Eleven

Miss Van Dop's severe expression was in place as I trod down the stairs, Simon skipping with eagerness, Talbot was murmuring on the phone and Peter as usual was immersed in a different world. My arms still goose bumped, I wriggled shiftily feeling strange, not because of last night, it was more just an intuitive feeling that something wasn't quite right. My legs felt heavy, my eyes weighted down, possibly due to the lack of sleep. How would I not go tomato red when I saw Liz?

"She's fine, Chloe," Talbot patted Chloe distractedly. The girls had already had their breakfast, at least everyone minus Tori, and were now bustling about the kitchen. Rae chomped on a brilliant red apple, leaning against the countertop, unconcerned with everything. Chloe looked genuinely worried, biting her lip anxiously, she was paler than usual and this raised alarm bells. Who was fine?

"She's gone to a better place," Talbot said to Chloe, I nearly fell down the stairs earning a puzzled look from Simon. A better place, wasn't that synonymous with heaven? I don't believe Talbot was being deliberately euphemistic, she hasn't the brains for it but if someone was dead, I would rather she just come right out and say it. Chloe shivered, spoon clanking against her untouched bowl, splashing milk everywhere. She regained her composure, smoothing fine strands of hair back behind her ears.

"I'd like to talk to her if I could. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye . . .," I didn't hear the rest of Chloe's words, a part of me was too busy feeling slightly sick.

"Bro, you okay," Simon worriedly appraised me, "You've gone kind of green," he slapped my back thinking I had choked, Simon's interpretation of the Heimlich manoeuvre. He walloped me again making me sputter, I hadn't consumed any food yet but nothing stopped Simon when he thought he was being helpful. Another reason to get Chloe onside, he could not resist a damsel in distress.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I wheezed doubling over, if I wasn't sick before I soon would be, my mind reeled at the news. Liz was gone. Sure, a part of me thought it must be Tori, she's not down for breakfast, but nobody not even someone as nice as Chloe would thank Tori, it had to be Liz. I cursed my razor-sharp perception of reality; I could have done with a few hours of denial. My jaw locked, brain slightly fuzzy, was it me? Did they somehow find out about what happened last night? Did they not think she was safe? My head dropped down to the table, I could feel the rage accumulating, bubbling in my blood, I wanted so badly to hit something. Anything.

"Derek," Simon shoved a Wagon Wheel under my nose, "You okay?"

My eyes slid to Chloe, she had gone to shower and dress as we ate, I could smell the sharp scent of soap as clearly as if she was sitting beside me. Still melancholy, her blue eyes, so different from Liz's in the sense that they visibly betrayed her emotions, glittered with distress like caught glistening raindrops. She knew something, Liz had been in her room, she might have had one of her episodes, I swallowed audibly, Chloe had only been her a day or so and already she had changed the dynamics. I wondered if her presence influenced Liz's sudden romantic interest in me, it seemed unlikely but . . .

"You've been quiet all day," Simon stared accusatorily at me, looking like a child who had just been told he couldn't go to the zoo. He bounced the basketball near my head, hitting it against the wall. The corners of his lips drooped when I didn't even flinch at the proximity, my mind was elsewhere. The more I ruminated over the previous night, the more I felt responsible. I just couldn't think clearly enough to see what it was, my brow furrowed. I remembered kissing Liz and stroking her breasts, her thighs, her lips, following the path with my tongue whilst rubbing her clit . . .

"Derek!" Simon's dense basketball came sailing towards my face; I stopped it in its tracks easily thanks to my reflexes and bounced it back to him. Where was I? Liz, her clit, that wasn't going to help me solve why she left. I kicked the brick wall in frustration, I had the overwhelming need to talk to her, just see if she was okay. I felt accountable for her welfare after the revelations of last night, even if it was just mounting hormones, she was still a nice, sweet girl that deserved to get out of this place and stay safe. Where was she? I kicked the wall again.

"Okay, obviously you need food," Simon slammed the ball into the basket, I couldn't tell if he had used his powers or not. For once I wasn't even thinking about food, but I trudged dutifully after Simon, he was hankering for another reason to see Chloe, I wished to see her too but for an entirely different reason. "So do you think she is," Simon lingered by the door waiting for an answer.

"What?" At that very moment I was deliberating the likelihood of Liz being dead, maybe a crash on the way to this new mental hospital, which would explain Talbot's ominous choice of words. My mouth went dry, dead, just like that . . .

"Chloe, I know you think she's a necromancer," he clarified in hushed tones, the sound of his voice suggested that what else could I possibly thought he meant. Another reason to be pissed off, keeping secrets from someone you spend almost every hour of every day with is extremely difficult.

"I'm not sure, why don't you ask her yourself?" I indicated the object of his affection who was further up the hall. Simon jogged to catch up, but I prevented him. Simon liked Chloe, and naturally she returned the favour, even had full conversations with him, so it would be easier for him to find out about Liz than me. "See if you can get her to tell you about what happened last night?"

"Isn't it obvious, Liz got mad, enter the poltergeist who smashed Chloe's room," his words not especially profound made my insides recoil, already he omitted Liz's name, it wasn't Liz and Chloe's room anymore, just Chloe's. The finality seemed harsh. Was she really, truly, definitely never coming back? I could potentially never see her again, I breathed through my nose, it's okay, just chalk up last night to experience, thousands of people have variations of one night stands. I shrugged it off, I am fiercely loyal y nature, I don't know if that's the lycanthrope in me or just me, this was going to take a while to adjust to.

"Just find out," he nodded, not seeming to curious about my sudden interest in the departure of fellow "convicts".

Simon quickly caught up with her," Hey. You seem quiet this morning." That makes two of us.

"I'm always quiet," her shy voice replied, perpetually polite, I speculated as to what it would take to make her angry. A lot, definitely. And to curse, the apocalypse. With my long strides, I almost reached the door before them and opened it above Simon's head he was too busy interrogating Chloe on her sleeping patterns. She turned coolly, muttering a good morning, obviously proud of her equanimity. Me, I'm not so easily impressed, I didn't answer, Simon ducked into the pantry par our routine.

She looked just the same as yesterday, I was sure I heard her talking this morning. Did she see a ghost? I inclined my head, absorbed in reading her expression, a necromancer; it suited her in a strange way. An official title, better than ghost-whisperer or mediator, although there was a period of time that me and Simon regularly tuned in to Ghostbusters.

"What?" she snapped irritably. I ignored her, she was blocking the fruit bowl and I was done with studying her now, I wanted an apple. As I reached for the apple, I detected something in her eyes, fear, real fear; I bit the inside of my cheek, not showing any acknowledgement of her embarrassed apology or her hurried dart out of the way. Two apples, I was really hungry.

"So what happened last night?" I tried to say as casually as I could, I felt on edge about Liz. Who transfers a teenage girl in the middle of the night? Couldn't they have waited till morning?

"Hap-p-p-p-p," I clenched my fist almost crushing the apple as I impatiently waited for her to get the polysyllabic word out.

"Slow down," my patience ran out. She was already scared of me; I didn't think it mattered if she thought I was rude.

Simon exited the pantry, tearing open a box of granola bars. He knew he shouldn't be eating that, as a diabetic having the right amount of sugar intake was critical, it wasn't that hard to obey rules. At least not ones that keep you alive. "Have an apple. That's not –"

"I'm good bro," he said significantly, signalling that he didn't want Chloe to know he was diabetic. My lips quirked disdainfully, Liz would have called that sweet. I call it stupid, like she's going to find you less attractive because you don't wolf down pizzas like me – pun intended.

He somersaulted a bar to me and offered the torn packet for Chloe; she took two, with thanks, and turned to leave. Simon's face fell, "Might help if you talk about it," he unwrapped his granola bar eyes on the floor, letting me know that he wasn't going to push if she showed unwilling. I scrutinised her, she didn't seem the forthcoming type, I bit into my apple awaiting her reply, any reply.

"Well?" I prompted, hiding my concern. Liz could be anywhere; if I knew her whereabouts maybe I could incorporate her into Simon's escape plan.

"Rae's waiting for me," Simon looked up, up until then I think he thoroughly believed that Liz had just had another episode, but Chloe's coyness triggered his concern, he went to stop her but I held him back with a look. Not now, she wasn't ready. I had no doubts that if it was just Simon there she would have spilled all the harrowing details and this made me grit my teeth, I didn't have time to work around their developing crush. Did no one else get that we were on a time limit?

The door swung shut behind her," Something happened," Simon assessed me.

"Yeah . . .we need to find out what it was, maybe Chloe got found by another ghost," I said appealing to his protective instincts.

"I don't know, we shouldn't push her . . .if that was me I would have reported you to the authorities, you can't just expect her to believe it just because you said it. She doesn't know you from Adam." I looked at him for a long time, "Err, no way, I am not getting involved."

Peter had left. Liz and Peter gone never coming back. Two in a day, that must be a new Lyle House record. I took an extra helping of frosting-free carrot cake to my room, nothing like a snack to help conjugate Latin verbs.