CHAPTER FIVE

|•| DESIRÉE' DOYLE |•|

Half the class had engaged themselves in something else that wasn't listening to the professor by the projector. It was as though he was ranting non-stop. 

A few minutes ago, before I got immersed in what I was doing, I had overheard two students flirting behind me and it was so cringe.

It made my skin crawl with disgust.

The murmurings that lingered in the air, coupled with the aggressive taps of fingers against the keyboard were very distracting and I found the sound upsetting because it kept invading my thoughts, diverting my attention elsewhere.

I propped my jaw on my elbow, navigating my cursor on the news site I was currently in. As I scrolled past each paragraph, I could feel my heart being ripped to shreds, clenching in pain at the sight of the dead girl, whose picture had gone viral.

Her cause of death was said to be an animal attack and it had me peering at the picture since because I was torn between believing the fact that it was truly an animal attack or. . . something else.

It was like an open secret that aside from the mysterious allure that Nocturneville had, most causes of death were always animal attacks and they always look like this. It had given off some kinda impression about the city and frankly, I have never been more in a hurry to get out of Nocturne Ville than I do right now because I had too many ties to it.

"Oh, bloody hell," I muttered, slamming my laptop shut and pushing my hair off my face.

"That would be all for this week. I'll see you in my next class." The professor dismissed us and turned off the projector. He grabbed his things and sauntered out of the theatre.

The entire theatre was plunged into chaos after he walked out. I could barely even hear myself breathe because of how loud the whole place was. The shuffling of foot and the incessant chattering was in tumultuous sync.

The noise began dropping as they began filing out and the theatre fell silent in no time with few people hanging around.

I opened my laptop again and sighed, sparing the headlines a wry glance again.

ANIMAL ATTACK IN NOCTURNE VILLE: Twenty-three-year-old Anna Armstrong was found dead in the streets. . .

I wanted so much to exit the site and focus on writing but something about the animal attack didn't sit well with me. But then, it could also be an animal attack, truly. Probably a bear or a wolf.

With a sigh, I exited the site and went straight to Microsoft Word to pen down some words but the four paragraphs I had struggled to write last night were only staring back at me.

Writer's block wasn't strange to me. It occurred to me now and then, and I always manage to get things done despite it. But my thoughts and emotions have been all over the place ever since 'he' came into the picture. It had barely been a week and it felt like I was reliving that moment every single day.

My thoughts wouldn't stop straying to him and they were beginning to consume me, which left me so unsettled. I reluctantly slammed the laptop shut, tossing it into my bag. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked out of the theatre.

                                         •••••

"You sly thing!" Iris screeched into the phone. Her shrill voice directed the attention of passersby because I had put the call on a loudspeaker. They threw dirty looks at me and I mumbled an apology. I put the phone away from my ear, wincing in pain.

"Iris!" I chided her, frowning.

"What?!" She shot back at me.

"Can you like not yell for a second? I can't even hear what you are saying!" I threw my hand up in the air in exasperation.

"Well, I don't want to be calm!" She said sharply.

I groaned.

"Where the hell are you?" She queried.

"On my way to work, why?" I furrowed my brows and resumed walking.

"God, you are impossible!"

"We agreed this morning that I was going to drop you off at work." She reprimanded me and I released a sigh.

"Well. . ." I trailed off, tucking my hand into the back pocket of my shorts.

"Hm hm?" She demanded, urging me to speak up.

"Iris, come on!"

"No, you do not get to tell me to come on. We agreed, Des. We agreed and you bailed on me without giving me a heads-up!" Her voice rose a notch but the hurt in it didn't go undetected.

It made me sigh.

"I am sorry but I didn't want to bother you, Iris. You have a life outside of me and that's okay. I didn't see any reason for you to drop me off at work because I can manage myself—" She cut me off angrily.

"Oh, by manage, you mean walk?" She questioned sarcastically.

"Iris, you do so much already!" I cried out in frustration.

"It's bad enough that you made it your responsibility to pick me up every morning. I don't want you making my afternoon drop-offs a necessity too." I explain to her, trying to get her to see reasons with me.

"No, Des," She debunked. "You are just saying that suits your ego because you don't want to feel like a burden to me," She paused and I frowned. "No, scratch that. You are saying this because you feel like you are a burden to me!" She snapped.

"What? No! That's not true." I countered her gently.

"It's the truth, Des. You never want me to help because you feel like you can figure it all out on your own. And even when I do help, you make it such a big deal,"

"We are supposed to be best friends but you are making it seem like I am doing too much." She added.

"Iris, you know it's not like that." I cried out in frustration.

"I have no other way to see it." That was the last thing she said to me before she hung up. I pushed my hair off my face and sighed, tucking my phone in my back pocket.

'She's right, you know.' My subconscious crept in subtly and I rolled my eyes.

I hated feeling like a burden to people. She was doing so much for me already and I didn't want her to think I was holding her back from living her life. I didn't want her putting all of her focus on me and losing herself in the process. 

The Café came into sight and I hurried forward, strutting into the Café. It was as if I was another person entirely when I set foot into the Café because my eyes were wandering around every angle of the cafe in search of him.

My heart dropped and my shoulders slumped in defeat when I didn't see any dark-haired man in sight. With a frown on my face, I dragged myself lazily to the counter.

"What's that glum look?" Charlotte arched her brow at me, placing newly baked cupcakes into the glass storage for display.

"Nothing. I am fine." I lied.

I didn't know which made me angrier. The fact that I had been looking forward to seeing a snobbish stranger who didn't give two shits about me or the fact that he wasn't here.

"Well, you don't look like you are." She pressed on. I dropped my bag on the counter, sighing softly.

"Have you seen anyone around table nine today?" I couldn't resist asking.

A look of surprise and confusion flashed through her eyes and her brows drew together. She halted what she was doing and gave me her full attention.

"No, there hasn't been anyone there today." She answered, looking so perturbed.

"And there has not been a curly-haired man walking into the Café today?" I questioned her further.

"No, Desirée." She answered, exasperated.

"Why do you keep asking these questions? Do you know the person or do you have any business with him?" She quirked a brow at me. "Besides, I can't even remember the person you are talking about. You know different people come into the Café every day." She shrugged casually and resumed what she was doing.

My heart clenched really hard and a wave of sadness crushed me.

Did I scare him off?

Was he mad at me?

Doesn't he like my face?

Okay, fine. Maybe I was a little rude but did he really have to stop coming? The worst he could have done was demand that I do not attend to him anymore.

'Like you would be cool with that' My subconscious snickered.

Actually, no. I wouldn't. The thought of him coming here and making a demand that I do not attend to him made me restless. On the other hand, I was baffled at the changes that were beginning to take course in my life.

The plan was simple. Finish college and get out of Nocturne Ville.

Who does it feel like everything is about to change?

"Des!" Charlotte called sharply. I blinked, snapping out of my thoughts and I turned to her, flashing her a faux smile.

"You zoned out."

"I am okay," I assured her. More like I lied through my teeth because I didn't think I was okay.

"Desirée Doyle, get to work now or you are fired!" Tania bellowed from where she was and I flinched.

Oh, well.