Another Selected (Book 1 of Selection fanfics)

Chapter 28

The palace was unnaturally quiet. The eliminated girls had left, leaving the rest of us to adjust without them. It already felt lonely with only ten girls; Liana was the only one near my room, while the others were spread out elsewhere on the second floor. The fact that I barely knew any of the others only added to the loneliness.

After the announcement, we'd left the Great Room to find the eliminated girls packing their things. I was only sad to see Henley and January leave; they were the only ones leaving that I had grown fond of. Terrible as it was, I couldn't help but smile as I watched Teegan angrily pack up her things. The only thing I regretted was not seeing her reaction when Derek told them they were eliminated.

Now that they were gone, everything had really begun to sink in. Ten of us were left. Ten meant the Elite. Ten meant the last remaining girls to have a chance to win Derek's heart. Ten meant the Selection was even closer to being over. I didn't think the number ten had ever been this important to me before.

At the same time, my emotions were a jumbled mess. One second I was nearly shaking from excitement and the next my stomach was a pit of nerves. Liana had seemed happy after the announcement, but I still wasn't sure where her and Derek's relationship was. I didn't know how much she liked him and I didn't know how he felt about her. As far as I knew, they hadn't even kissed yet.

I had no idea how Genevieve felt either. Derek was her brother, her twin brother for that matter. I didn't know exactly what she would be mad about, but I still didn't want her angry at me. If it came down to it and I had to pick between her and Derek, what was I supposed to do?

In only a span of a few days, I felt like everything was changing and becoming even more complicated. Between the attack on the palace, the announcement of the Elite, and Genevieve's lack of communication, I didn't know what to do. Right now, all I wanted was to be able to talk to Annika, my sister. She knew how to handle things like this; she was the only one who ever went out to socialize with other people.

But Annika wasn't here and even if she was, she wouldn't have talked to me anyways. My mother and Amber had been my only other options growing up, but I had no way of talking to them since I didn't have a phone. Liana wasn't an option, considering I had no idea how to even bring this up into conversation. I hadn't even seen her since the announcement; she left before I did and she wasn't even in her room.

I sighed, leaning forward against the balcony railing. It was early evening, so the sun was still out, but the sky seemed to match my emotions. Puffy white clouds mixed with ones of varying grays, and the blue sky mixed with the ominous black side. The weather looked confused, exactly how I felt.

I felt a hand on my arm suddenly; I was so shocked that I nearly fell, only to be lifted quickly back up to my feet.

My heart started to race as I turned to look over at Derek. "First you make me hit my knee on the piano, and now I nearly fall off the balcony. You really have a knack for giving people heart attacks, Derek."

He laughed quietly, still holding me. "It's a gift."

I chuckled, letting my eyes glance at his hand on my arm. I could feel small butterflies raging in my stomach, but they weren't quite as violent as they had been when I'd first met him. I could feel myself getting used to his presence. I couldn't tell whether that was a good or bad thing.

"Walk with me?" He motioned down to the gardens. "I think we need to talk."

I nodded, slipping my arm through his. "Of course."

The halls were still quiet as we walked through them. Except for a few guards, we were the only ones out. Still, we were silent until we were alone in the gardens. Without even needing to tell each other, we both knew that what we had to say needed to be said in private.