Four Elements Book 3 - Sacrifice

Part 8

A few days later, Andie walked into school feeling more and more worried. Normally, Bane called or texted her every morning, but he hadn't today. And that had never happened before. Even when he was sick, he would at least have Robert call her... She'd considered calling his uncle directly, but had stopped herself. She could picture the conversation perfectly:

"Hello Mr Davis, I just wanted to make sure Bane was okay, he hasn't called me this morning and he never misses..."

She shuddered at the thought; she would look clingy and childish. She had to keep a cool head. He had probably forgot to recharge his phone, or forgotten it somewhere... there was no point in panicking... he was okay... of course he was. She took a deep breath and pulled out her phone. Perhaps she'd put it on silent without noticing... but no, there were no messages.

"Andie! Hey, over here!"

Emily's voice pulled Andie out of her daze.

"Oh, morning guys..."

Andie pocketed her phone and walked over to her friends.

"What's wrong, Andie?" Isabelle asked, frowning in concern when she saw Andie's face.

Andie hesitated.

"Have... Have you guys seen Bane yet?"

Isabelle raised a confused eyebrow but before she could answer, Jessica suddenly glanced over her shoulder and cut across her.

"Sure, there he is."

Andie wheeled around, and sure enough, there he was. But what struck Andie was the sadness about him. He hung his head, his hands in his pockets. His hair was even more messy than usual. But she didn't care. She hurried over to him and hugged him.

"Hey... I didn't hear from you, I was getting worried... are you okay?"

Bane barely seem to notice her when he looked at her. Andie froze in shock for a few seconds. She had never seen him look so... lost and nostalgic.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry I didn't call you."

Whatever efforts he'd made at the Fountain were gone, now.

"It's okay... It just never happened before, so... I thought that something was wrong..."

She hesitated.

"Are you sure you're okay? You don't look so good..."

"No, I'm okay."

The bell rang at that moment, and he took the opportunity to leave.

"I have to get to class," he said.

And pressing a quick kiss to Andie's lips, he walked off without another word.

Andie didn't get a chance to talk to Bane all morning. Which didn't help her nerves or concentration. She almost risked texting him in class, but figured he could do without the extra hassle it would cause if he was caught. But that unhappy look in his eyes haunted her. She tried to think of what might be bothering him. Had he run into Zorak again? Was he being blackmailed? Had Robert fallen ill or had an accident? No... he would have told them... right?"

All in all, she found it hard to worry about French poetry or algebra, that morning. Isabelle, the only one she shared most of her classes with this year, had to nudge her several times to avoid her getting caught. At long last, she and her classmates were released for lunch. Telling Isabelle she was going to try and find Bane before heading to the cafeteria, Andie said a quick "goodbye" to Mr Rolands, and headed out of the room the moment the bell rang.

She found Bane by his locker, like she'd hoped. She watched him in silence a moment, hesitating on the approach. She didn't want to upset him even further...

I guess I'll just have to go for it... she told herself.

Steeling herself, she walked over to Bane.

"Bane?"

He glanced up at her, then returned to his locker. He seemed a little more like himself, but Andie could still see the glimmer of pain in his eyes. It slashed her heart. She hated seeing him unhappy without knowing what to do about it.

"Hey..." he said, forcing a small smile. "Listen, I'm sorry about earlier... I hope I didn't freak you out too much."

"... Only in as much as I'm worried about you..." Andie told him, touching his arm. "Bane, what's going on?"

Bane closed his locker and sighed, leaning against the metal door. He seemed tired, like he hadn't slept much, Andie noticed.

"... Are you sick? Is Robert?" Andie asked gently.

If it was serious, it explained why he hadn't called... if it had been her, she would have preferred to say it in person.

"No, no... we're both fine, don't worry."

When he didn't continue, Andie asked:

"Then... what is it?"

Bane pressed his forehead to his locker, his eyes closed, heaving a sigh.

"... It's September 8th ," he explained, looking back at her. "... The day my mother died nine years ago."

Andie felt her jaw drop slightly and quickly closed it. She had considered that the date might have been the reason for his somberness, but not for this reason. Bane's mother had been brutally killed in front of him when he was ten by his own father, Zorak.

Bane rarely spoke of it. Of course, who could blame him?

"Oh... I'm sorry... you never told me..." she whispered.

And it explained why he'd been slightly distant these days, like his mind was elsewhere. He'd been polite, but she'd sensed his heart hadn't quite been in it.

As selfish as it might have sounded, she was relieved it hadn't been because of her.

"... I guess it hit me harder this year..." Bane replied.

".... Why d'you think that is?" Andie asked.

Bane considered that a moment. He then peered at Andie thoughtfully for a moment.

"I think it's because I'm happy, now," he finally told her. "I have you, good friends... my grades are reasonably stable, my uncle's got a girlfriend... I just wish she could see it."

He looked so sad, Andie almost felt like crying. She reached out and put her arms around him, holding him tightly, as though it would wipe out Bane's pain. She knew it wasn't possible, but she hoped it would still give him even a little bit of comfort.

"She does see it," she told him gently. "And she's happy for you. I know it."

There was a silence, and for a moment, Andie thought she'd said the wrong thing. She glanced cautiously up at him. He gazed down at her, a tiny smile at the corner of his lips.

"Thanks, Andie," he said.

He glanced at the sea of students charging hungrily towards the cafeteria.

"Come on, let's go get ours before it's gone," he smiled.

Andie, too happy to see him smiling again, nodded and followed him.