The Loudest Silence

Mason

I kept my head bowed as I forced myself to keep my eyes on the papers ahead of me. Against my better judgement, every five minutes or so, I would find my eyes wandering to Isabella, whose eyes had been glued to her textbook since she had gotten here.

Mel had approached us both earlier, but had completely disregarded Isabella as she droned on about some carnival going on tonight. I knew it was a good opportunity to get Isabella to open up, but she shyly declined, claiming that she had a lot of work to get done.

I couldn't help but feel like there was more to it than that, but I didn't want to make it obvious and press her on the issue so I dropped it. 

We were working on our project at the campus library, and though my motive was to get started on the project, I initiated this meeting so that I could get to know her more. The agency wasn't pressuring me, but being in this environment had slowly begun eating at me, and I wanted to finish with this mission and leave as soon as I could.

College had been a memorable time in my life, but I couldn't help but compare what my life was then, and what it was now. The person I am today is incomparable to who I was before, and being here would only continue to remind me of that. 

I watched Isabella silently pull her bottom lip into her mouth as her eyes remained locked onto the book ahead of her, as if it held the answers to the world's greatest mysteries. Her eyelashes fell over her porcelain cheeks, and I couldn't help but appreciate the natural beauty Isabella was blessed with. Her dark hair completely contrasted her skin tone, yet it suited her so perfectly. Her doe eyes appeared too big for her face, but it somehow proportioned the rest of her features properly.  It wasn't like me to see my targets as anything other than a mere assignment, but there was an aura around Isabella I just couldn't pin point.

She was quiet, but her eyes spoke wonders. She walked as if she was invisible, yet her presence was undeniable. 

Everything about her screamed innocence and wonder, and something deep in my gut told me that something about Isabella Wright just didn't connect properly to Rick Wright. The sensible part of me however, told me that this was exactly what they would want outsiders to think. The world was filled with phony's and Rick Wright and his team were the most dangerous of them all. 

I had ignored signs and brushed little things off in the past and it had cost me a life. From that moment forward, I had vowed to never make that mistake again, and I intended to keep my full focus on this assignment. Falling for Isabella's facade would be a foolish decision, one that I would ensure I wouldn't make. 

Deciding that I was done with mindlessly staring down at history papers and needed to continue with the investigation, I gave Isabella some random excuse about Fletcher needing my help and headed out of the library. I could feel a headache approaching, but I ignored it as I made my way towards the front of the school where Mrs. William's office was located. I had texted her earlier in the library about needing more files on Isabella, and she had invited me to pick them up in the office. I hadn't visited her in weeks, and I knew that I could rely on her to provide me with information about Isabella. 

The warmth of the office building instantly greeted me as I stepped through the doorway. There were a couple straggling students waiting inside the lobby as I made my way towards the receptionist desk. A flash of recognition immediately clouded over the face of the young lady behind the desk as she flashed held up a finger and picked up the phone perched on her desk. She exchanged a few words with whom I assumed was Mrs. Williams before setting  the phone down and glancing up at me with a warm small.