Blackstone Academy: The Rogue

40. Nova Rose

Nova P.O.V

Date: December 13, 2238

"I'll just go and check on him a-a-and then leave," I muttered under my breath, pacing in front of the infirmary door.

For the past few minutes or so, I'd been mustering up the courage to enter and face him. Truth be told, that moment in the tunnel was still at the forefront of my mind.

It all but proved Stacy had been wrong. There was no way Troy felt anything romantically towards me. His dismissive reply confirmed his lack of interest in pursuing something more with me. My only course of action now was to bury my feelings. Cause there was no way I'd risk destroying our friendship and losing him from my life. Those fifteen years meant too much to me.

Although Troy's rejection still stung, I needed to check he wasn't seriously injured. After the competition, he'd walked across the field with one arm slung around Jax's shoulder and the other clutched to his side. The slight smile on His face hadn't revealed much, but Jax's knitted brow and hasty steps towards the tunnel gave away the truth.

Something was wrong.

Only I didn't know what.

I stopped in front of the door and slowly released the air from my lungs. You can do this, Nova! I mentally encouraged before opening the door and poking my head through.

"Hey," I bashfully greeted as he reached for the glass of water on the cart beside him.

"Oh, Nova, Thank god you're here." He said, settling back against the pillow, water forgotten.

"Why? What's wrong? Should I get someone?" I started to step back, but he stopped me with a raised hand.

"No, no, that's not necessary. I'm just bored out of my mind." He said, pushing his fingers through his messy waves. "Come in and sit and talk with me for a minute."

"Talk?" I repeated. The word felt heavy and foreign in my mouth.

"Yeah."

"O-okay." I cautiously stepped through the door, my eyes darting around the room as if someone would jump out and scare me. The smacking of my flip-flops reverberated around the minimally furnished room with each step closer to him.

Only two rows of cots were placed against each of the walls, leaving a clear path down the middle of the room.

Each cot had a pillow placed perfectly at the top with crisp pale blue and white sheets covering it. The walls were bare except for a large screen mounted on the back wall.

My eyes fall to the white bandages wrapped around his right wrist. "Were you injured during the competition?" I asked.

"No, after the competition was over. The celebratory fall when everyone piled on top of Jax and me."

"Ouch." I winced as the image of him and Jax trapped under our teammates flashed in my head. "Is it...Is it broken?"

"No, just sprained. Thank goodness."

I let out a breath of relief and sank down on the edge of the bed. "Yeah."

Silence falls over us, but before that awkwardness I'd felt upon entering could return, I break it. "Is there anything that can prove Jax is a twin?"

He lazily shrugged one shoulder. "Maybe an old security video if Larry looked hard enough."

I nodded once. "Do you want me to speak with him and maybe...I don't know. Try to get him to back off, Jax?"

"No, no." Troy immediately rejected the idea. "That just may give him even more motivation to keep looking or an indirect confirmation of what he already suspects. I don't trust him, and he hasn't given me a reason to believe that there's even an ounce of decency in him. We can't risk exposing Jax."