Eclipsed Star

Chapter Twenty-seven

ROMAN POV

I'm sorry for last night. I didn't mean to hurt you. I love you Roman, meet me tonight by the back gate at curfew.

I clutched the note in my fist as I stepped off the bus Monday morning. I kept running the words through my mind, wondering if there was something I'd misunderstood.

Saturday morning I'd awoken with an aching body and a full heart only to find myself alone in the cool morning air. He'd snuck away in the middle of the night and left me there with nothing but a shirt covering my hips. I pulled myself to standing and dressed before I found his note on the ground.

I'm sorry for last night. I didn't mean to hurt you.

I smiled. My Jacob was always worrying about something. He'd been rough, yes, but he hadn't hurt me. Not really. And it had been amazing. Everything I'd wanted I'd found in his arms. I felt like the real me, the me I was destined to be, had finally arrived thanks to him.

I love you Roman, meet me tonight by the back gate at curfew.

That night at 10PM I'd gone to the gate and waited.

And waited.

Until 1AM.

When he didn't show I retreated to the greenhouse and slept there alone, hoping he might appear at some point in the night.

But he never came.

And now it's Monday morning and I haven't heard from him, no explanation, only silence. I didn't know what to think. Was he sick again? Had the cyper been only a temporary fix? Or had finally being together turned out to be more than he could handle. Despite what he said, maybe once he was away from me and had time to think he realized I wasn't what he wanted.

I hated these lingering doubts. They popped up as soon as anything went wrong, but I couldn't help my insecurity. So much about us being together was impossible, so much could go wrong. But what I felt for him went so deep it was carved in my bones and when I died, it would flower from my body as real as it was the first moment I met him so long ago.

When I got to my locker, I looked around for Jake but didn't find him. At the locker next to me, Drake and Angela were flirting shamelessly and it soured my mood even further. Here they were, not even together yet, and more free to talk and touch than Jake and I would ever be. I was jealous and it was petty but fuck if I wasn't hurting.

"Roman," Embry said, leaning on the wall of lockers next to me. "Have you seen Jake today? I can't find him anywhere and I heard he was coming back to school today."

"No." I didn't look at him, just shoved my Math book in my bag and zipped it up.

"Have you seen him? I heard he got out on Saturday afternoon and went home, but when I went by his house, his Dad said he was sleeping and couldn't see me."

He stood up as I started to walk away and followed me.

"I figured if anyone knew what was going on it'd be you."

"Well, I don't." I turned on him, frustration oozing from my pores.

"Haven't you seen him?"

I ducked into one of the classrooms and he followed. "I saw him Friday night and he was better."

"What?" Embry's eyes opened wide. "Like completely all together better?"

"Yes, like that. I was supposed to see him on Saturday, but he never showed up." I kept my voice even despite the grip of fear around my heart that made me want to cry.

"That's not like Jake." Embry frowned. "He's not one to bail."

I shrugged, not really wanting to delve into how I felt about this with Embry. He knew about Jake and I and to a certain degree I think he accepted us, but he wasn't my friend and I didn't want to put him in a weird position. Oh who am I fucking kidding. I didn't want to talk about it because I was afraid that if I did, I'd burst into tears and never pull myself together.