Page 126 of The Blairville Legacies

I had spent all night on the couch in the student accommodation debating with Erik about this woman. He thought she was a goddess, but for the first time since I’d known him, he hadn’t been able to provide any clues.

I typed my message.

I felt the entire time that Erik wanted to tell me something, but didn’t. Like he wanted to share a theory but didn’t dare. Was he afraid I would judge him?

The thought of her story sent a dull feeling through my stomach and I felt sick. I barely manage to suppress the trembling in my hands.

No answer, but he was still online.

My fingers were tingling because I wanted to know his thoughts, what was going on in his head, and what moved him.

With that, he dropped the bomb.

Unsure of what to answer, I slid the phone back into my pocket.

Of course, I would love to drink with him and philosophize about antiquity for hours, even in real life. But that was not possible.

As I walked, I took a quick look around and spotted Vivienna with her forty new Quatura friends, she hadn’t even known by name before this semester. Now she, the other two goats, and all these Quatura were sitting under a large gazebo that until yesterday had belonged to the prayer group, acting as if this were their personal temple.

The girls were talking excitedly, laughing loudly, especially the Air Quatura. Yet they all shared the same emptiness in their eyes. The same fate. But Gloria’s serum seemed to work better on them than on me.

Because I was running so fast, I bumped into a guy in the crowd. Startled, I looked up and jumped back.

“Excuse me...” That’s all I could say, as the confused student had already collected himself and continued walking.

And for a moment I had played with the thought that it could be Erik. But this thought was absurd.

I turned around again, but he was already gone.

What is wrong with you, Julie?

I would recognize him immediately if I saw him, wouldn’t I?

With questions now overwhelming me, I sat down on the old bench by the stone table, unpacked my laptop, as well as some binders that made me look busy, and entered my password.

However, I couldn’t help looking around again when suddenly my cell phone vibrated. I winced, not at all ready to answer, when I read who the new message was from.

Of course.

Grace wasn’t used to me leaving without her, and that I actuallycouldhad surprised me a bit myself. But I couldn’t do what I was about to do in her presence.

So, I quickly texted her back.

Reassured, I left the chat.

I had pretty much always been readable to others, especially to Grace. Another thing I didn’t like about myself. She could read me, but I could not readher.

My cell phone buzzed again. This time, it was Erik.

My heart leapt. He wanted to meet with me.God, what was I supposed to say to that?

Until now, he had never asked me to meet simply because we both preferred texting. We were open-minded, justJandErik, two nerds in their bubble.

I had to smile.

It was a relief for me, even if I immediately felt bad. He was open to a meeting, and I was already having a panic attack at the thought of him being on the same campus as me.

I wonder where he was right now? I wonder what he was doing right now. Maybe he was still in bed, had just woken up...on this campus? I wonder if he was sitting in a lecture right now? Or if I was most likely to find him on the athletic field or in the library?