Storm 》Clifford A.U

021;

     "HE'S COMING DOWN soon," Ivy says as soon as Michael and I walk into the library. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and looks around the library nervously, afraid of possible eavesdroppers. The secrecy surrounding him was beginning to irritate me but instead of commenting on it, I drop into a chair across from her and Michael follows, a soft smile on his lips.

      "How's he doing?" His tone is soft and almost cautious; a clear sign of concern for the boy I was eager to meet. The boy my sister had so effortlessly fallen completely and hopelessly in love with.

      "What do you think?" She shakes her head, running her tongue across her bottom lip. "Listen, Alina. Don't say anything to set him off, okay? I told you he's going through hell right now just like you so don't you dare try to accuse him of anything, understood?" Halfheartedly, I nod. Before coming here, I had already decided that I wasn't going to purposely upset anyone. Purposely being the key word.

     I apparently had a habit of always saying the wrong thing, but that didn't mean I was going to hold my tongue and trust everyone unconditionally because of it. I had questions that I needed answers to and if feelings were hurt in the process, I would obviously feel bad but sometimes, it really couldn't be helped. Part of me was tired of hearing how fragile he was and how I shouldn't blame him for anything surrounding Darya's disappearance. Another part of me was well aware of why I had to be reminded of this so often. I had taken this investigation into my own hands and like the police often do, I knew that I was eager to pin the blame on anyone that I could if it made enough sense. More than anything though, I just wanted to find my sister. I didn't even care if the person responsible for her going missing got caught, not really. They deserved to have terrible consequences bestowed upon them but at the end of the day, all that mattered here was Darya's well being.

     Ashton was taking far longer than I would have liked to arrive. Maybe time seemed to come to a stand still because of what was at stake here. Because of all the expectations I had for what would come out of the conversation shared between the two of us. Or maybe it was because of the simple reason that I never much liked libraries, so waiting in one made the passing minutes feel like hours. I was always shushed every time I went into one, even if the only two people there were me and the old woman running the front desk. This had yet to happen today, but after years of the same situation constantly occurring, the connotation between library and a wrinkly finger wagging at me every five seconds sort of stuck.

     I had my hands folded together on my lap, thumbs circling around each other out of boredom and a last shot attempt at easing my anxiety --playing with my hair had failed-- when he finally did show up. Michael cleared his throat and tapped me gently so that I could look up just in time to see Ashton sitting down beside Ivy. 

     At first I couldn't see him too well, and I guess that was the point. He was, after all, still trying to hide the fact that he had relationships --and in this particular case, friendships-- with the student body. He was wearing a grey beanie and his head hung so low that it nearly fell into his lap. After a couple seconds he looks up and I notice that behind his black rimmed glasses lie tired, hazel eyes that look nothing like that vibrant ones I saw in his pictures with Darya. The eyes looking back at me looked devastated and lifeless, much like the ones I had been looking into for the past month every time I glanced at a mirror.

     "Hey, sorry for taking so long. I had to work up the courage to get myself down here." He mumbles, his voice hoarse and rough, almost like he had spent the past twenty four hours screaming. 

     "I've missed you, man." Michael says instantly, sitting back in his seat. "How long has it been since you've left your room? You look a little-"