Adronitis {t.r.}

Chapter 66

"Oh Merlin Rhea", Eve muttered. "I'm so happy for you".

"He's super sweet too!" Rhea gleamed, her cheeks a soft pink. "Goodness, I hope we study today at the library!".

March had rolled around and Eve had fell down into a deeper spiral of hopelessness. Life had slowly morphed into a dull chalkboard, desperately needing to be dusted off but no motivation to do any of the sort.

"Good morning", Abraxas said as he plopped down beside Rhea.

Eve looked up, feeling her heart skip a few thumps when she saw that there was white powder directly under his nose. 

"What's on your face?" Rhea asked as she stared at him. Abraxas looked at her in confusion before his eyes widened, realizing that he had arrived a bit disheveled.

"Nothing", he mumbled as he swiped at his nose, the powder dusting into the air. It was quite obvious that he was still destroyed over the loss of Cleo.

Eve laid her head in her arms, staring at the wood pattern of the table. A headache had accumulated over the past few minutes, the pressure getting worse as she closed her eyes, trying to take deep breaths to calm the pain.

Hangovers were insanely common for her as of recently.

"Hello".

The black-haired girl slowly moved her head up, eyes glued to Tom as he sat beside her, his hand rubbing up and down her back.

"Hey".

Tom stared at Eve before he reached for a slice of bread, gingerly holding it in his palm as he spread some butter onto it.

"Are you alright Evie?" Tom asked as he bit into his toast. Eve nodded her head but her eyes were dull and sunken, the shine in them no longer being the main feature of her face.

"Are you sure?".

"I think so", Eve muttered. "Just another nightmare".

Tom knew that this was a lie - she barely had nightmares. As horrible as the truth was, he knew that she had been heavily drinking to keep the thoughts of Cleo off her mind. It absolutely destroyed her and secretly, he knew that it was all his fault.

He just didn't feel the need to tell her.

Fabian sat beside Tom, leaning towards the table.

"So apparently, Aurelia and Cleo got into fight which resulted in Cleo tossing Aurelia off the Astronomy Tower. Crazy right, how a girl can toss another girl off something so high. And then apparently she realized that the consequences would be too much so she killed herself. And-".

"Slow down Rosier", Abraxas grumbled. His voice was raspy, hair messy and eye-bags a deeper shade of purple. Eve stared at him, feeling pity for the poor boy.

"Basically Cleo killed Aurelia on accident then Cleo killed herself", Fabian sputtered. "That's absolutely absurd! Oh well, no Aurelia for me to deal with anymore".

Tom gulped thickly as he pulled Eve towards his chest, her head thumping against the corner of the table before landing in his lap. A moan of pain escaped her lips as Tom rubbed her head softly.

"That's absolutely insane", Tom said. "What did your mum say?".

"I haven't got a clue. She hasn't owled me. Yet".

Tom nodded as he stroked Eve's cheek, realizing that she was now asleep on his lap. Warmth spread through his chest as he watched her breath, her face appearing calm.

Poor little one, Tom thought. Better keep her asleep before class starts.

Rhea moved her gaze down the table to where she spotted Robert, his eyes glued to her, hands linked with Olive Hornby. She felt sudden rage fill her chest, her breath shaky as she stood up quickly, stomping away towards the exit of the Great Hall.