Page 15 of Those That Are Lost

“I never properly finished it. I left before handing it in. I don’t even have a way to access it now.” It's another element in the shitshow of my life this past year. I was so close to graduating and then I’d had to escape. I don’t know what happened to all my work, or even all my belongings. I hope my friends are holding on to it, hope they’re thinking of me, but it’s too risky to try contacting them.

“Well, you could have a read of this for me once I’ve finished the draft. I’d be keen to know your thoughts,” Henry offers.

“I’d love that.” Something inside me eases, this conversation feels so normal. It’s not about being on the run or the fact my entire life is a lie.

“Great.” Henry offers me a genuine smile before adding, “And I’d still like that coffee if it’s going?”

“Right, sorry.” I scramble up, needing to get back to working anyway. “How do you take it?”

“Black, one sugar please.”

I head back to the bar to grab his drink. As I wait for the machine, I look back over to his table, he has the laptop open once more and is staring with brows furrowed, chocolate locks flopping down on his forehead. Today suddenly doesn’t feel quite as heavy. I also think I may have found a new friend.

CHAPTER 9

TY

Her giggle cuts through my thoughts as I hear Red and Henry enter the apartment. I swiftly rinse and turn off the shower, yanking a towel off the rail to scrub my body dry as quickly as possible.

Henry is making her laugh?

I know he went to the tavern this afternoon to work whilst I took myself out for a walk. I needed time to think. After the heated whatever that was with Red, I couldn’t stay in her room, surrounded by her scent. I also couldn’t face seeing her in the bar again yet. I didn’t know how to deal with the facade I knew I’d see.

The surrounding mountains are stunning, so I took a trail and allowed myself to take off for a few hours. I needed to breathe. The shock of having my heart shredded by the female I loved with every cell in my body has morphed into a resolute determination to break through her walls. I’m going to prove that we belong together. End of.

But what if she has moved on?The thought seeps into my head as I hear her and Henry converse with ease in the main room.

Tough, I chide myself. I made her fall for me once, I’ll do it again.

Yanking on a pair of joggers and deciding against donning the t-shirt as my chest is still damp, I hurry out of the bathroom.

“What’s got you two cracking up?” I ask instead of a greeting. Red looks at me and bursts into hysterics, clutching her stomach.What the hell?

“I may have told her about the time we got stuck in that sheep shed, before we turned.”

Oh gods.I must outwardly cringe because Red laughs even more.

“Did you really sneak out wearing the shorn wool?” She gasps whilst trying to regain her composure. She’s still wearing her glamour but she’s stunning. Her whole face is lit up in honest happiness. She’s still in there, beneath the darkness.

“We thought it was a dangerous situation." I emphasise thewe,throwing daggers at Henry.

“Was pretty funny though, when you look back on it.” Henry smiles at me, shrugging out his coat.

“They made us climb half way up that damn mountain on our hands and knees!” I protest.

“Stop, please.” Red laughs once more. “I can’t believe you fell for that, it's like the dumb college hazing stuff we had to deal with as freshmen.”

“We had just been transferred into the unit. It was our first training mission with them.”

“Yeah, Henry told me that part. Still doesn’t make it any less funny. You got tricked into pretending to be a sheep for an entire night. I can just see you bothbaaingandbleatingas you skip around covered in wool.” She’s removed her warm outdoor layers now too. A soft fresh wave of her scent hits me, making me momentarily struck dumb.

Red continues chuckling as she moves about the room, gathering a few of her things. She drops her glamour and I take a second to drink in her natural appearance and her blazing red curls.

“We did stop short of bleating,” Henry informs her, plonking himself down on her bean bag sofa. He hoists his trouser leg to remove the fake limb beneath.

“I’m just going to grab a—” Her words die as her eyes land on Henry. He looks up, probably feeling her wide eyes on him.

“It's rude to stare,” he chastises, but there’s teasing in his voice.