. As I sit down, the pain comes again and I try hard enough to not make a sound. 

(time skip)

It's finally time for lunch and I head to my locker to leave some of my books. As I close my locker I see Emily at the end of the hallway heading to the stairs, probably going to the lunchroom. I take this as my chance to walk in the other direction to the library doors. I walk in and the librarian greets me with a warm smile which I return.

I walk all the way to the back of the library which has a nice seating area that a lot of people use it as a bed. I sit down and stretch my legs getting comfortable. I decide that this is a good time to do some homework since I probably have loads of work at the company. Five minutes into lunchtime my phone lights up, signaling I received a message.

Asher

Asher: Hey are you coming for lunch?

I sigh and close my phone again. I decide I will just ignore it and come up with any excuse later.

(Time Skip)

I'm walking to the last class of the day and luckily I managed to pass by the group without them noticing me. I take my seat, take out my pencil, and look at the board for directions. I'm too focused on reading the board that I never noticed that someone has taken the seat behind me. I don't notice it until someone comes to my ear and whisper, "Are you okay?"

I basically jump in my seat at the deep voice who has whispered in my ear. I turn to face the person knowing too well I won't like what I see. I give the person a small forced smile. 

"I'm good Asher," I respond back.

"No you're not, why didn't you answer my text?" he asks.

"Umm.. what texts?" I stupidly ask. I mentally slap myself for this one. I turn my body to face forward again and see the teacher about to start the lesson. Asher tries to ask something else but stops himself once the teacher starts talking. Throughout the whole lesson, I start planning how I'm going to leave the school before I have to talk with Asher. Hopefully, everything comes out right.

My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the bell. I stand up immediately and pack my things so quickly that I'm out the door the next second. I decide to leave school and go to the block ahead of us to wait for Michael. I know that if I was to head to my locker after class, it would have been enough time for Asher to catch up to me.

Luckily for me, Michael gets there seconds after I stand there. I get in the car and Michael begins driving to the company. I let out a sigh of relief knowing that I escaped an uncomfortable situation. 

I get to the company an take the private elevator to the top floor. Once I get out of the elevator, I head into my office and head into this room to change my outfit and fix myself. I walk out without the nerdy items and a white-colored elegant romper suit. I go towards my desk and look at today's schedule. I notice I have about 45 minutes before my meeting with the marketing team. In those 45 minutes, I make sure I have everything that will be needed in the meeting.

(Time skip) (I know these are repetitive but I really don't know what to include here)

After a long meeting with the marketing team, I'm finally heading back to my office. I take a seat and take a deep breath. I'm so tired that I could fall asleep at any moment but I stop myself from falling asleep. I look at all the documents I have to finish on my computer and get to work. After a bit, my phone it's up. I reach to grab it and see I've received a message. 

Asher

Asher: Hey Vanessa

Asher: I don't know why you are ignoring me :(

Asher: Could you please let me know what I did so I can apologize and make things better?

Me: Hey, you didn't do anything. So stop worrying :)

Asher: U sure?

Asher: I just have a feeling that you are trying to avoid me

Asher: but if you say so, I'll dismiss it

Me: Yeah everything is good

Asher: Good:)

Asher: Btw I really missed you today...

I looked at the last message he sent. I stared at it longer than intended. God, this boy really knows how to mess up my emotions. But I know that I should control myself. Slowly but surely, I have to distance myself from him. 

I shut off my phone and continue to work being fully aware that I left him on seen.

Soon I'm arriving back at home where I'm guessing Emily is waiting for me. As I open the door to the house, the smell of food being cooked immediately hits my nose. So, I decide to go to the kitchen knowing I will find someone there.

Just as I predicted, I find Emily once again setting two plates down on the huge kitchen island.

"Hey! I thought you weren't going to come anymore," she says.

"Sorry, I should have sent a message at least," I apologize.

"It's fine, but you know what's not fine?" she asks. I look at her confused by her question. "You running away for lunch and after school," she finishes and crosses her hands over her chest. 

"Explain," she says.

"Um... its nothing," I murmur and stuff myself with food as an excuse to not talk anymore. She gives me a suspicious look but lets it go.

After having dinner with Emily we both head to our rooms to get ourselves ready for bed. I head to the bathroom and take a quick shower. Once I'm out I realized I only brought my undergarments but I forgot to bring my sleepwear. 

I just simply walk out in my undergarments into my room and look for my sleepwear but I jolt upwards at a person's voice.

"Vanessa do-" begins to speak Emily but gets interrupted as she sees me. She wears pure shockness at seeing me in this state. Later I realized it not because of that. It's more about what she sees at the side of my stomach. I close my eyes knowing this isn't good. 

"Vanessa what the heck happened?" she asks in a demanding and serious tone.

No one can save me from this.

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