Meet Up In 30?

Meet Up In 30?


Chapter 49
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Rhea
I hadn’t seen Elena all day after then again.
She wasn’t in the hallway when I passed. She wasn’t also in the dining room either, and the weird part was, her plate hadn’t even been touched. That girl never missed lunch, especially when it had steaks. The golden, crispy ones that the kitchen only made on Sundays. Her favorite. The moment they were served, she’d usually beat everyone down the stairs just to get the first stack. And today? Nothing.
I’d checked her room earlier too, but the door was locked. I knocked twice and didn’t hear a sound. Not even that little shuffling she does when she’s annoyed that I’m bothering her. 
I stood there a minute, staring at the door like maybe it’d swing open on its own, then I pressed my ear to it and waited. But everywhere was silent.
I figured maybe she went out for a walk or something, but it had been hours and she still hadn’t shown up.
Something was off.
I was in the library, half-reading the same paragraph for the fifth time. The words blurred together until they stopped looking like English, and that's when I gave up and slammed the book shut. It echoed through the empty space.
The librarian snapped her head toward me, her eyes narrowing behind those tiny glasses she wore on a chain. I just stared back, breathing a little harder than I should’ve
 My brain felt too loud anyway.  
I stood, snatched my bags and left the room, heading toward the gardens just to clear my head. It was quiet. The kind of quiet that buzzed under my skin and made me feel like something was coming. I hugged my arms to my chest and walked toward the edge of the rose bushes, needing something to focus on.
That was when I saw Kael.
He was standing near the fountain, scrolling through his phone like he didn’t have a care in the world. His hair was a mess, curls falling into his eyes, and his black shirt clung to him like it was tailored to his muscles.
God. Why did he have to look like that when I was already in a weird mood?
I tried to act casual. I wasn’t in the mood to talk, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t say hi.  My steps slowed as I walked up, clearing my throat when I was close enough, and trying to ignore the way my stomach always fluttered around him.
He looked up, and his face lit up just a little when he saw me.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," I replied, biting the inside of my cheek. "Have you seen Elena today?"
He shook his head. "Not since this afternoon, why?"
I shrugged. "She’s been MIA since afternoon. She locked her door and she didn’t eat. It’s weird."
He nodded slowly. "Now I'm worried."
I didn’t answer that. Instead, I crossed my arms and looked away. "She better not be doing that thing again where she disappears into her head and won’t talk to anyone."
Kael didn’t say anything, he just kept watching me.
I sighed. "I’ll check on her later, maybe she’s just sleeping it off or something."
"Let me know if you need anything," he said softly, and that made my chest clench a bit. I nodded.
I turned and walked away before I did something stupid like ask him to stay.
The rest of the day crawled, like time had taken a nap and left me alone with my thoughts.
I tried reading again. Nope.
I also tried helping with kitchen prep, and I ended up slicing my finger
I’d texted her three times already and gotten nothing back. I even knocked again and tried calling her name, but she didn’t respond.
I didn’t like this. I hated it.
Later in the evening, I went to the storage room to drop some files that had been dismissed by Kael and I met Aiden leaning against the door.
Aiden was I had been sparring partners for the past two years. We got along so well, we became permanent partners. He grinned when he saw me.
“Figured you'd come here.” A cocky smile appeared on his face.
“Shut up.” I said.
“Someone's feisty today.”  
I exhaled deeply and slightly punched him in the shoulder. “I haven't seen Elena all afternoon.” 
“Maybe she's cooling off at her secret spot.” 
“Yeah, I suppose.” 
“Meet up in 30?” 
“Sure.”
“See you later, mi lady.” He waved, then left.
I sighed and closed the door when I was done. I gave up pretending to care about anything else. I left my room and headed straight to the hallway again. Just as I turned the corner, I saw movement. A figure.
It was Elena.
Finally, but something was wrong.
She was walking weirdly, like she was trying not to move too fast, but also not too slow. Her arms were tight around her middle, her steps unsure, like the floor was too far away or maybe too close.
My heart skipped. I blinked, then i started walking quickly toward her.
“Elena?”