Minder: Secrets of Mind

Chapter 4

After another night on the board in which she was brought to rough sleep, one of the thousands in her twenty-one years of life, Eve was awoken by a familiar smell mixing with the low vibrations of her phone upon her nightstand. Lance was cooking breakfast as Alison spoke from within the living room/dining room. Her voice was reasonably clear, and Eve could make out the conversation between the two.

"I mean, there are a lot of options post-university for everyone. It seems here, and even the crappy students can use the institution's name and land a job or get accepted into a graduate program anywhere once they get the degree." Lance claims.

"I mean, sure, and I've looked and even discussed it with some of the places I have or will be applying to. Most of accepting and understanding of wanting a gap year, and despite my slump in grades Junior year, they don't seem to mind."

"Good then. Bloody good. Plans for that gap?" He excitedly asks.

"Not sure, but I want to spend it with you guys. Maybe you all come up to Jersey and stay with me and my brother for a bit. I was thinking about getting our own place, kind of like now but an actual home. My mom said she was more than happy to send us some money to buy one outright."

"I must say the perks of wealth can be a bit cloudy on the mind there love. I can't see me staying here long and leaving my mom somewhere, and she has worked her way up from the bottom over there. I am certain she wouldn't come over here for it, and I...well, I know you know how I feel about being away from her for long."

"Yeah, I do. I wouldn't want to force you through all that just because I want you around." She replies in a soft layer of defeat.

Sensing the two of them were going down a sad path that would be difficult for them to recover from at least for a week. And that would be a week she would have to walk cautiously between the two, trying to remind them they had time and dropping the hints that she felt they'd be fine. Not because she didn't care or didn't want to deal with it but cause she honestly thought those things and truly believed they were meant for each other. Even if rumors were still flying around here and from those who knew them all back then that Eve and Lance were probably together or that Alison had feelings for Amari. Obviously weren't many of those people left, but it was something that was a thing still.

Plus, few people saw Alison and Lance interact the way she got to. They weren't exactly the PDA kind of people with each other. Even if the tension was always there and didn't need a knife to be cuttable most of the time, it was already a tight thread with not a lot of strength left. The same way Eve felt around Amari; just she had the luxury of being able to avoid him while these two were always right on top of each other.

Getting to the edge of her bed, Eve let out a heavy yawn that traveled out of her room and interrupted any further convo between them. Before going out, she would have to check her phone because if she didn't, her father would be blowing it up in no time. Thankfully he had not sent another message regarding the painting, and still, her mother and Professor Walker hadn't commented either. With that worry or need to provide an answer gone, she sent a simple check-in message to let him know she was up, *Morning check-in. Weight same, no illness, no dream, no headache, no emotional changes*.

*Morning and confirmed*.

His replies to this were always swift, but strangely enough, he didn't send another message afterward. Usually something along the lines of asking her how to do a particular combat task, a survival tip or guide or some sort, how to fix a vehicle from one of her visions, or a way to clear her mind whenever she got overwhelmed. Tests to ensure she didn't forget her training from all the years before now that it wasn't a daily task for her.