23. The chapter where Christian feels guilty

Christian

I left Rose's room still trying to control my heartbeat. What the fuck just happened? I put my hands in the front pockets of my pants trying to disguise my situation a little, but how could I control myself if I could still taste the sweetened drink in my mouth? If the sensation of her warm skin under my lips was still alive in my mind?

" Damn Christian, she's drunk! " I muttered to myself, walking down the hall.

I felt terrible for what had happened, all right, I had been taken by surprise by her attitude and I had externalized the desire I felt for her, but I was the sober part of that equation, I shouldn't have reciprocated.

I was just reaching the stairs to go to my room when Theo's voice caught my attention.

" Hey, Davis. Did she sleep? " Theo asked.

" I left her in her room, I don't know if she slept or not," I blurted, trying not to show what had happened moments ago.

" Liam and Sky are stuck in an eternal DR, I gave up waiting for the car keys," he explained, climbing the last few steps with me to get to our bedroom floor.

" Those two need to work it out at once," I muttered.

" Tell me about it. And as for your friend…”

" I'd personally flay him alive for what happened today," I muttered.

And I certainly would. Things wouldn't have gotten out of hand like that if he had stopped Rose from making that stupid bet.

But as I expected, when I got to my room I found his bed empty. I decided to leave it for the next day, falling into bed after taking off my shoes and jacket, throwing it on my desk anyway.

I felt exhausted on so many levels, but my body and mind still yearned for Rose, keeping me from falling asleep at once by imagining all that could have happened if I hadn't left that room.

" She was drunk, you did the right thing, Christian," I muttered to myself.

Still, the memories of those brief moments, her caresses, her kisses, and the way she was completely devoted to me haunted me for hours, until I finally fell asleep.

I woke up the next day feeling a little better, just a little. I knew that after everything that had happened, Rose would be feeling terrible and it was my duty to make sure that things didn't get awkward between us. I confess that part of me hoped that she would decide to finish sober what she started yesterday, after all, nobody does drunk what they don't want to do sober, and it was more than clear that neither of us was looking for a relationship, but I wouldn't be the one to propose that.

Harry's bed remained untouched, making me wonder where he had been all night. I didn't remember seeing him after we took Rose to Liam, and he was just as drunk as she was.

Without thinking much more about his absence, I got ready and went to Mrs Hahn's class, hoping that today wasn't one of the days that she decides to extend the class until the last second. I decided to check on Rose before leaving, but she didn't answer when I knocked on her bedroom door, so I gave up. Either she is still sleeping or she has already left for class, either way, I will see her later.

" Davis, there you are " Liam called me when I was almost at the door.

" Hey…”

" Have you seen Rose? " He started to follow me.

" No, I stopped by her room, but she didn't answer. I'll try again at lunch," I shrugged, trying to remain neutral so that he wouldn't suspect anything.

" You know what would be great? That you take her somewhere else, the guy from yesterday is from Alpha and I want to settle this matter. Besides, I think it would be good for her to stay away for a while, there's no talk of anything else on campus," he asked before handing me Brigitte's key and going on his way towards the Arts building.

I went the opposite way, thinking about what he had said, and every time someone whispered to a friend at the sight of me I gave him more reason. If they were like that with me, how was it for Rose?

I managed to ignore all the stares until I was sitting in the back of Miss Hahn's room, as always trying to keep as much distance from the woman as possible. I watched Harry's empty seat, still wondering where he was.

" Are you all right? " a girl called my attention.

I had seen her a few times in that class, she was very tall and seemed quite shy, since she always tried to keep the maximum distance from everyone and wore her hair covering part of her face.

" Yes, I am," I frowned, finding this interaction strange.

Now that she was close, I could see details of her face. Her eyes were a pale green highlighted by her dark brown hair.

" I'm Cam... Camille Martin, I heard what happened, and I thought it was nice that you defended your friend.”

" Thank you," I answered doubtfully.

Then, as suddenly as she had approached, she stood up and walked away, returning to her usual secluded corner. I frowned at this strange interaction, but soon Miss Hahn began her class, causing me to put it aside.

Luckily, Miss Hahn finished the class a few minutes early, which gave me time to go to my room, get my helmet and the one Harry constantly lent me that was in his closet, and go to the building where Rose had her painting class.

The expression on her face showed that her day was as difficult as I imagined it would be, and I hoped to alleviate at least a little of that situation. Rose was in a paint"stained jumpsuit and her hair was stuck up anyway, so different from other days that she seemed to spend hours grooming herself, but still, she looked pretty.

" Hey," she forced a smile.

She was clearly uncomfortable with my presence and I hated that feeling. I didn't want her to feel that way around me.

" How are you feeling today? " I tried to be as natural as possible.

" Well, I can't say that I'm better than yesterday because…” she indicated the people who were watching us without any discretion as she left the room.

" What do you think about getting out of here? I thought we might have lunch somewhere else today. " I raised my helmets.