SILVER EYES (GXG)

Chapter 30: Smoke Signs

The Narval House seemed to be caught in a whirlwind, with people rushing franatically in all directions. The order and discipline that I was so accustomed to had disappeared, giving way to a stampede of collective hysteria with shouts of 'They're coming, they're coming!' all over the place.

On any other occasion, I would probably have halted and panicked along with them; however, on that day, the nerves and tension in the air felt impenetrable against the overwhelming pain I held after visiting Erik, or what remained of him.

I crossed the hall, dodging each passing person, who, like unrestrained bullets, contributed to that chaotic ambiance, and reached Heather's room. She opened the door almost without looking at me and darted back inside.

"Come in and close the door, please," she ordered, a bit too authoritative, almost as if I was a newcomer waiting for the next instruction. She looked very serious, and when she looked serious, it also meant she was nervous. Not to mention, she was organizing, quite violently, the multiple papers that lay on her desk.

On the bed, her uniform was perfectly perched; she had cleaned it up and it looked like new, ready to impress the Reg HQ.

"I'm freaking out! They didn't notify us when they were coming! This is chaos!" she said, agitated while piling up the documents.

"We have to be ready. Everything has to go smoothly. I just hope the newcomers won't throw a wrench into the works," she moved from one side of the room to the other like a jittery ping-pong ball.

Heather had this incredible talent for ignoring recent events when she needed to. We hadn't spoken since the day Lea found us in the pool. Rumors had spread, and both of us had been struggling with the situation, but we never had the chance to talk about it because she was always conveniently absent. This meant that we hadn't been able to discuss the recent 'I love you' that had escaped from her mouth just a few seconds before Lea witnessed what had been, until now, our worst nightmare. And now, it seemed that the HQ visit took precedence over the fact that we had been like strangers for the past few days.

I sat on her bed in silence, not really knowing what to say or do. I definitely had no energy to talk about the HQ visit or the newcomers—well, I didn't have energy for anything, really.

"I have to be at the border in ten or I'm a dead woman. Where have you been assigned?" She finally gazed at me.

"Hey, are you okay?" She noticed something was off and knelt in front of me, placing her hands on my legs. I couldn't even look at her. Erik's face was the only thing I could think of.

"Grace," she said, concerned, trying to bring my attention to her.

She gently placed her hand on my chin, forcing me to look in her direction.

"Grace, what's going on?" She insisted as her clear green eyes met mine. And that was it, one single look, and her image blurred amid the unstoppable tears that flooded my eyes.

Heather softened. "Hey, don't worry, nothing bad is going to happen. The HQ are assholes, but we have it under control," she sat next to me and put an arm around me.

I had never told her about Erik's existence, and now she would probably never meet him, at least not the real one.

"Is not that, isn't it?" She knew me well. I nodded.

"Is it because of what happened at the pool?" Okay, maybe not that well. "Look, it's been rough days lately... I know I've been distant... again... but..." Heather mumbled and then looked at the time on her Reg bracelet.

"Shit! I'm so very late!" She yelled and stood up ready to transform again in the lead everyone expected to see.

"Can we talk later? I'm so sorry, but I can't handle everything right now," she said while putting on her uniform. Handle everything, that resonated on my mind - was I something she had to handle? I mused. Heather's way of talking was really not her fortress.