Burned By The Pages

Chapter eleven: The notebook

Few days had passed but Danielle hadn't heard anything from Tim or the others. When she went back to her dorm room the night when she had to get the clearance papers from the Dean, Megan had left already and hadn't come back yet. Danielle tried to ring her but her phone was off. Maybe, Megan needed time for herself.

It was late afternoon when she finally decided to call Tristan first to talk about the articles they were supposed to hand over on Saturday. He didn't pick up the call so she texted him to meet up at their Conference Room in the Literature Hall.

When she reached the room, there was no one inside. She placed some papers on a table and waited by the door. It appeared to her as if she was rushing things but she just felt it needed to be done immediately so she wouldn't have the reason to feel distant towards him later on.

Every time someone would pass by the room, she couldn't help feeling overwrought so she sat back on one of the chairs to shake off whatever confusing thoughts that were running in her mind.

This is a bad idea. He's not coming.

She snapped out of her conclusions after 20 minutes of waiting.

Danielle stood up but before she could reach for the papers laid on the table, the door swung open, shoving the background noise from the outside into the room. For some reasons, it somehow gave her a momentary relief from going crazy. She then turned her head to see who came and saw Tristan, without the hoodie which makes him look suspicious.

"I'm sorry, I'm late." He uttered. "I read your message just a while ago so..." He continued but Danielle raised her right hand and nodded at him with a plain smile.

Tristan took the signal then sat down on one of the chairs.

Danielle handed him the papers.

"I've finished reevaluating the history of the org's engagements and other records, wrote an article out of it, so I'll leave the rest to you…" She explained but sounded more like asking. "If that's okay with you?" She finally ended.

Tristan took a while before the words started sinking in his mind. He looked at Danielle and saw a friendly version of her.

Danielle raised her eyebrows when Tristan didn't answer.

"Is that a no or yes?" she asked, pulling Tristan's attention back to reality.

Tristan let out a faint cough and scanned the papers without actually reading it. He cleared his throat before answering.

"Yeah, totally fine with it."

"Okay then. I guess that's it." She answered then pursed her lips after seconds of silence.

Not again.

"Sure. I got this, Danielle." Tristan finally said as he stood up from his seat. He sensed the cold breeze of awkwardness again.

Danielle answered with a smile and turned to go out first but before she could reach the door, Tristan spoke again.

"Danielle, wait."

She turned to face him. The smile had faded and was replaced by a confused at the same time, a taciturn look on her face. Tristan noticed her mood swing but it didn't stop him from asking the question that had been bothering him for the past days.

"Are you okay? I mean, is there anyone bothering you? or... anything?" He asked while looking intently at her eyes.

Why would he care? It was not like there was a reason for him to ask that. Danielle was caught off guard but she felt the uneasy feeling had faded in an instant. She was glad that someone actually cared to ask.

"Yes, of course."
She managed to say.

"What about Jake? Did he say anything to you these past few days?"

Danielle didn't respond. Tristan must know something about Jake or even about the incident that happened a year ago.

"What do you know about him?"
She asked. She knew the conversation has to go on.

"How do you know him, Tristan?"
Her voice was firm.

Tristan looked down from her eyes. He was not ready for that question.

"I used to be friends with him but things happened..."

"What do you mean?"

"He's changed. He's not the same person I used to know. Danielle, you have to stay away from him, no matter what."

He insisted and looked back at Danielle with his ocean cold blue eyes.

Danielle got the answers to her questions and decided to stop the talk. She didn't want Tristan to be caught up in a mess that Jake would probably be planning.

"I will. Thanks, Tristan."
She smiled again and stepped out of the room.

Unlike their previous meetings, that one went unexpectedly well. It came with a pleasant vibe. It was comforting for Danielle. After all, a person would want to know that someone genuinely cares. Its an irrefutable emotional need for most. Or even to all.

When Danielle got back to the dorm room, it felt empty. No Megan. She slowly walked across the room and stared at her roommate's desk again. It was empty. The photos were gone.

Poor Megan.

Danielle shuddered at the thought then let out a heavy sigh before turning to her own desk.

She noticed a brown notebook rested on it. It looked old and worn out; its cover was almost hanging out of its binder. She opened it and read a familiar handwriting.

Her hands started trembling upon recognizing the penmanship. It was Tracy's. Fighting the pressure that was starting to suffocate her lungs, she flipped through the pages hastily until going over a passage that intensified the fears drowning her consciousness. She read it. Memories started piling back in her mind; her chest felt even tighter or so it seemed. Her knees weakened dragging her down on the floor.

The passage was hers. It was the one she wrote one year ago, the one thing that must have had brought more impact on Tracy than it could be.
It was supposed to be her own suicide note.

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