Chapter 15 The Unseen Pull
Elena’s POV
The morning started with Grandma fussing over my outfit and checking my bag ten times. She looked at me with so much pride, convinced that I was finally starting a normal life which is school. I didn't have the energy to tell her that a "normal life" was impossible for someone like me.
We drove to the school in silence, but my mind was racing with Malakor's warning.
Grandma squeezed my hand before I got out, her eyes watery as she wished me luck. I watched her car drive away, feeling a heavy weight in my chest as I stood alone at the gate.
I walked through the entrance, carrying the new books and supplies Grandma had bought for me. The halls were filled with students who all seemed to have a purpose and a place to belong. A teacher with a tight bun found me and told me she would lead me to my first period.
I followed her through the crowded hallways, feeling like a ghost walking among the living. The teacher’s heels clicked loudly against the polished floor as we reached the classroom door. She pushed it open without knocking, and the sudden wall of noise made me flinch as I stepped inside.
My eyes went straight to the back of the room where a crowd had gathered around a desk. A bigger guy was holding someone by the collar, lifting him up and shaking him violently. My heart stopped when I realized the person being bullied was actually Liam, looking trapped and angry.
I didn't even think before I started moving, pushing past the desks to reach the back of the class. "Leave him alone!" I shouted, my voice sounding much louder than I expected in the quiet room. I told the people holding him to get their hands off him and step back right now.
The whole class turned to look at me in total shock as if I had just done something impossible. The teacher began shouting at the top of her lungs for the students to keep quiet and return to their seats. She pointed at the boys who were fighting and told them to meet her in the office during break.
The teacher then turned her sharp gaze on me, looking at me with deep disapproval. She asked if this was how I planned to behave on my very first day at the school. She then demanded to know where I knew Liam from and why I was interfering in a fight.
"I am staying in his home," I said simply, not realizing how that would sound to a room full of teenagers. The whole class burst into loud laughter, with students shouting "wow" and making fun of us. The teacher had to yell at them to shut up before the chaos completely took over the room.
"No!" Liam interrupted suddenly, his voice booming so loud that it echoed off the high ceiling. He used his hand to rub his head aggressively, looking like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him. He looked at the teacher with a desperate expression as he tried to fix my mistake.
"She’s my far cousin," Liam lied, his voice dropping slightly as he tried to regain control of the situation. "She’s just staying with us for a while because of family stuff." The students continued to whisper, but the loud laughter died down into curious murmurs as they stared at us.
The teacher sighed and told me to find a place to sit so the lesson could finally begin. I walked over and sat down beside a boy named Daniel, who gave me a small, friendly smile. I could feel Liam’s eyes burning into the side of my head from the back of the room.
The period finally ended, and the bell sounded like a loud, vibrating alarm that made my head throb. Liam and the boys who were bullying him bolted out the door the moment the sound stopped. Soon, everyone had left the class except for me and Daniel, who was packing his books slowly.
Daniel looked at me and asked if I was feeling good or if I needed any help with the lessons. I told him that I was fine, but he didn't seem to believe me as he watched my face. He started talking about the day I fainted, asking why it happened and if I was truly recovered.
"I'm fine, really," I said, about to tell him more about what happened that day. Just as I opened my mouth to speak, a sharp, white-hot pain stabbed through the center of my chest. I gasped, clutching my heart as the world began to tilt and spin violently around me.
Thick, cold sweat started to break out across my body, and I felt like I was losing my breath. Daniel’s face turned from friendly to terrified as he watched me start to shake and turn pale. "Elena? What’s wrong?" he asked, reaching out to steady me as I stumbled against the desk.
I could barely hear him over the loud roaring in my ears and the pulsing pain in my heart. I remembered what Malakor told me about the punishment for breaking the rules. In my thoughts, I didn't understand why, but I knew this pain was connected to Liam.
I grabbed Daniel’s arm, my fingernails digging into his skin as I fought to stay standing. "Liam," I groaned, the sound coming out as a pained grunt because the agony was so intense. "Liam is in danger. You have to go and find him right now, please."
Daniel looked at me with a confused and worried eye, his mouth hanging open in shock. "What do you mean?" he asked, looking at me like I had lost my mind. "You are here feeling pain and you are telling me to go look for Liam instead of helping yourself?"
I made a grunt of pain and tried to stand up, but my legs were too weak to hold my weight. Daniel caught me and helped me up, seeing that I was not going to change my mind about finding him. We started looking for him together, even though my body felt like it was being torn apart.
Daniel started running up and down the hallways with me, checking every room and corner of the building. My vision was fading, but I kept pushing forward, guided by a strange pull I couldn't explain. We finally reached the area of the school pool, and the pain became almost unbearable.
We burst through the heavy doors and saw the water rippling in the large, blue pool. Liam was inside the water, drowning and sinking to the bottom without making a single sound. Daniel didn't hesitate; he jumped into the water and swam down to grab Liam’s limp body.
I collapsed on the floor, watching through blurry eyes as Daniel pulled him out of the water to the edge. The pain in my heart began to fade slightly as Liam was moved onto the solid ground. I lay there shivering, knowing that Malakor's warning was finally coming true in the worst possible way.