[ SAMPLE ONLY - FIRST 3 CHAPTERS]
"He was reckless. He was exciting. He was Theo.
And he was a breath of fresh air in my otherwise extremely dull life"
What if the missing person is your missing piece?
Rose has always played by the rules - now it's...
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T W O
Then Theo walked into my house like he owned the place. He brushed past me in the doorway, his arm lightly touching mine for a second and sending a gentle flurry of shivers down my spine. He didn't even turn to look back at me before heading into another room, disappearing from my sight.
My feet moved of their own accord, following the direction he had taken without any command from my brain. Realising my mouth had been open the entire time, I quickly closed it, and shook my head as if that would clear my thoughts.
He was waiting for me in the lounge, hair dishevelled, clothes dirty, looking worse than I had ever seen him before. A giant duffel bag that looked practically empty was strapped over his body, and his hands gripped it as if it was his last prized possession in the world.
Theo heard the sounds of my footsteps and tilted his head to watch me as I walked into the room. My stomach jolted as I stared into the same eyes that had looked back at me all day – only instead of being on paper, they were in person. I was speechless, my mind whirling. Theo hesitated, opening his mouth to say something and then quickly snapping it shut again. It seemed he was struggling to find the right words as much as I was.
And then, the world started spinning. My breathing grew laboured as I struggled to get a grip on reality. My hand latched on to the first thing it could grab as I desperately tried to steady myself.
"Breathe, Rose," Theo whispered into my ear, and I realised that it was him I was holding on to; I was clutching him like I was drowning and he was the life jacket keeping me from sinking below the water. "Just breathe."
I closed my eyes to try and make the world stop spinning while he continued to speak soothingly into my ears, his voice as smooth as warm honey. "You're fine. It's just a panic attack, Rose. Focus on your breathing."
I found myself listening to him as I concentrated on bringing the air back into my lungs. He held on to me even when the room came back to normal, and my chest stopped rising and falling rapidly. It was only when I opened my eyes and looked into his worried gaze that he let out a small sigh of relief and released me from his grip.
Eventually Theo broke the silence that had settled between us as he shifted his feet around on the carpet beneath him. "Hey, Rose."
A lot can change in forty-eight hours, which was evident when I stared at Theo. His face had lost the tanned colour he normally had; it was now pale and sickly. There were bags under his eyes, much worse than mine – which looked like they could droop shut from fatigue any moment now – and his whole body was shivering, his bare arms covered in goosebumps. Theo was taller than me, but only by a few inches, so I was close enough to see every detail in his face – every crease of worry – and the golden flecks in his green eyes that were normally dazzling were now dull and lifeless.
