Craving My Brother's Best Friend (Bailey and Kaleb) novel Chapter 33

Bailey’s POV

My eyes were fixed on the book in front of me. The words on the page blurred into one another, but I refused to look away.

I needed to read and keep my mind busy, to drown out the ache in my chest.

I didn’t even notice when someone walked up to me until the book I was reading was suddenly slammed shut in front of me.

“Bailey,” a voice said firmly, and my chair was turned so I was forced to face her.

“You’re scaring me.”

It was Selena. Her brows were drawn together, her lips pressed into a tight line.

I groaned, annoyed, and spun the chair back toward the desk.

“I’m fine,” I muttered. “Just let me study.”

Selena was not the type to give up easily. She reached over and snatched the book from my hands.

“You’ve been crying for two days straight,” she said, tapping the cover of the book with her finger.

“And now suddenly you’re studying like you’re about to make some new discovery. This isn’t healthy, Bailey.

And you’re not about to die on my watch.”

“Selena, let me be,” I said quietly, my voice trembling even though I tried to sound calm.

“We have exams; I have to study.”

She stood there, staring at me, her eyes softening. She wasn’t fooled by my act.

I understood her concern, even if I pretended not to. I hadn’t gone back to my apartment in a week after what happened between me and Kaleb.

I couldn’t risk running into him. I couldn’t risk breaking down again in front of him. As far as I was concerned, we were done.

And I wasn’t going to let a situationship ruin my grades.

So I studied like my life depended on it.

“Eat something at least,” Selena said suddenly, sliding a plate toward me across the desk.

The smell of food hit my nose, but I had no appetite.

“I’m not hungry,” I said, pushing the plate back.

She narrowed her eyes at me, her patience running thin. “That’s it,” she said.

“I’ll go find your brother and tell him you want to die. Maybe he’ll knock some sense into you.”

My eyes widened.

“Selena, don’t you dare,” I snapped, reaching for the plate before she could actually get up.

She smirked, satisfied, as I picked up the spoon. I couldn’t risk having David pry any information out of me.

“That’s what I thought.”

I sighed, defeated, and forced myself to eat even though every bite felt like sawdust in my mouth.

The days passed fast and exams started.

Against Selena’s advice I continued to study every time until I couldn’t hold my head up, that was the only way I could sleep without crying or thinking about him.

Exam week was brutal but I pushed through.

“Bailey,” Selena said when she found me later in the library, her voice soft. “You okay?”

I lifted my eyes from my notes. “I’m fine.”

“You know he takes this course and will be in the exam with you today.” she asked carefully, refusing to say Kaleb’s name.

My throat tightened, but I shrugged.

“Doesn’t matter. He’s nothing to me now.”

Selena gave me a long look but she didn’t say anything more.

She simply sat down beside me and pushed a bottle of water toward me.

“Drink,” she said.

I smiled weakly and obeyed.

Inside, though, I wasn’t fine.

My heart was still heavy, and his coldness replayed in my mind again and again.

But I told myself I had no choice. I had to focus, survive the rest of the semester and pass these exams.

That was all that mattered.

I studied until the morning of the exam.

The exam hall was massive. Rows of desks stretched endlessly, and the air was thick with tension.

Everyone clutched pens, calculators, and lucky charms.

I sat down, my heart pounding in my chest. The invigilator walked in, dropped a heavy stack of papers on the desk, and started handing them out.

When the sheet landed in front of me, my stomach dropped.

It was brutal. The questions looked like they were written in another language. I squeezed my pen tighter and forced myself to breathe.

I poured everything I had into the paper, ignoring the ache in my back and the way my chest tightened every time I thought about him.

By the time the exam ended, I was drained. My legs shook as I stood up and walked toward the exit.

I saw him standing near the door.

He stood near the doorway, his tall frame leaning against the wall.

His dark eyes were colder than ice, fixed straight ahead as if I didn’t exist.

He didn’t spare me a glance. He didn’t even move.

My heart cracked inside my chest.

For a moment, I almost stopped walking. I wanted him to call my name excitedly and look at me and ask how the exam was.

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