To Write Love On Her Arms (COMPLETE!:)

Chapter 7

“Mr. Miller!” The sharp rap of a ruler made me jump in my seat.

“Would you like to pay attention?” Mrs. Gibbs snapped irritably.

“I…um…yes, ma’am,” I muttered sheepishly, sinking low in my seat.

Mrs. Gibbs stared down at me with a severe frown before returning to teaching the class. I tried to pay attention, but I continuously glanced at the door, hoping Casen would show up.

She didn’t.

When the bell rang, I trudged to U.S Government, worried about what was going on.

I didn’t have U.S Government with Casen, which made me anxious to get to third period Algebra.

Once in U.S Government, I couldn’t focus.

I wanted to get to Algebra ll as soon as possible to see if Casen had made it to school or not.

Second period seemed to go by even slower than first, something that never happened. It dragged on and on until I thought my head would explode from the pressure.

Finally though, the bell rang. I left so fast, I left a vapor trail. More than one angry curse was thrown in my direction as I pushed through the crowd to get to Algebra ll.

“Morning, Ethan,” Ms. Barton said with a smile when I got there.

I nodded to her, taking a deep breath to calm my pulse before I entered the classroom. My eyes instantly fell on Casen’s empty seat. I released the breath I’d been holding as my heart fell and went to my seat.

I know it was stupid for me to overreact this way. After all, Casen could just not be feeling well and decided to stay home. Somehow, though, I knew that wasn’t it. Casen wasn’t someone who used many excuses to miss school. No matter how bad she felt, she came to school. I knew this because I’d gotten into it with her about going home when she wasn’t feeling well.

I couldn’t shake the feeling I had that it was much more serious than being sick…

“Ethan?”

“Huh?” I blinked. I looked up to see Ms. Barton standing near my desk with a concerned look on her face. When the heck had she gotten there?

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“I…yeah,” I lied.

“Okay then…Do you know where Casen is? It’s unlike her to not be here.”

“No…I don’t.”

“Well, I hope she’s okay…” Ms. Barton said, her brow creased in worry.

Yeah, me too.

When the bell rang for lunch, I walked to the cafeteria slowly, my thoughts wandering.

“Hey, Ethan!”

Alan’s voice broke through my thoughts and I saw him running towards me. He stopped before me, hands on his knees and panting.

“What’s up?” I asked before noticing the blood crusting under his nose. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Courtesy of your sister. I just pulled her and Jerry apart in one of the empty hallways,” Alan panted, “she’s got a pretty good right hook.” He grimaced as he touched his nose gingerly to see if it was broken.

Great, just what I need.

I sighed heavily. “I’ll deal with her later. Have you by any chance seen Casen?”

It was Alan’s turn to blink in confusion. “Um…no. Why? I thought you guys had first and third periods together?”

“We do but I haven’t seen her. I was just wondering if she was around here even though she wasn’t in class.”