AMACon Book 2 Extension

Runaway - 3 Days Prior

The whole campus was in shock after hearing the news of Lauren's sudden death. I was approached by everyone, telling me their condolences as they showed me either sad faces or tears. I didn't go to school for a couple of days after the officers came to the house and went back to school on a Wednesday. That day was my second day back to school—a Thursday, I remember it vividly.

The professors and my classmates were clearly cautious on the words they would use when they were near me. It was a bit annoying at first because nothing made me feel worse than the way they interacted with me since the past few days. It was "poor Lauren" here and "poor RJ" there. Everyone was talking about us but never mentioned the topic when they were with me—and that aggravated me the most. Talk about fake sensitivity.

Classes were like usual and so was soccer. Varsity practices were actually quite helpful in making me forget all the commotion going on. My teammates kinda had hard time dealing with me being their team captain who just-lost-his-girl-friend though. Emilio even asked me during our laps if I was alright because I was too calm about the whole situation. I didn't smile. But neither did I show a frown. I seldom spoke but instead focused my attention on the people who did. I wasn't okay. I was far from it.

I haven't been sleeping properly since the day I last saw Lauren in the flesh and I haven't eaten that much since too. But despite being physically weak, my body was relatively fine; I was still able to run like a horse and think like a philosopher without fainting due to fatigue. All of my senses were keen and it had me worrying. What if I finally get out of this state of tension? What if all of that anxiety that my released adrenalin has been repelling suddenly started to eat me alive in one go?

News of the forensics team already joining the investigation reached the soccer team's locker room that after practice that Thursday. I kept quiet as I changed into my clothes and a stiff Toph just looked at me with studying eyes. "You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. I think so." I replied but I didn't look at him. I've been avoiding him all week since I last caught him doing it with Lauren. I did quite a good job at not making it obvious.

"So sorry for your loss bro. I wonder who could've done this to her."

"The investigation is going along smoothly so I think we'll be able to find out who did it pretty soon." I said.

"You guys were such a perfect couple. It's really such a huge downer to hear news like this." He took my body spray from my bag and used it on his still sweaty torso. "It makes me think about life and all that shit. Damn. I mean, she was happy and everything. She was just 17. It could've been me or you who got killed. It could've been anyone in this godforsaken school for all we know."

"I know right." I replied. "It could've been me... or you." I zipped the pocket of my bag he left opened. "By the way, do you by any chance had the time to talk to Lauren before she died? Did the police go to your place too?"

His face went pale and he tried to fake it off—like it would work on me though. "No. I don't talk to her that much to be honest. Why? Why do you ask?"

"I just wondered. That's all. See, the police came to our place to ask me some questions. I just assumed that maybe they went to yours too."

"Why would they go to my place to ask me about your girlfriend?" He mumbled.

"Nothing. I just assumed that you two were close. I mean, Louise used to talk to me about you a lot." I said, expecting he'll budge.

"She did?"