Chapter 4
Jerome's POV:
Terror overtakes me, and I freeze in fear. Then, once I get my bearings, I jump off the couch and run to find Fabian and the others. We need to have a Sibuna meeting ASAP. We need to find Mara.
I run towards the room Fabian shares with Mick. "Fabian! Come quick!" I yell as I run through the hall. "I…" I throw open the door to his room, but it is not Fabian I see as I slowly lift my eyes to the bodies in front of me.
A guy's athletic form stands in front of a blonde girl, his body pushing hers against a wall. His hands grasp her face, and hers wrap around his shoulders. Their heads and lips move aggresively. It's Mick and Amber.
"Excuse me?" I yell, my eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Instantly, the two bodies break apart, and they stare back at me with the same look of disbelief. We're all too astonished to speak. Amber breaks the silence by running out of the room as quickly as her designer heels will allow, slamming the door loudly behind her.
I approuch Mick aggressively; he backs away until he is flat against the wall. Now, I'm not usually a physical kind of person, but boy, am I ticked! So I go with my first reaction: slamming my fist into the side of his face. Mick screams, holding his nose in pain.
"What is wrong with you?" I yell. "Are you really that stupid?"
"It's not my…" Mick defends.
"I don't wanna hear it!" I interrupt. "Mara loves you, don't you realize that? You had it all, man! And you cheated on her. What's worse, you cheated on her with that… that backstabbing flirt! You forget about your girlfriend the minute she's out of sight, and you're not even worried that she's just been kidnapped by a psycho killer!" I give him a frustrated shove and storm out before I kill him.
I rush to find Fabian. We have to find Mara.
Mick's POV:
It's not that I don't love Mara. I do. She's a great peson to talk to, she always listens, and she's really great at helping me with my grades. But Amber, she's… she's just so beautiful. And when we kiss, it just takes my breath away.
I've been so torn.
Today Amber came into my room crying, begging me to take her back. I didn't know what to do.
The kiss started with a friendly "I'm sorry" hug, but got more and moer aggressive until, before I knew it, we were pressed against the wall making out like we used to before the breakup. It felt like Mara didn't even exist.
It was just one time. No one had to know. But, of course, fate isn't kind, and Jerome had to interrupt at the worst possible moment. And now, Mara will never forgive me.
Jerome's POV:
My heart beats loud and hard out of anger and fright as I run up the stairs to Nina's room. I knock on the door. "Nina! Fabian!" They don't answer, so I open the door. No one.
I run back down the stairs and find Alfie alone in the living room. "Alfie! Where's Nina and Fabian?"
"At the movies. Why do you…" But I grab a flashlight off the fireplace mantle and run out the front door before he can finish.
I run aimlessly down the sidewalk, then stop when I run out of breath. What's the point? There's no way I can possibly find her by myself.
I lean down, hands on my knees, to get a breath, when I see something glittering in the dim moonlight. I bend down and pick it up. It's a silver ID bracelet with one word carved into it: Mara. Mick gave this to her for her birthday, and she never once took it off. I turn it over in my hand. The clasp is broken, as if it was torn forcibly off her wrist. This is the place.
I shine my flashlight at the road beside me and see tire tracks in the mixture of gravel and mud made by the early spring rain showers. By the looks of the tracks, the car had to have been going at least 80 MPH. Maybe 90. Rufus.
I start following the tracks into the cool, dark night, not knowing where I am going or where I will end up. Oh well, that doesn't matter. The only important thing is finding Mara.