Chapter Thirteen

Claire What was happening? Claire stared at Axel as he walked from the library door, leaving her inside where she assumed he thought she was safe. That touch … it'd sent fire down to her toes. Nothing about Axel had ever made her feel wanted, or cared for, and he swooped in and changed everything. Had he even meant to touch her? On reflex, she jumped away from him because on the very few occasions when he touched her before, it didn't feel like that. Claire found her seat in the library and pulled out her bag. She didn't want to dwell on the past because she had forgiven him, but the memory banged in her head, suffocating her. *** Claire stared over the book she held in the library, searching to make sure she was alone. The quiet had become her solace over the last year, her safe haven the library because no one came in there during their lunch hour. She snuggled down into the beanbag in the corner of the small room and curled her legs inward. She'd finished her tuna sandw