Hollows In Time (✔️) | 'Hollows' Book Ⅱ

Chapter Thirty-Eight

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After that, Jameson and I walked back into the school in silence. The Academy was beginning to come alive with the hustle and bustle of the weekend spirit as I turned my phone on. The first thing that I noticed was the million missed calls that were flooding in. From Cassie. What? Is she in trouble? Then I remembered. The note.

Her most recent text read,

'MEET ME IN THE PIZZA SECTION ASAP'

The pizza section? What are we doing? Checking the cheese factor in the stuffed crust?

I tugged on Jameson's arm silently and he turned around, nearly walking into someone who was clearly not looking where they were going. He raised his eyebrows at me.

"I have to go." I told him, gesturing to my phone. Jameson's eyebrows fell. And his face seemed to too.

"It's nothing personal," I was quick to tell him. But I don't know why. "I'm just meeting up with Cassie." I told him next.

Jameson stared for a second, "I can walk you there?" He offered, the suggestion making his eyes sparkle slightly.

I bit my lip. "I think I'll be fine." I told him. The sparkle left his eyes, and a flash of pain took its place. He nodded regretfully.

"I just–" I watched him watch me. "–we weren't really having a conversation whilst we were walking a second ago," I waved my hands around, "so I don't really think it's a good idea that we continue." I looked into his eyes. But I couldn't bear to see the pain again—for some reason—so I turned away.

"We can make conversation." Jameson seemed to be grasping at reasons wherever he could find them. I looked up at him, probably with doubt written all over my face, because he took one look at my face, and then his turned sour.

"Fine. That's okay. I'll see you around." The last sentence was thrown over his shoulder as he strode away. I stood, frozen in my spot, trying to force myself to move. But, for some reason, I couldn't. What had just happened had hit me hard. I hadn't expected it to feel as...weird as it did.

I could've called after him. But, one, he was way too fast and, two, he wouldn't have listened. He was hurting; I had caused it. So much for fixing people.

I unfroze, then I continued to walk. It took me a good ten minutes to get to the factory-like space that was, as ever, packed with goods. Flashes of a time when Carter was alive hit me, dashing at my eyelids until the skin had shed so much that my eyes were no longer protected from the horrors of the world.

I walked around for a while, with no rhyme or reason, my mind spinning around in different directions as I looked around aimlessly. Someone tugged on my arm, and I jumped. I turned to see who it was.
Cassie.

She had a frantic look on her face, dressed in what was probably Kim's oversized jumper, and leggings. She looked frazzled as she tugged me into a corner, where the smell of freshly baked pizzas wafted over to us, which, of course, made my mouth melt.

"Is everything okay?" I asked her first, and she tugged me farther, into a corner where the shelves didn't quite meet.

"Welcome to my corner." Cassie announced, pulling a stepping stool from the corner. She gestured to another nearby and we sat down on them. She sighed.