Open Case File [COMPLETED]

Jealousy

Cause you really really wanted this and it was the best I could do with the characters I created. 🤷‍♀️

(Also all I want to do now is sing...I still get relish!🎶🎵)

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"Your essays should be in my inbox by the end of Friday or I will not accept it," Professor White announced to the classroom. "That's all for today, you're dismissed."

The click of computers' closing and the shuffling of feet filled the auditorium. Carter rose and slid on her coat and stored away her laptop. As she made her way outside, a curly-haired guy with a splash of freckles across his nose approached her.

"Hey, Carter," Adam said. "I thought the points you brought up about the impactful years of one's life affecting their view of the world interesting. I was wondering if you wanted to get coffee and discuss it more?"

Carter surveyed the surrounding mass of people but didn't spot Donovan among the scarf and coated crowded.

"Sure," she said.

Adam smiled, the gesture accenting his natural good looks. The pair crossed the courtyard towards the small cafe. It was chilly, winter's breath icing the air. Though there was no snow yet, the ground was frozen and the grass crunched beneath boots. Adam hurried forward and pulled the door open, allowing Carter to slip into the warm, coffee-scented embrace of the cafe.

As the door swung shut behind the pair, across the quad, Donovan rounded the building. He scanned the collection of bundled figures, but couldn't spot Carter's face. When he ducked his head into the auditorium, he found it mostly empty, a single student left, lost in a discussion with the professor.

Biting down frustration, Donovan turned away, gazing out of the college grounds. His phone dinged, snatching his attention. He pulled it out. One it was a single message.

"Still alive."

Donovan gripped his phone as he stared at Link's update. Though nothing in his face gave him away, inside he was starting to fracture. Years of being only one thing were coming to an end and he was struggling to know exactly what it would mean for him when the burden was lifted.

Eight years of his life had been dedicated to watching over someone else's. Before that, he had been a sixteen-year-old boy who hadn't known who he wanted to be. Part of Donovan feared that he would somehow revert to the unknowing state when the time came.

Pocketing his phone, Donovan went back to his search. There was one person who seemed to understand without being told and right then he needed that, cause he wasn't sure he understood himself. Before he could call Carter, a girl with a knitted cap pulled down over her pixie haircut, approached him.

"Hey, Donovan," she said. "I wanted to let you know that the study group is meeting at my place this Friday."

Donovan nodded, storing away the info.

"Courtney," Donovan said, stopping the girl from disappearing. "Have you seen, Carter?"

She pointed to the cafe across the way. "I saw her walk in with Adam."

Irritation stirred in Donovan's chest, but he managed to keep it was showing.

"Thanks."

He crossed the lawn and paused outside the door, peering in. In a back corner at a small table sat Adam and Carter. Adam's smile was on full display as he leaned on the table towards her.

Something snapped inside Donovan, all the emotions he had been fighting against converged into that one moment. Tearing open the door, he stormed inside. He gripped the front of Adam's shirt and slammed him against the wall.