Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 44009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
The sunlight burned my eyes as I stepped outside, making me lower my head as I trudged down the path. Then, I heard a symphony of familiar laughs that made me turn my head. My heart immediately sank at the sight of Zephyr, Arvo, Erin, and Poppy standing by the wall. Why did I have to see them everywhere I went?
“I’ll come by your place after class,” Erin told Zephyr as she leaned against his side, tucking herself under his arm. She gazed up at him with starry eyes, but Zephyr’s eyes were on me.
I slowed my steps, feeling entranced by his familiar eyes at first. I missed gazing into those eyes before pressing my lips against his. I missed feeling safe in his arms. I missed a lot of things that I probably wouldn’t ever get back.
Did Zephyr miss me in the slightest? Or did he hate me so much that he wanted to make me disappear too? By his blank stare, it was hard to tell. He then looked away from me and looked down at Erin.
“Okay,” he said.
Despite him not sounding all that enthusiastic, it still made my chest ache that Erin would be in his room today. In his bed. I thought I belonged with him, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe we were meant to be on opposing sides.
That was a crushing thought. I wanted to be close to him so badly, but so many things kept pulling us away from each other. Now, I was working with Dean Schmidt, actively opposing Zephyr, which I previously thought I would never do. Broken hearts did change people.
Unable to stomach them any longer, I hurried away, making a direct line to the library where I would spend the rest of the day. I didn’t feel like going back to the room and talking to Buffy. I wanted to be alone, and I also needed to study. Badly.
The term was nearly over, and I was falling behind. I kept getting distracted by the rest of my life, and school didn’t seem all that important in the grand scheme of things. I wished that passing tests was my biggest problem in my life. I would take that over the personal hell I had to deal with any day.
I went over my notes and read through my textbooks, trying to absorb all of the information that I didn’t pay attention to in class. There was a lot to cover, and I found myself still in the library late that night. Since I was the only one left, the library was eerily quiet.
I could hear the whoosh of the pages turning as I read through my textbook, the scratching sound of my pen on paper. I absorbed what information I could, reminding myself that I was still a student, even if I hardly felt like that any longer. It didn’t feel like I was at Stormcloud to learn. I was here to uncover the truth.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps slowly thumping outside of the library. I looked up and peered at the entrance of the library, waiting to see who dragged themselves here for some late-night studying. No one walked through the door, though.
It sounded like they were pacing out in the hallway. Were they waiting? A sinking feeling clutched me as I quietly put my pen down. Were they waiting for me?
It was hard to figure out if my thoughts were crazy or not. I overthought plenty of things for my own safety, but what if I was right? I didn’t feel safe staying in the library any longer, so I wasn’t going to be able to study any more today. I needed to go back to Buffy’s room.
Slowly, I rose from my seat, careful not to push the wooden legs against the floor and make them scrape. Whoever was waiting outside probably knew that I was already there, but I wasn’t going to let them know when I slipped out of the side entrance. They could wait out there all night long for me.
I gathered my books, papers, and my pen in my arms, clutching everything to my chest as I stepped away from the table. I glanced at the library entrance one more time, but no one was there. I wasn’t falling for their trap.
I walked forward instead of to the right, eyeing the side door that led outside. I didn’t care if it was the long way to Buffy’s room. I just wanted to make it there in one piece. After slowly pulling the door open and still hearing it creak, I hurried through the opening and let it slam behind me.
I followed the concrete path that led to another door that led to the main hallways of the school. Hopefully, whoever was still outside of the library wasn’t roaming the hallways looking for me. I didn’t know what they wanted, but it probably wasn’t anything good.