Having Two Mates {2017}

Chapter Nineteen

           
[THIS IS THE 2017 VERSION OF HTM! THE 2024 REWRITTEN VERSION IS NOW AVAILABLE!!!]

CHAPTER NINETEEN:

A few days passed and it seemed like word had gotten around that Alex was back in town. I only knew this because the staring grew worse each passing day. I'm sure everyone was just curious as to what happened to him. They probably wanted to ask me since I was most likely to know. However, as I stopped at my locker, the staring really was starting to get to me.

"I bet she had something to do with his disappearance. Why else would she be so calm with his return?"

"I still can't believe no one looked for him. Maybe, she convinced the search party not to?"

The stares turned the other way, heads bowed or turned as if occupied in a sudden conversation. It was so sudden it made me think I may have hallucinated the whole thing but when a had intertwined with my own, I knew when people looked the other way.

"Hey," Alex gave a soft smile and tugged my hand a bit, "How have you been?"

"I should be asking you that." I say. His hands were so warm it almost distracted me from the visible bandages under his shirt. "What are you doing here? You should be resting."

He shrugged, wincing in the process. "I wanted to come in today. It was against my mother's wishes but I told her I wanted to see you and she let me go."

"What was the catch?"

"To text her every hour." He chuckled.

It warmed my insides hearing him say he came just to see me. That part of me still felt a sense of attachment to Alex, even if he's been away for nearly a month.

A month. It's been a whole month almost since I've known Alex and within that, I barely saw him. There was so much I wanted to know and ask and tell him. I wanted to know where he had been this whole time, ask why no one looked for him and to tell him about something that's been nagging my brain since it was brought up—I wanted to tell him about Nathan.

Of course, I wanted to question him about Demetria and find some answers on who beat him up like that. If what Nathan told me about my other side was true, I wanted to be able to prepare for the worse. The worse being someone coming for Alex again.

"Can we talk for a bit?" I asked slowly.

  His smile faltered, "Is everything okay?"

Was it?

"Yeah, everything is fine." I lied. "I just want to talk to you alone, when no one is staring me down."

He took a glance around, noticing how everyone was practically watching us with no shame. Even as the bell rang and they slowly headed to class, their eyes still lingered.

"I see," Alex says. "Well, after school then?"

I nodded. By then, I should have my thoughts together enough to prepare myself to ask the appropriate questions. I was nervous. I was nervous for what kind of answers I may get. I wasn't entirely sure if I actually wanted them but I had to face the music sooner or later.

Alex's hand slipped from mine as he left for class. I watched him go, conversing with someone who had come up to him. He glanced back once before he rounded a corner and soon I was alone in the hallway.

I sighed deeply. My nerves were all over the place.

"You guys together now or what?" I turned to find Luke leaning against the locker. It seemed like he had been there for a while which made me wonder how he even went unnoticed. "Personally, I think you're better off single but that's just me."