Pieces [Wattpad's Editor's Choice]

20: HeAdAcHeS

When I pushed the door open slowly, I kept my eyes on the ugly eggplant colored carpet. It was a habit; not a bad one, though. A safe one. I never knew what I was walking into, and now I was especially careful of it.

But as the door creaked and cool air washed over my face, I lifted my eyes, only for my heart to deflate. Our dorm room smelled like fresh air, not Luna's expensive perfume that had fifty words in it. The window was open and our baby blue curtains billowed softly. The ceiling fan was also on. I surveyed our room for any signs of Luna's glorious presence...

Her faint purple bed sheets were made, but her backpack was gone. I shut the door behind me and took another step into the room. The sketchbook she normally kept on the table was gone, too. In its place was a Hamilton bill (as she and I liked calling the tens now) with a purple sticky note stuck to it. I grabbed the cash and note.

𝓗𝓮𝓻𝓮, 𝓕𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓮 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮! 𝓑𝓾𝔂 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼𝓮𝓵𝓯 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓹𝓲𝔃𝔃𝓪. 𝓝𝓸 𝓹𝓪𝔂𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓼 (𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓲𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓻𝓪𝓹 𝓘'𝓿𝓮 𝓫𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓹𝓾𝓽𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓽𝓱𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱; 𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓼𝓸𝓻𝓻𝔂.) 𝓦𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓫𝓮 𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓢𝓪𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓭𝓪𝔂𝓲𝓼𝓱𝓱𝓱.

I rubbed the sticky note between my fingers. Since when did Luna write notes? Wouldn't a text have sufficed? Maybe this was her way of saying she didn't want to text; it was an indirect form of communication that didn't warrant an immediate response.

And when did she write this? Maybe the note was already here this morning when Arrow and I sat around the table; neither of us noticed. All I knew was Luna wasn't there this morning and she wasn't here now. Who was she with? And more importantly...why didn't she invite me?

Honestly, I wanted to guess she was with Tyrell. Maybe she caved and realized he wasn't such a bad guy after all. Because I didn't want to think my best friend was with another much cooler person to hang out with.

I tossed the cash and note back onto the table and walked over to my bed. I threw my backpack on the floor, kicked off my shoes, and plopped on my stomach.

Arrow was at the store for who-knows-what. My guess would've been condoms. But Isaac's words from Valentine's night echoed in my mind: that would be too easy. Then what? I just wanted to spend time with him. I mean, Luna was gone. I had the dorm to myself...till Saturday.

I needed a tracker for Arrow. Sure, he wanted to surprise me, but part of what Isaac said was true. We didn't know the full capacity of Arrow's abilities. What if one day he just never came home? And none of us would have any clue why.

Isaac had some valid points. I didn't really know anything about Arrow. But what Isaac didn't know was that I felt like I already knew everything. Because he was a part of me. He was mine in a way no one else understood.

I hadn't heard from Isaac since I saw him briefly at the library. Was he mad? Or just done with me and my shenanigans? I didn't blame him. But I also didn't like loose ends. We couldn't just...stop talking. And I didn't want Isaac to think I only talked to him when I needed him.

So as I waited for Arrow, I dialed a number. Waited.

The phone rang once. Twice. Just as the third ring was about to end, a low, raspy voice cut through the silence. "Uhh...hey?"

"Hi." I twisted a curl around my finger. "Sorry Isaac...were you sleeping?"

Rustling. Static. He must've been shifting upright on his bed. Wow, one night and I already knew his bedsheets so well. "Yeah. I picked up an extra shift at the hospital last night; God, Frannie, hospital hours are no joke. Just one shift sucks all the life out of you; it's like hospital workers trade their own lives for their patients' lives. Insane."