Sophie
We were all lounging around in Dante's living room, resting after the morning session of sparring. Zhalia was staring out of the window intothe distance, wrapped up in her thoughts. Probably of Dante, if their previous dates were anything to gauge by. Lok was, as usual, acting like a total geek, singing horrendously in an imitation of One Direction for Cherit. Curled up on the couch reading a book Dante gaveto me, I was so engrossed in it that Lok's singing was blocked out.
The phone rang all of a sudden, jerking me out of my train of thought.
"That must be Dante!" Lok exclaimed excitedly, face brightening up, as he reached for the phone on the counter. Unfortunately, him being a complete idiot, he tripped on his way to the phone and was sent sprawling awkwardly to the floor.
"I'll get it," I replied, glancing at Zhalia while rolling my eyes. Boys! In that brief glance I shared with Zhalia, I noticed her eyes were sparkling like raindrops in the evening sun, anticipating any news of Dante.
"Hello, may I know who is this? Sophie Casterwill here." I asked.
Upon hearing Metz's reply, I dropped the phone in shock, a numb grey cloud of grief washing over me. The phone bounced on the floor before coming to a stop beneath the table.
I stared at the book Dante had given me before leaving for his mission, heart sinking in desolation. This momento would be the last thing he had and would ever give to me. Tears welling in my eyes, I was shaken from my reverie by Lok's question.
"What's wrong?" Lok asked, his voice gentler then I had ever heard before, moving immediately to my side, resting an arm on my shoulder in assurance.
"Its Dante... He's... He's gone..." My voice trembled, as I relayed the bad news Metz had told me.
Lok was taken aback, stunned into a shocked silence, hand tightening on my shoulder. Together, we turned to face Zhalia, whom we knew would not take this news easily.
Zhalia's eyes were brown pools of grief and hurt, myriads of emotion swirling in their depths. She gripped the windowsill so tightly her knuckles turned white, and didn't even notice when the cold metal cut into her hand, leaving crimson red scores on her skin.
"Don't come near me." Zhalia growled, as I made a move to comfort her. Her poise was that of an injured animal wanting to lick its wounds inthe dark, hands curled into rigid claws, daring us to come any closer. Before Lok and I could make a move on her, she yelled "Thoughtspecter!", and vanished into thin air. Figure slowly melting away like snow in the hot sun, there was nothing that we could do to follow her. She could have been anywhere by now. Peering out of the window, we saw her jumping over rooftops using hyperstride. Lok and I decided to give her some time to absorb the hard truth, there would be time later to mourn. Yet as the cold autumn wind gusted through the window, I could hear stifled choked sobs brimming with pain, leaving my heart bruised and aching inside...
