Free Falling

cinq

By the time Rebekah got back to her dorm, Elise was pacing the short length of the room, speaking animatedly to someone on her phone. One hand was placed on her hip and the other one was gripping the phone tightly as she pressed it against her ear.

"Are you sure you saw him head to class this morning?" she hissed. "Are you very sure?"

Rebekah dropped her bag by her desk and kicked off her shoes, watching Elise with mild curiosity.

"What do you mean 'you're not sure now'? Do you need a knock over the head to remember? No, I don't... I know you... You know what, Danny," Elise snapped, "You're no fucking help at all. I'll find Seb myself." She tapped her phone screen with more force than was necessary and flung her phone onto her bed, groaning in frustration.

"Elise...? Is everything alright?" Rebekah felt as if she was walking on eggshells. She would never have guessed that her roommate had such a temper.

"Everything..." Elise took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Everything's alright. Sort of. I mean, it'll be. It'll all be fine when I find my brother."

"Sebastian?"

"Yeah, him."

"He's fine. I just dropped him off back at his room."

Elis whirled around so quickly that her glasses almost slid off her nose. Pushing them up rapidly, she refocused on her roommate whose face was rapidly turning red.

"You were with Seb?"

Rebekah could feel how hot her face was becoming. "Yeah, I mean, we went for coffee and we were talking and we lost track of time."

"So you were with him the whole time? Since this morning?"

Rebekah nodded and that was when Elise finally let out a long sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God." She took off her glasses and rubbed her face vigorously before pushing them back onto her face. "Oh, thank God," she repeated again. "Nothing's happened to him. He's safe." After several moments, she raised an eyebrow questioningly at her roommate. "What were you doing having coffee with my brother?"

"We ran into each other on the way to class this morning and one thing led to another and we ended up talking."

Elise smiled and wriggled her eyebrows conspiratorially. "He must like you if he spent an entire day with you."

Rebekah shrugged and busied herself with opening her dresser for some clean clothes. She wasn't going to jump to conclusions after the first day. She wasn't so naïve to think that any correct assumptions could be made from just one meeting.

"You have no idea how glad I am that he's better now," Elise said, her mood turning from light-hearted to sober in a matter of seconds. "During the first couple of months after he became blind, he didn't act anything like the Seb that we knew. He shut everyone out and it was hard. But he's better now and I thank God for it every day." There was so much pain and grief in her blue eyes as she spoke that it was hard to ignore. Rebekah took out a clean set of clothes and set it on her bed.

"He told me that it'd been some kind of accident?"

Elise nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I know it wasn't my fault but I feel like it is. I'd been there; I should've made him stop. If he doesn't recover his sight, I'm not sure I'll ever forgive myself." She let out a shaky breath. "Our parents were against letting Seb coming to university so far from home but Seb... he just wants to feel independent again, you know? I promised my parents that I'd take care of him while we're here." She shook her head. "I promised that nothing would happen to him."

And that was when Rebekah understood why Elise had been freaking out earlier. Her anger and frustration had been borne out of fear and anxiety for her brother's safety and wellbeing. Rebekah felt her heart swell at the evident concern that Elise had for her brother.