ʙʀᴇᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴀᴡɴ

Chapter 6

The busyness of the hallway the following Monday morning contributed to Kayden's persisting headache. He had 'bunked off' practice the day after Phoebe's death. The lines under his eyes were prominent and dark, and his usual well-combed hair was tousled.

He held his backpack in his hand when he noticed someone approach him. He smiled at her, watching her approach him. "Good morning Kay," Gwen said.

"Morning to you too Gwen," he yawned. She giggled. "Sorry about that...haven't slept much since Friday—"

"You and me both on that one. Nightmares, especially the ones I wished never came up," she wrapped her arms around herself.

Pitifully, Kayden padded towards her, pulled her close and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "I'm sorry they came back," he whispered.

"I know—"

"Were they severe, you know—like before?"

"Something close to that—"

"You need to call Bree and you know that," he smiled at her as he placed loose strands of her hair behind her ear.

"I know Kay," she looked away from him. "What if it ends up like this last time? I can handle myself and you know it."

"Remember that asking for help or sharing your feeling doesn't make you weak; it only shows how strong you are. Call Bree afterwards. No one would be happy to see you like that."

She briefly smiled back. "Thanks."

The ringing bell echoed in the hallway and Kayden groaned, slamming the door of his locker shut. Gwen scrunched her brows, "We've got to go."

Lazily, Kayden slung his backpack over his shoulder, following Gwen through the gradually clearing hallway.

*****

Xavier rushed towards Noah who sat down in the middle of the cafeteria with Josephine by his side, fiddling with his hands. Xavier wasn't surprised—Noah did it unconsciously when he was worried or nervous, but what interested him was what Noah was going to say.

"Noah," he called out, Noah and Josephine looked up simultaneously. "You sent a text," Xavier held his phone to his face. "I think I found something guys. Meet me at the cafeteria. Urgent," he read out the message. "What's with the—"

Josephine pulled him down quickly, giving him a look he was quite acquainted to. He scowled as she peered behind him. "The police are in the school trying to retrieve the CCTV footage and we need to be careful."

"What are you doing?" he whined, dropping his head on the table.

She leaned in with a smug smile, heightening Xavier's curiosity. This was Josephine he wished he met more often. Strong, confident and with that smug smile—that was his style. "We have a clue and we think we know who is behind the killings," she whispered. He blinked and turned to face Noah who folded his arms over his chest.

"Is she—" he cut himself off the moment Noah nodded. A smile lit his face. "No way guys. How did you find out?"

Before Noah could reply to Xavier's question, he saw Kayden and Gwen walking into the cafeteria, searching the room for something—or someone. He waved and Gwen looked at him, Kayden hurrying behind her.

"You said it was urgent. So what's up?" Kayden spread his hands in front of him before clasping them.

"Yes it is. We may know who's behind the killings," Noah smiled at Josephine who returned it.

Gwen frantically looked around but the interest pulled her back to look at them. "You're kidding, right?" she asked in utmost disbelief. Interestingly, the faces around her said otherwise, except Kayden who was shocked.