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Chapter 20-
I sat on the roof for a few more minutes trying to arrange my thoughts. I wanted everything to be perfect and if I just rushed into it Rose was likely to think me a babbling fool. I decided to take her to the top of the mountain at sunset and take a walk into the woods. When we got there she would be surrounded by the light of the moon and as many candles as I could scrounge up. I would sit her down on a blanket and pour my heart out to her. I wanted to say all the right things so before I just blurted it out I was going to have to come up with something perfect. I went down to my room with an idea.
After scrounging around for a few minutes on the internet I found what I was looking for and jotted it down. Reading it over, I knew this was exactly what I would want to say to her.
I carry your heart with me
(I carry it in my heart)
I am never without it
(anywhere I go you go, my dear;
and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
I fear no fate
(for you are my fate, my sweet)
I want no world
(for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
I carry your heart
(I carry it in my heart)
It was my favorite poem by EE Cummings and I truly thought this would say everything I wanted to get across. I smiled and was about to head out the door when there was a knock. I opened it to see a very worried Stan.
"We are on lockdown. All students are gathered in the banquet hall until we have finished our search of the grounds and rooms." I looked at him confused. "What are we searching for?" Stan actually sighed and frowned. "We are missing three students that we know of. Mason Ashford, Eddie Castile and Mia Rinaldi." I nodded at him and walked out of the door all plans of my proclamation of love forgotten for the moment. "You need to go to the banquet hall and get a head count of the students there and then report back to us as soon as possible." I nodded my head and walked off to the hall.
I got to the banquet hall and climbed up to the podium. "Attention I need everyone to take their seats so we can get this taken care of." I looked around the room and didn't see who I was looking for. I began to panic, but decided that she was just in a corner or something. As I began taking names I got the sense of fear and sadness in the room. Three students were missing and no one knew what was going on. I kept calling names.
"Mason Ashford" no response. I knew there wouldn't be he was already known missing
"Alana Avery" Here…the list kept going until I got to Rose.
"Rosemarie Hathaway" no answer
"Rosemarie Hathaway" again no answer. My heart sunk as I looked up. Lissa was in the front sobs coming from her eyes. I skipped down a few names.
"Christian Ozera" again no answer. The sobs were louder now.
"Christian Ozera" no answer. My heart was beating so fast I thought it would beat right out of my chest.
I jumped down from the podium and ran out the door ignoring the rest of the names. I knew they were all there and accounted for. I saw them all there. Minus the now five missing students.
Running from the room, I felt like was going to fall over blind unable to get the oxygen I needed to keep going. My world was falling apart as I knew it. Rose was gone. The one person that kept me going. The one person that made life worthwhile. The one person I actually needed. The one person who kept me out of the darkness and saved me from myself. The person I never got to tell that I loved them more than any other person in the world. I would regret that for the rest of my life. If anything happened and I never got the chance to tell her, I don't think I would be able to bear it. I sank to the floor. Tears sprang into my eyes and I had to fight to keep them from spilling over. There was no time for tears now, I had to find Rose. I had to find them all and bring them home, all of them, but first I had to tell everyone they were gone.
I ran up the stairs two at a time not wanting to waist a single moment. The quicker we acted the faster we got them back. I just hoped that Strigoi weren't involved. That would complicate things. I pushed the thought out of my head and ran into the room. I stopped in the door and looked at everyone who turned to face me when I burst in. "Two more students are missing," I said trying to hide my breaking heart and frantic emotions. "Who is it?" Stan asked. I looked over at Janine and frowned. She gasped as I told them. "Christian Ozera and Rose Hathaway." All eyes turned to see Janine break for the first time in her life. Gillespie had to grab her to make sure she didn't fall. She was gasping for air and shaking uncontrollably. "She can't…I can't…why…I don't…" she couldn't form complete sentences. She was a mess and I couldn't have that. We needed her, Rose needed her. I walked over to her and pulled her to her feet. "We are going to find them! Do you understand me?" She nodded and looked up into my eyes. "I can't lose her. She is all I have in the world." The tears were running down her cheeks and she made no attempt to hide them or wipe them away. It was then that I realized how much this woman loved her daughter and it made me all the more determined to get her back. Rose truly had no idea how much she was loved by the people in her life. I took a deep breath and turned around to get things going.
"Mia, Christian, Eddie, Mason and Rose are missing. What do we know?"