The following days passed in a daze, where I haunted the loft very much like a ghost. I spent some time training and then perched myself on the roof looking towards what once was my home. Northenhay. He was there and I was stuck in the academy for the next three months with my every move being watched and most likely reported back to Aldo.
Uneasy, I began pacing the roof like a trapped beast. I needed to see him. I wanted to see him. I was struggling to keep myself from levelling the building. Each day was a struggle in its own right. I made sure to release it in small increments but it was difficult sometimes to be precise. One little slip up and I could easily kill a few hundred innocent people. That thought made me put more effort into controlling the inner turmoil that raged inside me.
I did everything I could do to keep my mind off of things, except for one thing. I haven't dared to go find Laira and David. I have seen Laira walk around the grounds along with David but I always hid away. I'm a coward. Not ready to deal with her grievances as well. Thankfully the list of people I needed to appease was relatively short.
With a heavy sigh, I take one last look at the evening sky and jump back in the loft. Laira and David were on the other side of the building. We took different classes, there were slim chances we would see each other and I didn't go to the public gathering places. What can I say, I did love to drive myself mad.
After a short sprint, I reach the other end of the building and take similar steps up to the dormitories. On my way up I bump into a boy with curly hair and ask him if he knows Laira. He nods and tells me that is the fifth door on the right.
Gathering all the courage that I can muster, I make my way to her door with purposeful steps. I'm on a mission. One that might end in tears, depending on which mood Laira was in.
I rap a few times on the door and after a few moments the door opens, Laira gapes at me in surprise and steps aside. At least she didn't faint. I find some relief in that and step inside.
" So, " I begin but I don't get to finish my thoughts before she lunges at me, and hugs me so tight that I hear one of my ribs crack. Gently I wrap my arms around her and hug her back wholeheartedly. It is good to see that at least one person isn't angry at me for being alive.
" I knew you weren't dead," She mumbles in the crook of my neck, " I have never seen a dead devil or a drowned duck. And you are a weird mix of the two," She sniffles and pulls away. She had faith in me. More than I deserved. I feel the sting of failure prod at me from behind as relief settles on her features.
I laugh bitterly, clasp her shoulder. She had matured since I last saw her. She looks beautiful. More than beautiful, she looks stunning.
" You look good, " I say after a moment of silence, she gives me a watery smile, and stomps on the need to pull her into another embrace.
" You not so much. What is with the new look you are sporting?" She perches herself on the bed and I follow with a sigh. The bruises are fading, not quickly enough though. The other students look at me as if an animal is on display at the zoo. There are whispers and furtive glances my way, but none of them dare to approach me. I'm the girl who came back from the dead.
" It's a long story but for another time maybe. For now, I'm glad to finally see you. How is David?" I ask, she gasps and jumps to her feet like her ass is on fire.
" I'll be right back," She rushes out of the room and I'm left alone looking around at the modestly furnished room.
I make a conscious effort not to think of him, to reign in my thoughts, because every time I'm alone, my mind conjures him up out of thin air. He is there but he is not. I know it is only my desire to be close to him that acts up, but also the desperate need to quell a yearning that has buried itself so deep within my soul, that at this point it is impossible to uproot and relinquish.
Laira returns dragging David behind her who stops in his tracks even though, Laira is still pulling at him with all she has got, which I know is not a lot. Library rats.
" Holy shit," David breathes, perplexed and I stand up and make my way towards him to hug him.
" Hello David," I say as I pull away from the hug, he finally comes to his senses, grasps my shoulders and gives me a shake. Like I'm a children's rattle. What on earth?
" Have you lost your mind?' His expression hardens, " Where have you been for a year? For the love of ever loving fuck, how could you let everyone believe you're dead?" The pitch of his voice rises in time with his anger and by the end of it, he is panting, furiously.
" It's complicated. I'll explain. But could you please calm down? We are drawing a crowd," He looks over his shoulder and slams the door shut with a loud thud, without caring about all the ears trained on us. There were quite a few poking their heads out of their room to enjoy the little spectacle we were putting on.
Returning to the bed, I watch David begin to pace back and forth, the length of his stride and the broody look he is wearing makes me believe that he is scared, with a side of anger.
" Well," He demands after a while and stops to face me and Laira," I'm glad you're alive, don't get me wrong but it also appears that you are a magnet for trouble. So whatever you've got yourself mixed up in keep Laira out of it, Lily," I narrow my eyes at him and Laira steps forward.
" David," She pleads, and he closes the distance between them. Laira is not the only that has matured over the past year, David has as well. His boyish looks are gone, and his jaw is shadowed by a thick stubble. There is a certain tension in the heavy set of his shoulders which puts him in the man category rather than a young man in his early twenties. The scowl he is currently wearing makes him look older.
" No," He says on breath, and Laira nods but I'm not privy to the silent conversation they are having.
" Please," Laira says with a sheepish smile.
" Fine," He gives in to whatever she was silently asking him and turns to me with a grin.
"Don't worry about him," She waves a dismissive hand towards David who frowns at Laira from behind her, and I see his hand slide over her shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze.
" Laira," David says quietly, " You know that she will be nothing but trouble. Anyone who disappears and reappears like she did is followed by a world of problems. And her being near you is not something that I'm comfortable with Laira," I can understand that. They are brother and sisters. They will protect each other, and I'm just a stranger to them. I find it strange that he speaks of me as if I'm not even in the room, but I push that aside. It's a problem for another day.
" David," Laira chides and slaps his hand away," We are friends. What's the point of having friends if you can't turn to them when you need them," Laira takes a step toward me and clasps my hands. I find relief in her comforting touch, and I'm somewhat pleased by the protectiveness David is showing, even if it's me who is trying to protect her.
" Don't you want to hear what happened before you execute her? Maybe it is not her fault. I thought you were a fair person," I'm glad that I have her in my corner but she is only half right.
"Fair, shmair," David scoffs, raking a hand through his hair, exasperated with-well, probably both of us.
"I would never do anything to hurt Laira, or you or anyone else for that matter," David eases off just a smidge. I've never seen him wound up so tight. Out of the three of us, he was the one that was more relaxed, and at ease. More open to anything, and everything.