Noah didn't know how to break the news that had been on his mind since the day started.
He looked at Ileus. The latter had no worries since Ethan had his focus on only Noah.
"Why don't you do the talking?" Noah nudged Ileus, who still had his focus on the drink.
"Do what? About Helen's disappearance," Ileus said with no caring attitude.
"--Wait! Helen is missing? " Ethan nearly bolted up from his seat, but he held himself.
Noah's face palmed himself. He made a mistake in asking Ileus. The latter didn't know how to construct words the way they would sound in this kind of scenario.
He sighed and said, "When she heard the news of her mother's condition, she didn't say anything or talk to any of us. We tried consoling her, but she shut us out.
"She skipped most of her classes and remained indoors for days. After some days, we thought she had calmed down, so we asked about her from her roommates, but we found out that she had gone missing. "
Noah stopped and looked at Ethan, expecting a reaction from him, but Ethan looked calm. He continued, "We searched for her for days. The academy also did, but we found nothing. " Noah finally finished. Then he added, "But the academy had assigned people to trace her."
For a full minute, everyone looked at Ethan, expecting a reaction from him.
"If they are looking for her, they should find her by now, or isn't this place filled with cameras again?" Ethan thought.
The academy had countless cameras in place, so it would be strange for none of them to capture her. Ethan rests his back on the chair. Ethan knew Helen either went to her mother or got kidnapped. And his prime suspect was none other than Kai and his Boulder family.
"When did you find out? About her disappearance? " Ethan asked.
"A week after her mother went into a coma," Noah said.
"And you're telling me the academy is looking for her?"
"That's what I was told."
The Boulders had inside men. People from the academy are working with them, Ethan concluded.
Earth had reached a level where finding a person was supposed to be child's play. It wouldn't even take them days. highest. It should be just a few hours. It would have been possible if the kidnappers had devices that could block the multiple satellites Earth had.
Noah noticed Ethan's dilemma, and he said, "Don't worry, she will be found soon."
Ethan wanted to retort and say, "She hasn't been found because the academy is, obviously, working with them," but he just poured himself another glass of champagne. Maybe a little booze would calm him down a little.
He asked himself, Why am I stressing myself over this? It's not like she is my girlfriend or anything. But it was easier said than done. She had become his friend, and a friend is like the family he never had.
Layla watched quietly all this while. She didn't know the Helen they were talking about. She wanted to ask who she was, but she knew it wasn't the right time for such questions.
Ethan rocked back and forth in his chair. He had underestimated Kai. Kai's words were no play. If he said something, he would carry it out, and with the help of his family, it should be as easy as a b c d'.
He caused all this. He knew that if he had just let Helen take the beating, maybe it would not have reached this level where they would go for the few people that had become close to him. If someone asked him what he thought about the purebloods, he would say they were a bunch of bullies. They gain satisfaction whenever someone weaker than them suffers.
Noah didn't move or do anything. He just sat there motionless. Ileus played with the glass cup in his hands. while Layla stared curiously at them.
Two thoughts battle in Ethan's mind. He wondered if he should apologize or not. He knew apologizing would be the last thing he would do.
He never once apologized to his brothers, and certainly wouldn't do it now. But at that time, he had no one that he cared for. He had only himself, so his brothers didn't do anything like that.
"See you guys later." Layla waved and left.
The table had become uncomfortable for her, so she decided to give them space. But Ethan didn't hear or see her before she left, though he stared in her direction.
Ethan soon stood up and walked out of the canteen. Ileus and Noah stared at each other before they too got up and followed after him.
"Seriously, man. You need to learn to construct your words before speaking," Noah whispered to Ileus as they walked behind Ethan.
The academy had given Noah and Ileus their dorm rooms. Their dorm rooms were located close to Ethan's. It was not like the academy was keeping them close. They did it because the two rooms were the remaining rooms inside the boys' dorms.
Ethan didn't notice all this as he continued to stride to his room. He heard Noah and Ileus mumble something to him, probably, see you later, but he didn't hear what they said.
He thought he would have been happy after seeing his friends.
But that wasn't the case. Instead, he felt that he had screwed up a mother and daughter's lives.
He opened his door and walked in. He strode to the bed and collapsed on it. After falling on the bed, Ethan noticed the neatly folded letter on top of his rag. It seems like someone slipped it through a little opening under the door.
Ethan picked up the letter and examined it. He felt strange receiving a letter in this era, but either way, he unfolded it.
(I know you might have noticed. But let me tell you a secret: I did it. And you know what? I'm better than you, in terms of status and anything you can ever think of. You can take this note to the academy authorities, but let me tell you, they wouldn't give a damn about your reports.
from someone more important than you.)
Ethan folded the letter and threw it away.
He grinned and said, "Wonder if there are any rules that say I can't kill pure blood?"
****