Decadent

Chapter Twelve: Fear

     “What?” I whisper in shock. Joziah? Why would he go missing? I've noticed the pattern...I have.

    People with blonde hair and brown eyes...guys around my age going missing...Joziah has blonde hair and brown eyes...also, he's a bit on the chunky side. It's just kinda...scary really.

    “Yes, Joziah is missing. Because of that...things have been hectic. People have been coming here in order to miss class... Even I know Joziah didn't have this many friends. He mostly kept to himself.”

    “He did. He hung out with the other guys and me...but honestly, I didn't know much about the guy. He just didn't talk much. It's just kinda scary knowing that someone you use to talk to...is missing...and you don't know what could be happening,” I say in horror as I shake my head. “This is...crazy...”

    “Does your mom still want you seeing a-”

    “I'm not getting on those pills. There's too many side effects, and I'm not doing it. I can just keep going to you because this alone is actually kinda helping...except...” I trail off.

    “What happened, Remiel?” Rath asks me with concern.

    “Octavius and I got in a fight yesterday...I nearly choked the life out of him just over the thought of him hurting this girl I've been hanging around lately.”

    “Does Octavius like this girl? Sometimes boys show their interest through violence.”

    “No. He doesn't like her. I do though...I like her a lot,” I admit with a small smile.

    Rath laughs as he looks at my expression. “You have the lovesick eyes people always talk about. It looks to me that you really do like this girl. She must be something else.”

    “She is,” I say with a laugh. “The thing is, I get on her nerves, and we kinda argue over the stupidest things...but it's not serious. It's just...something we do together.”

    Rath smiles gently. “Sounds like the relationship I have with my girlfriend.”

    “You have a girlfriend?” I ask in surprise.

    “Yep. She's kinda rude...so there's some restaurants she's not allowed to go to.” Rath laughs.

    “Good God,” I snort. “That sounds just like the girl I like...only I don't know if she's been kicked out of any restaurants. I'll ask her that.”

    “Do you need any advice with someone like her? Because sometimes...they can be confusing.”

    “Yeah...she's really stubborn. Like, I know that she likes me, but sometimes I'm not so sure. She's really good at acting like she doesn't like something when she does...it really confuses me at times. It always seems like she's trying to start an argument, too. I don't mind it, but it just makes me wonder...”

    “Maybe that's the only way she knows how to communicate,” Rath offers with a shrug.

    “What do you mean?” I ask in confusion.

    “If she's stubborn then that means she'll stand her ground in a fight. But if fighting is all she knows then it sounds like that's all she's been doing: fighting.”

    “Well...she doesn't have the best relationship with her parents,” I admit with a frown.

    “See? If she's done nothing but argue with them...sometimes for some people, it's all they know. They think, in their minds, that they have to argue in order to communicate with people because that's all they've done in their life...is argue and fight. So she might want to communicate with you...but she just doesn't know how. You see what I mean?”