Hearts of Stone

Chapter 6

Sean stood up and looked down at me.

"I knew you wouldn't tell, so I texted Alia for your dorm number," he said, beckoning toward the culprit who had popped out of the bathroom at that precise moment. I glared at her and she winked at me.

"I'll just be a minute to eat squirrels. See ya," she tittered, and whooshed out the door before I could yell at her. I turned toward Sean, who was studying me intently. He seemed to not have heard Alia's absurd comment. Perhaps I was simply imagining, but his ocean eyes seemed to be filled with guilt.

"So, why-"

"I'm here because I heard you were kind of sick, sorry about the girl. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Good, good," he muttered.

His eyes flicked unsettlingly around the room, as though they were searching for something. Suddenly, his slender fingers brushed my necklace charm, and a chill went up to my spine. He stepped back and a thin smile spread across his face.

"I have to go now. Take some rest, Janet."

"Bye, Sean."

I followed him to the door and watched his figure get smaller as he sped out. After shutting the door, I collapsed on the couch. I had a funny feeling that my "sickness" was the least of Sean's concern.

Distracted, I unclasped my necklace and set it on the mahogany coffee table. I stepped toward the bathroom door and when I walked in, the cool white floor tiles brought shivers to my body.

Grabbing my brown locks, I twisted them into a bun and stood on my tiptoes to push a silver lever. In precisely two minutes, warm water slushed near the tub's top and I stepped in. I sighed relaxingly and without even realizing it, I drifted into a nap.

* * *

Bang. Bang. Bang. "Housekeeping!" a hoarse voice yelled.

I grunted annoyingly as the sounds interrupted my sleep. I waited for Alia to reply to the guest, but there was complete silence. Why wasn't she here yet?

"C-" I started to yell, but I knew housekeeping would come inside even if no one replied.

I glanced down at my hands, which were now more wrinkled than raisins. After draining the tub, I pulled on a pink silk top as well as ripped jean shorts and pushed open the bathroom door.

The cleaning lady was near the entrance door, and she was applying hand sanitizer to her hands. She looked up and crinkled her brown eyes at me kindly. I smiled back at her.

"I barely had to clean anything, you keep this place so nice."

"Thanks--"

I glanced at her nametag, which looked strangely different from other housekeeping workers' name tags. Mave Rodriguez.

"--Ms. Rodriguez, but the credit goes to my roommate," I chortled.

"Very well," she nodded. Suddenly, her beaming face became devoid of emotion. "Witching around certainly does make things messy," she said in a robotic voice.

I felt my blood drain from my face and before I could blink an eye, she twisted the doorknob and stepped out. Before she left, she flashed me an evil look with the same bright green eyes that had haunted me in my dreams. Snapping out of my daze, I yanked open the door which had shut merely seconds ago. I looked left and right but saw no hint of the mysterious lady.

Panicking, I went back inside and ran toward the coffee table to grab my necklace. I slid my hand across the mahogany surface but felt no pendant touch my palm. My heart dropped down to my toes. No, it couldn't be missing.