Running Blind // Discontinued

Chapter 31

AN:

Sorry in advance for this being really late. Needed special assistance from a special author friend of mine. Thanks, Gayle! But there is a reason that I published this on the weekend, and I'll go into greater detail at the end. Until then, what used to be my friends!

-=+=-

It's strange to think how much can change in a singular day.

Just a mere twenty-four hours ago I was sitting exactly where I'm sitting now, in the lunch room, with the crowds of students screaming over one another just to be heard, speaking to Jaxon about how I never wanted to face Mercy again. Now I was anxiously awaiting her arrival to the lunch room. Emma and Emilie were once again nowhere to be seen, and by now I was relatively sure that they had left our table in search of another and I was relatively sure that Eve was not at school today.

So that left me alone, in the lunch room, with Jaxon. I nibbled absent-mindedly on my peanut butter sandwich but the bread was stale, and I made the mental note to remind my mom to buy bread the next time she went to the store. So instead I set the sandwich down and sighed, closing my blinded eyes and resting my head on Jaxon's shoulder. Mercy should have been here by now. She was in science this morning, so unless she had gone home early, she should have been here by now.

"This is the second day you haven't eaten your lunch," Jaxon commented, trying not to sound worried, but failing. I could tell he was worried about me, but there was something else too. It seemed as if Jaxon kept checking behind him, almost as if he was looking for someone that wasn't there. A ghost, per say. But then again so was I.

"I know," I said in response to Jaxon's worry. "But I'm not the only one."

Jaxon gave a slight laugh, but I could tell he was smiling, grinning from ear to ear, just as I had done with Mercy. "I'm just worried about you and Mercy." I knew it was a lie as he spoke it, but I didn't dare question it. He wasn't just worried about me and Mercy, but something else was going on, something I didn't know about. I let out a small sigh, forcing myself not to get angry. I couldn't solve Jaxon's problems for him. I knew that. All I could do was offer my advice, and a shoulder to lean on. 

"Okay," I said, my voice soft. "But you know you can tell me if anything else is wrong, right?" I asked, peeling my head from his shoulder so that I could face him. 

"Nothings wrong, I promise you Raindrop..." Jaxon's voice trailed off, as I heard the footsteps come near the table, the footsteps that would change everything. 

I knew the footsteps belonged to Mercy as soon as the bubbly blond grabbed my hand and began to sign in her regular rapid fire way. 

Hey Ash, sorry I was late, she apologized. I smiled and nodded at her apology, so focused on trying to catch what she was saying a hardly noticed when Jaxon tensed next to me. Rhys took me the long way to the cafeteria because he was certain it was a short cut. Never trust a new kid to lead you around the school.

I laughed at this and then turned to where this Rhys must be standing. I opened my mouth to speak, but I was cut off by another sound. Jaxon's laughter. Yet unlike mine at Mercy's silly comment, Jaxon's laugh was so cold and unnatural it set my nerves ablaze. That was probably my final warning before Jaxon finally spoke. "It's been a while, hasn't it Rhys?" he asked, in a way that I had never heard. Jaxon, the guy who was always happy and joking about everything seemed to have frozen over, burying all that warmth under a thick layer of ice that now buried everything I knew about him.

"Jaxon?" My voice seemed to echo across the large cafeteria, filled with the chattering voices of my fellow students, getting lost underneath their chorus of pointless chatter.