Chapter 133: Starting Over
Chapter 131
She looked at me for a long moment. "Are you serious? Why are you doing this?"
"I'll be honest with you," I said, meeting her eyes. "Because you're very intelligent. Or at least, you have the potential to be. You're one of a kind in that aspect. It would be a shame to waste it."
"Oh great! Another one that's all about my intelligence," she snapped, full of sarcasm, eyes already moist. She stood up abruptly.
"Sit down, Paige. I'm not finished," I said, my tone firm.
She huffed and turned as if to storm out.
"If you walk through that door, there won't be second chances from me," I said in a calm, neutral voice. "You can go and keep wrecking your life. I won't stop you. I want to help you—but don't take it for granted."
She paused. Her shoulders stiffened. Then, slowly, she turned around and sat back down across from me, arms crossed, her eyes hard.
"What exactly do you expect, Paige?" I asked, my voice laced with sarcasm. "You're cute, sure. But I don't lack cute girls around me—and most don't come with this level of problem."
I leaned forward, voice even. "We've talked what—four times? We can't even call ourselves friends. We're barely acquaintances."
She flinched slightly.
"You think I'm moved by your situation? Girl, this country is full of people with broken childhoods and no direction, most of our problems come from that. My own school is packed with them. Girls with parental issues, trouble making friends—and yeah, some of them are cute too. You're not unique in that."