Free: Into The Woods

Chapter Two

The administrators had sent us to our rooms for the day and told us they would give us an update on Rowen once they finished investigating. I keep replaying what I remember in my mind, he was sitting there hunched over, and then we locked eyes and he fell over. There was no expression in his face, and he acted normal the day before. Did he? Ugh, too many questions with no answers. I'll have to ask Finley if anything happened in their dorm last night. But for now, I'm stuck here.

"Will you stop pacing already?" Said Vanessa's snobby voice.

I shook my head in disgust, "Rowen is my friend, it's my job to be worried about him."

Vanessa rolled her eyes, "You should be worrying about someone else."

Confused, I looked around the room until my eyes found Clove. She was huddled in a corner of the room, laying in the fetal position, her expression... blank.

I quickly rushed over, remembering Rowen had the same expression right before he fell over. "Hey, you okay?" I asked gently, taking a seat next to her.

She sat there for a moment, then she looked me in the eye and asked, "Do you think he's okay?" She looked almost desperate for a spark of hope and there was no way I was giving her that kind of a promise, I knew how dangerous that could be.

"Honestly, I don't know." I hugged her and walked back to pace in the little space I was at before.

"I wonder why Clove is taking it the hardest," I questioned aloud.

Vanessa rolled her eyes and answered, "Isn't it obvious. She likes him."

I frowned, I never noticed that before, but then again I'm terrible at that kind of thing, besides when it's super obvious, like Finley. But now that I think about it I can kind of see it. Like how Clove always made sure that Rowen felt included, or when she always made an effort to sit next to him at lunch.

I shook my head and walked to where Kit was laying on a bunk bed. "Are you okay?"

She stared at the wooden planks above her, "I don't know, we don't even know what happened, or even if he's okay. I mean I don't know him as well as Clove but he's still my friend."

"Attention students," said Mrs. Tri through the intercom, she is my favorite administrator, "Gather in the cafeteria for an important announcement, absences will be punished."

I grabbed Indigo's wrist and together we shuffled our way out of the crowded room and towards the cafeteria.

The administrators had recommended that we sit down, which did not seem like a good sign. Once we were all seated, Mrs. Tri told us the news; "We have investigated with police, firefighters, agents, and all other types of people. We have concluded that today, January 4th, marks the date of Rowen Deed's death." she paused to let it sink in. My heart skipped a couple of beats, my ears ringing so loud it felt like everyone could hear it. He died. My friend, Rowen Deed, was... no longer on Earth. I was sure my face displayed shock and grief.

Clove I thought as I searched the huge crowd until my eyes fell on a silently sobbing frame of a scrawny brown-skinned girl. I pushed through the crowd, my brain scrambling for ways to calm her.

Once I reached Clove I pulled her into a gentle hug, letting her cry on my shoulder. "I'm sorry," I said, my voice barely a whisper.

She pulled away sand buried her face in her hands. I sat down next to her and told her I was here if she needed anything.

Then Mrs. Tri continued, "After investigating, we came to a second conclusion that he died because of a panic attack that led to a heart attack."

My eyes welled up with tears, he was probably in a panic for a long time, and I'm not even a good enough friend to have noticed that. Ashamed, I looked at the ground.

Comfort, I needed comfort, so I got up and studied the room, looking for Finley's familiar face. I finally found him after searching for a few minutes and crossed over to where he was sitting a few tables down. I sank into the chair next to him, resting my head on his shoulder since I knew he would've let me. He wrapped an arm around my waist and this time I didn't care, it's what a good friend would do.

Then I remembered that I was going to ask him if anything weird had happened with Rowen the night before, so I straightened up to look in his deep forest green eyes. Even though they were dark, they had an obvious softness to them. I soaked up the feeling until it gave me enough strength to choke out the words, "Did he do anything strange last night?"

Finley looked me straight in the eyes, studying me before responding, "He did get up to use the bathroom like a jillion times, probably because he was panicked. And I didn't even notice." His voice cracked at the last word, and he cleared his throat.

I leaned closer so that only he could hear me, "It isn't your fault."

His eyes flashed between both of my eyes, back and forth, until he leaned even closer, leaving barely any space between us. I felt his warm breath on my face, and for a second I thought my heart might've fluttered, or maybe it did. Then he pulled me into a tight but gentle hug, I soaked up the feeling, warmth filling my shocked body.

Then someone cleared their throat and I turned to find Wren watching us, I quickly scooted away from Finley. We are just friends I thought.

I stood and gave Wren a quick hug before I pulled away and sat back down. "You alright?" I asked, my voice more hoarse then I wanted it to be. I cleared my throat.

He frowned, sadness spread across his face, "I-" he choked the word out, shaking his head. "I- I don't know what to think of it. Besides sadness." he sat down on my right side.

I was surprised that the administrators were letting us out here for this long. In all the 6 years I've lived at the orphanage no one has ever died, and they've never let us mourn like this.

Not to my surprise, a few minutes later the administrators told us to go to our rooms. It was stupid because it meant that the boys had to be with the boys, and the girls had to be with the girls.

Once I was back in our room, something felt off. I looked around the room and found that Indigo was nowhere to be seen.