He Left Me - KotLC fic (after Unlocked)

Chapter 6

This is a long one, people. like 2.5k words? It didn't seem so long when I was writing. So anyway, I split it into this short part and a longer one, which I'll post right after. muah muah <33

 I woke early the next morning, feeling surprisingly well rested. The last color from the sunrise was disappearing in the clouds. Keefe's cape was still wrapped around my shoulders, and I felt a brief moment of panic when I realized I hadn't checked in last night, as pointless as it seemed. I transmitted a hello.

So, I actually slept last night. Crazy, right? It had been two weeks. But I stole a cape of yours from Candleshade when I went to find... I went to find some of your DNA. For the Wanderling. And it smells just like you.

I folded up the cape, setting it on my pillow, and hurried to the shower to get dressed.

The scroll arrived a few minutes after I had my way downstairs, with instructions to open it in about half an hour. I picked at a muffin, choking down a few bites to appease Edaline's mom instincts.

At exactly nine, I unsealed the scroll to find the announcement about the planting.

We regret to inform you that student Keefe Sencen, son of the prominent Lord Cassius Sencen, has been lost to us through work of the rebel group known as the Neverseen. I read halfway before tossing it onto the table and heading for the stairs. My heart felt like it was being torn out of my chest again. I was being forced into admitting that he was gone and never coming back. The paper down there just made it official.

I curled up on my bed, reaching for his cape. Spreading it over me like a blanket, I squeezed my eyes shut, refusing to let any tears fall. A harsh numb feeling overcame me, and the tears subsided before they could fall. He's gone. The words echoed in my mind over and over. He's not coming back. My heart compacted, folding down into a tiny packet of hurt. Keefe Sencen was gone, and I would have to plant his Wanderling tomorrow, and I would never see him again or hear his laugh or him teasing me. I would never get the chance to figure out how much he truly meant to me. I wouldn't get all those happy memories of a life together that I had dreamt about in the middle of the night, when no one could hear the way I felt about him deep inside. I would never get to hear him call me Foster again. I would never sneak out with him to the Mentor's secret kitchen at Foxfire. I would never see him tease our friends, or joke around with the Mentors, or get me into trouble. I would never see more of his drawings, or find out if he ever thought about drawing me. I wouldn't get the chance to love him the way he deserved to be loved. Keefe Sencen was never coming back.

If I couldn't find him, even a trace of him, no one else could. No one else would. My Keefe was gone.