Reaching school we all notice a crowd.
Not a crowd, but rather smaller crowds all over.
It's nothing new at our school, but today, something hits differently. I look at the other two people in the car. Felix frowns at the crowds, while Art makes a face.
"Somebody went missing last night." Art says, "A girl."
"You can hear them?" I realize I should start expecting all the weirdness possible from these men.
"I have superpowers. Go and talk to your friends."
"My friends?" I raise my brows. They know very well I have no friends. I have chased away the only one I had a year ago.
"Yes, go and find her, that Collins girl. You two were best friends once, right?"
Art and Felix almost throw me out of the car and go to the parking lot, leaving me alone standing at the school compound. I nervously look around to gauge the mood of the students. Everybody seems tense, and anxious, almost as if they are waiting for something bad to happen. The thought makes me shiver.
"Here you are," a very familiar voice rings behind me. I know it is Eric behind me, and I don't have to look at his face to know how bitter he feels right now. "Where were you last night?"
"Ex– excuse me?"
"What, you have got speech impairment now? Or English is too difficult for you to understand?" Eric says in a way that sounds venomous.
I stare at him, uncertain how to answer. For the past few days I have been feeling brave enough to converse with people, even take a solo trip without telling anyone about it. The moment I stepped into the school compound, everything just faded away.
And right now, I feel blank.
Eric takes a step ahead and brings his face closer to me. "Speak up, bitch. Where the fuck were you last night?"
"Home," I say. "I was at home."
"And who is your witness? Who knows if you are telling me the truth?"
"Wh–Why would I lie about it?" Suddenly I feel like all the eyes in the compound are trained on me.
"Maybe you have something to hide?" Eric moves closer menacingly like he is going to hit me. "What did you do at home?"
"Take another step towards her, and your next step will be the school infirmary," Felix calls out from the back. His voice, deep and booming, makes the time stand still.
"Oh yeah? And who will send me there?" Eric yells at him but takes a step back from me.
"Let's not find out. It won't end well for you, buddy," Art says grimly and stands between them. "Do you have something to ask her, Eric?"
"Just ask her where was she last night and what was she doing?"
"I don't see how that is your concern," Felix says, the heat in his tone still intact.
"Can we come to the point, please?" a girl shouts at the back. I look back but can't focus on anyone's face. They all blur in front of my eyes.
"Rosemary Collins has been missing since the last night. She was on a call with Marin. She told Marin that Francesca was at the door. That was the last time anybody saw or heard her," someone else in the crowd shouts.
"That's not true." My voice is not loud enough, but it is audible still. "I was at home all night yesterday. You may ask them."
The moment I point my finger at Felix and Art, I realize what I have done. The entire school now stares at me with questions, curiosity, jealousy, wonder and disgust. Without my explanation, the assumptions will now reach the height of rumours. I open my mouth to speak further.
"Don't say anything else," a voice speaks in my head. It's Art, who is standing there like a statue. No movements, not even a blink.
"What the f—"
Blocking my thought another voice appears in my head, which is unmistakably Felix's. "Let us handle it."
"Francesca was at her place yesterday. She was not well, so she had to stay in. We know that because we went to see her," Art explains in a cool tone.
"And why did you have to visit her?" asks Marin, Rosemary's new best friend, who never misses a chance to give me a nasty side-eye.
"Not that it concerns you, but we are doing a project together. She is helping us with the research."
Somehow the crowd believes that. A collective, knowing "Ohhhhh....." drones in the air for a while before the whispers start again gossiping about Rosemary.
"I still don't know why they fought!" exclaims a girl, younger than us in the crowd.
"If she didn't go to meet Rose, then why would she lie about Fran?" Marin asks. She stands beside Eric now, posing like a comrade.
"I think you have to ask that to Rose herself, once she returns." The way Felix says it, I start to believe that she will return. The next moment I scold myself. Of course, she will return. why wouldn't she?
How will she return? And from where?
Suddenly a rush of tears start streaming down my cheeks. A pain forms in my chest, making everything even worse. My hands shiver, and my sight blurs. I start running away. Far from the compound, to the place nobody else goes. I rush inside the school building and run to the decrepit, old staircase at the back of the school, the one that ascends to the terrace. Nobody is allowed here.
Nobody except me. I don't know why I have never been stopped to come here. Once I reach the terrace, I go straight to the one corner I know cannot be found easily.
And then I break down.
The past couple of days have been a whirlpool of confusion, fear and questions. My life has been turned upside down and there is nobody I can talk to about it. The change in my living arrangement has not been helpful in any way. And now, this.
It's not like I was planning to meet Rose and apologize. I was not planning to mend our relationship, or even say 'Hello' to her. That being said, I was not ready to face her disappearance either. And to be blamed for that.
I hear footsteps around me. I don't need to look up to find who has come looking for me. Nowadays, I can feel their presence in my skin. I feel the air change whenever they are around.
I feel my body and heart soften whenever they are around.
Felix puts his hand over my head. Art sits beside me. They stand around me, guarding my presence, as if to hide me away from the rest of the world. It feels comforting.
"It was not your fault," Felix says softly.
"Of course, I know that," Between sobs, my voice sounds alien. "But I can't stop blaming myself for it."
"Francesca," Art starts saying something. I stop him midway and say,
"Are you sure I am not to be blamed? Because I feel guilty."
"Why?"
I look at Art with my tear-filled eyes and admit, "Because I feel like I saw her yesterday. It makes no sense."
Art and Felix exchange a glance, then Felix says, "You have been having nightmares since you have come to live with us. It might be one of them."
"And now I feel like you are trying to protect me from something." I look at my hands. They are still shaking.
Art looks at my hands too. He holds them in his. The warmth of his hands soon steadies me, but the storm inside me doesn't stop. He messages my fingertips to help me calm down.
He doesn't see the sparks created by the friction between his skin and mine.
"We are trying to protect you. We will always protect you."
Felix agrees with a nod and adds, "Don't you remember what the other Rosemary told you?"
Right, Auntie Rosemary told me that they needed me, and they would always protect me.
Felix's touch on my back, and Art's touch on my hand, they are a deadly combination. The storm inside me has somewhat subsided, but now a new fire is raising its head in the deep of my belly. It's wild, uncontrollable, and something I have never experienced before. It's scary yet addictive, beautiful but I know it is dangerous. My eyes settle on Art's lips. I wet mine with my tongue and whisper, "Will you do anything to help me, protect me?"
Art breaths fast. He nods and comes closer to comfort me.
Or probably, once again, he has read my mind?
I whisper again, "Will you kiss me?"
Art nods and pounces on me. This is what he has been waiting for. He doesn't need to tell me in words, I can feel it in his hungry kiss. His lips, soft yet forceful, crush mine with an intensity, that adds more strength to the fire inside me. I feel the fire spreading through my skin and settle in places I would never mention in front of anybody. Art takes my chin in his hand and deepens the kiss. His tongue intrudes on my mouth.
So this is what a first kiss is like? It is so consuming, so fierce, so hot that it can burn down everything around me, but at the same time so satisfying, that I can forget about everything in my life. I don't know when a moan escapes my throat, but it makes Art hold me closer. So close that his chest touches mine, and I can feel his heart beating.
I remember Felix now, who is still with us, his hand is still on my back, but now his hold on my skin has become hotter. Art breaks for air, and to give me the perfect opportunity. I tilt my head and look at Felix.
One look that says it all.
The next moment, Felix presses his lips on mine. A voice in my head rings, "I thought you'd never ask me."