The Scarlett Story: How it all started

Chapter 8

                                     Mathias
                                       10/12
I wake up this morning and there is a weird sense of unease. A nice stream of sunshine is flowing through the curtains of my dorm room. There is also an unusual quietness that is hung in the air, which is strange because Eain should also still be in the room. The door slowly creaked open, revealing a very tired Eain. His clothes looked creased as if he had been sitting in the same spot for hours. His eyes were glazed, his hair was unkempt.

"Morning." He mumbles sleepily. I sit up in bed.

"Where were you? When I went to sleep you were here as well." I am very comfortable.

"I was just..." He paused for a moment before sighing and rubbing his eyes. "Studying. It's all just so hard... I didn't want to disturb you."

"So were you in the common room? Or?" I am trying to figure out where he went.

"Yeah." He looks up at me sleepily. "In the common room..." There's something odd in his tone, something that tells me he is lying. He is a very bad liar.

"Are you sure about that?" It probably isn't my place but, still, Eain is my roommate. He looks slightly panicked.

"Yes! Why wouldn't I be?" He starts avoiding my eyes, looking down at the floor.

"You just seem a little off Eain." more like a lot.

"No... really?... I'm fine. Just a bit tired after a long night of... studying." He is lying. I can tell. It's very simple, he is the worst at lying. I wonder if that has anything to do with having a lot of siblings? Some scientific shit?

"Okay, if you're sure? I am going to go get a shower." I say and slowly get out of bed. I am not staring at Eain, but I keep glancing at him. I don't want to seem creepy because Eain is the one being creepy. At least I am trying to seam sane.

"Have fun." He says sleepily, watching me go to shower. I shake my head and take my clean clothes out of the dryer. I turn on the shower and wait for the water to heat up. I am still very confused, but not my place. I hop into the heated up shower, it feels nice on my weary body. It feels like last night I just went to sleep, but died in the process. As the water hits my back I close my eyes, letting out a small sigh. I feel like I am becoming alive again. I can hear footsteps coming from the dorm room, Eain is just walking around. I really want to find out what happened last night. Especially because Eain left our dorm. Eain always follows the rules, but why was he out after curfew? I stay in the shower for a good while, and can't quite shake the feeling that something weird has happened. Eain shuffled around our room. He has been walking back and forth, as if he was nervous about something? I suddenly hear Eain's voice right outside the bathroom door.

"Mathias... Could you come out for a minute?" He calls out quietly. Damn it, this shower was nice. I hesitantly turned off the shower, but the water was going cold anyway.

"Yeah, hold on." I take my towel and start to dry off.

"Could we have a quick talk? I just need to talk to you about something.." I put on my pants and jeans, then turn the lock and open the door.

"Yeah? What's up?" I ask not looking at Eain. I am trying to find the tag on this stupid shirt.

"It's nothing bad or anything." He glances around the room. "I just need to talk to you for a minute." His hands are shaking, his eyes not meeting mine. His body is rigid, like he is bracing for something.

"Okay, you can tell me anything. I won't tell anyone else." I finally find the tag and turn the shirt on, then put my shirt around over my head.

"You better keep your word." His words were sharp, cold. He takes a minute before speaking up again. "Remember last night? We both got back to the room. You fell asleep almost immediately, right?"