025

025

Gaia
"I didn't exactly ask you to come in." Alyssa's petite figure propped lazily against her door. Her ginger colored hair was packed into a tiny bun, the hair bond threatening to break at the amount of hair stuffed into it. She was wearing her signature lazy smile and it seemed to complement her blue striped pajamas, giving her a complete sleeping through the weekend look.

"I don't remember asking for permission either." I wiggled my way into her living room, the heavenly smell of apple pie wafting through my nostrils. Still basking in the euphoria of the goodies I was about to delve into, I wordlessly made my way to the kitchen.

On the island, a wide array of goodies were spread out, ranging from pies to cookies, to muffins. Everything I'd ever dream of was on that tabletop.

"Owww!" I frowned as Alyssa slapped my outstretched hands making me drop my strawberry muffin in the process. “Whatcha do that for?"

"That's for coming into my house when I didn't ask you to." She took a stool from underneath the island and sat opposite me. “And for trying to touch my baked goodies without my permission first."

"Since when do I have to ask for permission?" I pouted, dusting off the crumbs that had fallen into my laps. “It's me!"

"Exactly." She stuck out her tongue and I couldn't help but smile. She was a child at heart and I guess it was one of the many reasons I loved her. I sighed softly and sank deeper into my stool, the wooden top of the chair sending cold chills up my spine.

Alyssa's baby blue walls stared back at me, its gentle hue calming me, surprisingly. Her kitchen and dining area were merged, giving off a huge homey vibe. Just behind Alyssa's head, she'd stacked a couple of plates up on the wall to create some kind of wall art and it was actually kinda pretty. Each plate had a…..

"Hey." Her soft voice brought me back to reality. I jolted at her palm resting on my mine, but relaxed when I found out it was just her. “Are you okay?"

"Would you believe me if I said I was?" I didn't meet her eyes. Instead, my gaze wandered down to her bunny flip flops. “I'm fine."

"Well, your facial expressions say otherwise." She plucked a strawberry muffin from the cooling tray and handed it over to me. “And you really need to learn some make up. What's wrong with you?"

"Oh, God." I moaned in ecstasy as the strawberry topping melted against my tongue, a huge wave of pleasure crashing down on my taste buds.

Alyssa definitely had magic hands in the kitchen. Don't look at me like that, I'm better at throwing punches...

"...you have that look again." I found my best friend creasing her eyebrows. “What's wrong?"

"Aside from the fact that I just had a foodgasm?" I muttered a laugh hoping to lighten up the atmosphere but the ginger colored mass in front of me could easily tell it was fake. “Is it that bad?"

"You haven't even stolen any cookies yet or tried to hoard the pie either." An eyebrow shot up as she folded her arms across her chest. “So you tell me."

"Fine." I slung my backpack forward, resting it on my lap. Unzipping it, I threw six black envelopes onto the island, careful not to stain them or ruin the treats in front of us. “Voila."

"What's this?" Alyssa picked one up, her eyes zeroing in on the skull designs that seemed to be more intricate than the previous ones. “Did you take up some weird art class and didn't tell anyone about it?"

"I wish." I scoffed. “Go on, open it."

"Okay." She threw a wary glance at me before shifting her focus back to the black paper in front of us. A shrill cry escaped her lips as the letter she was previously holding fluttered to the ground. “Jeez Vivi, what was that? What did you? How did, when?"

"I have no idea." Something in between a laugh and a cry left my lips. I ran a hand through my hair. “I've been getting these for a week now. And some other gory things. I feel like I'm going crazy Aly. Am I?"

"Come here." She scooted closer to me, some stray strands of her hair tickling my cheeks. Her arms wrapped around my shoulders and I relaxed into her embrace. I let out the tears I'd been holding in all week, my body shaking vehemently. “Easy. Just, just let it out."

"I'm frustrated, Aly." I sobbed harder. “I've got no leads whatsoever and the notes just keep coming in and I can't tell anyone about it. I thought it was Olivia, but it can't be her."

"Have you told Chief yet?" She murmured in my hair. “He can help you. Get some extra security, yunno..."

"Ha." I laughed dryly. “Wouldn't that sound pathetic? A bodyguard who needs a bodyguard.”

"What about him?" I felt my ears perk upwards. Funny thing is, without his name I already knew who she was referring to. “Does he know?"

"For some reason, he's been in an even shittier mood than I am." I swiped my finger at an unsuspecting muffin, slurping gently on its whipped cream. "All he does is yell at me these days. I wouldn't say I blame him though, I have been getting on his nerves and those phone calls have been driving him crazy."

"Phone calls?" Alyssa's hand kneaded gently into my shoulder and I found my eyelids fluttering shut. “What phone calls?"

" I dunno." I moaned, half asleep. “He's been getting phone calls and texts. Most times he goes on for days without his phone and I have to deal with his annoying ass all day."

"Have you tried talking to him?" She suggested. “Who knows, it might be connected somehow."

"Oh." I got out of her embrace. “I didn't think about that. Could it be? But Chief doesn't want me near the case and I have superiors watching my every move now."

"You'll never know if you don't try." She shrugged. “And we both know you're really curious."

"Well yeah." I drawled, picking at the invisible dirt in between my pink polished nails. “But..."

"No buts." Alyssa took my hand in hers. “Since when did you start caring about what people think?"

"So you're saying I should go for it?" I sniffed again, wiggling my already reddened nose. “I should talk to him about it?"

"Definitely and Chief won't hear about it. Not from me at least." She drew a cross over her heart. “I'll tell Tate too..."

Her hand flew to her mouth the moment that damned name left her lips.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." She stuttered, clearly squirming under the murderous gaze I was giving her. “I swear it just slipped."

"It better." I grabbed a huge slice of pie and slid it into my mouth. “He's an idiot."

"Hey now." She half scolded. “Don't you think that was a bit harsh?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I fumed, pie crumbs skipping out of my mouth. I looked like a food monster but I couldn't care less. Alyssa was a really good baker. “Have you forgotten what he said to me?"

"You know he might not have meant it...."

"But he fucking said it." I cut her off, raising my finger to her face. “I don't want to talk about it. He couldn't even apologize. It's been a week now and nothing from him."

"Maybe...."

"Just stop making excuses for him." I shook my head, trying desperately to remove the image of that night that had crept into my head somehow. “I'm leaving."

"Aww come on." She cooed. “You can't be mad at me."

"I'm not." I rose to my feet as I shifted the weight of my backpack to my other shoulder. “I'm going to see Cassian."

"You're on name calling bases now?" She smirked smugly and I rolled my eyes. “When did that happen?"

"We're not." I snuck another pie into my mouth and she squealed. “That's for spitting out rubbish. I'll see you later."

"No problem." She called after me as I trudged down the stairs. “Text me the deets?"

"Definitely.” I gave a small smile before making my way to see the last person I thought I was going to be having a one on one conversation with.

The entire campus was quiet and the only sound that could be heard was the twigs crunching underneath my feet and the wind rustling scattered autumn leaves around the quad. I'd at least expected a few students to mill around but I guess not. It was a Saturday and everyone wanted to escape the death trap called college. All except one; My professor slash boss.

Whistling to myself, I made my way to his office. I bounced around the hallway and surprisingly, I found myself smiling. I was uncharacteristically happy and I had no idea why.

It had nothing to do with him, right?

"Hey, Cassian." I beamed the moment I stepped into his office. He was propped against his desk, his muscular arms crossed against each other. He'd ditched his usual long sleeved shirt and was donning a short sleeved polo that made his muscles ripple with each movement. His blue gaze settled on me the moment I walked in and I suddenly felt self conscious. “What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know." He heaved, something off in his voice. “Just waiting for you."

"How'd you know I was coming?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. “I didn't..."

"That's not important Miss Mila Sanchez." Something about the way he called my name made me shiver and it was not in a good way. His eyes roamed over me, his expression unreadable. “If that's your real name."

"What?!" I felt my heart drop to my feet and dart back up again. Blood rushed to my ears as I temporarily lost my footing causing me to stumble forward a bit. “What's that supposed to mean?"

"Why don't you tell me, Mila?" He crossed over to me in one swift motion, his icy blue orbs sending chills down my spine. "Or dare I say, Gaia Rourke?"

Oh boy, how was I supposed to get out of this now?