VERA"Ever come around this side of the metro before?" I asked.Alex looked at me with confusion. "Yeah, I walked you home last night —""Before then?" I interrupted.He shook his head. "No, why ask?" he asked."Your footsteps are very sure, like you know where you are going," I replied.He chuckled. "I do know where I am going," he said.Once again, I marveled at his memory. It had been night when he walked me home and though the streetlights were blazing then, it wasn't quite the same as daylight. It was remarkable that he remembered. I wouldn't have been able to.But then, I was someone that used to get lost in Nate's house for quite a while after he packed in, so…We walked in silence for quite a long time till it started feeling awkward. I sneaked a glance at Alex and came to the conclusion I was the only one feeling awkward."Hey, what are you thinking about?" I asked.He
NATHANI knocked on the door and waited, wondering if Vee was back from wherever she had run off to.I smiled to myself as the memory of how scarlet she had blushed in the morning came back to mind. To be honest, I hadn't slept on the same bed as her purely out of concern, but her grabbing my dick was a bit more than I expected.It called back the memory of our kiss.Subconsciously, I rubbed my lips. God, I need to be flogged. If Josh knew what just went through my head, he just might smite me with lightning.Recalling my errant thoughts, I knocked again. But got only silence at the other end. I had never waited more than a second at Vee's door, whether she was around or not.I had a key to the room after all.The only thing stopping me from using it now was that I had heard voices inside just a while ago. At least, that was how it seemed to me.But now, the silence was so thick I might have imagined it.I knocked for a few more times, growing impatient. Just as I was about to give up
VERAThe first thing I felt when I woke up was the pounding in my head. I held my head in my hands and almost fell back on the bed, but I managed to continue sitting up.The mother of all headaches was having a really banger party in my head, and it looked like it invited all its most racous relatives.Groaning, I gingerly alighted from my bed. My eyes fell on the bedside alarm clock and I gasped.Bad idea.Mother of all headaches didn't like it, and neither did her relatives who immediately set up a protest in my head. I grabbed my head and winced, then closed my eyes as the room spun and turned dark.Gently, I nudged backwards till my feet hit the bed, then I let myself down gently and rode out the ferris wheel that my room had become. When the spinning stopped, I opened my eyes again and stole a glance at the clock.Nope, the headache hadn't affected my eyes. It really was the dead of the night, or to
VERAThe first thing I felt when I woke up was the pounding in my head. I held my head in my hands and almost fell back on the bed, but I managed to continue sitting up.The mother of all headaches was having a really banger party in my head, and it looked like it invited all its most racous relatives.Groaning, I gingerly alighted from my bed. My eyes fell on the bedside alarm clock and I gasped.Bad idea.Mother of all headaches didn't like it, and neither did her relatives who immediately set up a protest in my head. I grabbed my head and winced, then closed my eyes as the room spun and turned dark.Gently, I nudged backwards till my feet hit the bed, then I let myself down gently and rode out the ferris wheel that my room had become. When the spinning stopped, I opened my eyes again and stole a glance at the clock.Nope, the headache hadn't affected my eyes. It really was the dead of the night, or to
VERA Only it wasn't Nathan. It was my house agent. For some reason, my heart skipped a beat. "Ms. Vera," he said, glancing between Rachel and me. "I hope I'm not disturbing you, but there's something important I need to discuss with you." Rachel shot me a questioning look, but I shook my head, equally puzzled. I gestured for the agent to continue. "Apologies for the abrupt visit," he began, "but I've received a notice about your apartment. The building is undergoing renovations, and all tenants are required to vacate within a month." I blinked, processing the information through my foggy mind. "Renovations? But we just moved in." He nodded sympathetically. "I understand it's inconvenient, but these renovations have been planned for a while. I wanted to inform you as soon as possible." My headache throbbed with each word. The timing couldn't be worse. "I'll need your cooperation in finding a temporary place for you until the renovations are completed," he continued. Rachel, se
VERAThe time was a few minutes past six. I got up grudgingly from the bed. I didn't want to get up, but it was school day and I had already missed two days at the beginning of the spring term.I didn't want to miss again.And…we had physics classes today. I nearly flunked physics last term, and it was supposed to be my favourite subject.Preparing for school took almost three hours, mainly because I fell asleep on the kitchen counter after eating breakfast. By the time I got on the bus, it was already some minutes after eight.I sighed as I slipped my phone back into my backpack. I was thankful physics wasn't the first period, or that would be a bad start to the term, as bad as it was already.When I alighted in front of the school gate, it looked like everyone was in class already. No gisters on the quadrangle, no iPhone flaunters on the stairs, no lovers under Lincoln's statue.My stomach dropped. It must be a considerable time into the first period already. I wasn't familiar enoug
VERAThe sky spun all the way to the clinic. I was very grateful when we finally got there and I could rest against the wall.Things passed in a haze as Josh met the nurse and explained things to her. Not that she needed much explaining. One look at me as we came in the door and she instantly by my side, fussing all over me.Now, as Josh talked, she took my temperature and opened my jaws to look at my gums."She's going to have a bed," she said, cutting Josh off. "You can leave now. I will talke it from here," she said.Josh hesitated, then carried me to the bed area and lay me down before leaving. I wanted to say thanks, but he was too fast. He was already out of the door before I could speak.Sighing, I settled into the bed.About a second later, the nurse walked in, carrying a satchet of some clear liquid. My eyes drooped closed as she started bustl
THIRD PERSON POVAlex stepped out of his room in the clinic, his head still throbbing from the bandaging the nurse had just finished. He wanted to see Vera, to make sure she was okay, despite the nurse's insistence that he needed rest.As he made his way to Vera's room, his mind raced with questions. How had she ended up here? And why hadn't she told him she went to the same school?Pushing the questions aside for the moment, Alex approached Vera's room and gently pushed the door open. The sight that greeted him made his heart ache.Vera lay on the bed, her face pale and drawn, but even in her weakened state, she looked beautiful. The rhythmic beeping of the monitor beside her was the only sound in the room."Hey," Alex said softly, crossing the room to her side. "How are you feeling?"Vera stirred, her eyelids fluttering open. "Hey," she murmured, offering him a weak smil
VERAMy heart was beating as I followed the manager into his back office. It would be the first time ever I was there, and it somehow made everything worse. It somehow felt like being summoned to the principal's office at school.What kind of offense did one have to commit to be summoned to the back office? Had I and Alex just committed it?However, within the turbulent thoughts and emotions, Alex slid his palm into mine and our fingers linked together. It was surprising how naturally they did.However, it provided a surprising measure of comfort in the tense atmosphere, and I was regretful to let go when the manager turned and gestured us to a seat.For a moment, we just stared at each other. The air between us thickened till it could have been cut with a knife. At last, I couldn't hold the manager's gaze though I had kept mine lowered.My eyes drifted restlessly around the office, taking note of all the littl
VERAThe school bell rang, and the class quickly erupted in chaos even before the teacher was out the door. Being the ass he was, the history teacher turned to glare at us. But the students, being even more of an ass than he was, only hooted at him before proceeding to ignore him completely.Helpless to do anything to us within the school rules, he slouched out of the class to the cheers of my classmates.It was a Friday once again, and the weekend ahead started just like it has always done since we entered final year and got the extremely unlikeable history teacher as one of our teachers.Rousing myself from the stupor I had fallen into, I sighed and gathered up my books. Beside me, Alex's eyes were glazed over. The shock was enough to wake me completely.Quickly, I searched with my eyes till I found Josh and Ezekiel. They too had glazed eyes, completely different from the chaos around us.Jeez! Just how bad was the class?
VERAI had just returned from Amelia's birthday party, brimming with joy from the festivities. Amelia had even called me her best friend, much to Thalia's chagrin. That alone had made the party unforgettable.Oh my God! Who would have ever thought Amelia thought of me as her best friend?Eager to share the excitement with my mother, I rushed home, only to find the door unanswered to my persistent knocks. What started as anticipation quickly turned to apprehension as each unanswered rap on the door filled the silent house with dread."Mom?" I called out, my voice trembling in the stillness. No reply. With a trembling hand, I turned the doorknob, the darkness inside seeming denser than usual.Entering cautiously, a chilling sensation enveloped me. The living room, usually a haven of familiarity, now felt ominous under the veil of shadows. "Mom?" I called again, the sound barely audible amidst the silence.Navigat
NATHANI flexed my arms as I walked to my car. It was the third day since I took Rhys, and I was sure he must be getting worried.That was what I planned. I wanted him worried enough to talk.Of course, I wasn't so trouble looking I would keep someone's child hostage for three days. But I checked that night I took him and fortunately, he didn't have any parents.I didn't probe to know what happened to his parents, whether he ran from home. I didn't care. The only thing that mattered are the missing TMT, and that was it.In the car, I got out my laptop and called Ghost."Hey," he said after picking on the fists ring. His voice was as flat as usual. "Have you gotten the info?"I shook my head, though he couldn't see me. "No, not yet," I said, tapping on the steering wheel with two fingers."But soon," I continued. "Stay on standby. You might need to move fast soon,""Noted," Ghost repli
VERAI looked around at the environment and sighed. If anyone had told me a few days ago that I be at two parties within two days, I would not have believed. Neither would I have believed that I could be a guest of honour in both parties.But that was the reality now. First, Michael specially invited me to his party. And now, it was Alex.My heart warmed at the memory of how Alex had invited me to the party. Earlier in the day, Kate was engaged in her usual hobby of bullying me. And this time, get worst thing was that she had the support of the whole class.Formerly, they would have seen her as disdainful and full of herself, but after Rhys still did not come to school that day, they were feeling not a little animosity towards me.So they cheered Kate on when she came to bully me. She had dragged me to the front of the class while they cheered and prepared to officially ostracise me. She had just started to read the s
VERAAdmidst Slutty's invectives, Nathan walked to the couch, picked her clothes and threw them out the door at her. He dusted his hands before turning to look at me with amusement in his eyes."I had half a mind to let her go home without her clothes," he said. "Like Freya, but….."Suddenly, he paused and looked me deep in the eye and the atmosphere between us immediately became charged with an embarrassing awkwardness.Oh well, I felt awkward, though I wasn't so sure Nathan did. What I was sure about though was his anger.The cold surfaced, but deeply raging anger. He pulled back, increasing the distance between us."Oh, look at me all mouthy like everything is alright between us, right?" he said savagely. "Like we aren't learning to mind our own business, huh?"He gave a small, angry smile. How can someone's smile be angry? I didn't know, but his was at the moment, and it made my heart ache."Sorry, my lady," he said, turning away. "I had better go back to minding my business, huh?
VERAThere were three, sweaty, naked bodies on the floor, and I quickly recognised Nathan's peculiar tan. I had spent so much time admiring it as a teenager with raging hormones I could probably pick it out of a crowd with my eyes closed.The bodies froze in their motions as the evening sunlight spilled through the open door and on to them. I felt my heart thump when I saw red hair, but the lady looked up and I realised she was not Freya.Unconsciously, I let out a sigh of relief."Is she joining us?" one of the girls asked.The question seemed to send a jolt through Nathan, and the surprise on his face quickly morphed into a kind of cold anger."No," he said coldly. "And I think it's time you leave,""What?" the other lady asked.Nathan was already standing, and for the first time, I got a full glimpse of his body without any clothing on.I froze, as did all thoughts in my head. Vaguely, I was aware of my mouth hanging open, and Nathan saying something to the girls harshly, but it di
Chapter 41Vera's POVI was only too glad when the bell for dismissal rang. Today had been one hell of a day. And Rachel's continued absence made it worse. Worry had literally eaten me up as I rang her phone in between classes without getting any answer.Two periods to the last, I lost my cool and started ringing her in class, keeping my phone under my desk so the teacher wouldn't find out.Luckily, we didn't have prof. McCallan today, or I would have surely been caught.Kate didn't make things any easier. Every opportunity she got, she made snide comments about how Rachel had skipped school that day just so she could avoid the social stigma I would surely pass on to her if she associated with me.At one point, she tried to corner me in the hall, but Alex came into view just that moment and she had to pretend she was just packing her hair. It was kind of disgusting to see her preen for Alex, but he ignored her and led me back to the class.
VERAI felt the hostility as soon as I walked past the gate. Students in the quadrangle turned to stare at me as I walked past.I had the sense they were whispering about me, but if I turned to look, they either glared at me so hard I had to look at it, or kept quiet and looked anywhere but at me.After a couple more dozen steps, I was convinced there was something seriously wrong. I suddenly felt very self conscious, and struggled very hard not to trip on my own feet.Deciding that I needed emotional support if I was to get past Lincoln's statue without falling face flat on the floor, I decided to text my usual one.Rachel.First ring, second ring, third ring. She didn't pick. What was wrong? She was usually glued to her, even when a teacher was in the class. Why wasn't she answering now?Ironically, worrying about Rachel was some help. When the kissing couple under Lincoln's statue stopped kissing to stare at me, I