L.O.V.E.

Chapter 19 - Nerissa

The biting air might calm the burning cuts on her flesh, however, the gust is feeble against the aching pain that's rooted inside her. She can almost feel her heart shattered into a million pieces, a torment like nothing she has ever experienced before.

Numb to any physical torture, the ghost of Nerissa's body sits defeated on Ilya's lawn, aimless and lost like the souls entrapped in the Spirit World. Who knew words can cut more sharply than daggers? 'And I thought maybe, just maybe, I might have another ending.' Her mind drifts away, as she's weakly throwing pebbles at the shimmering window above.

Yawning and still drowsy, Ilya pulls the silky drape apart, gauging her eyes in surprise when she finally sees her friend outside. She rapidly covers her lips with her index finger, warning Nerissa her dad is at home. It only takes a blink of an eye for her to open the front door, a faint squeak in the darkness revealing her waving hand, as she invites her to come inside.

'Are you alone?' Ilya asks intrigued, her voice reduced only to whispers in the chilly air of the night.

Her amber eyes are busy scanning the shadows, feeding her limitless curiosity. Nerissa rolls her eyes at her, for she knows it very well she won't get away with it. By the time she steps on the grassy turf, Roone is long gone. He has been silently following her all the way here, yet she couldn't make herself look in his direction. We are finished, whatever that was; she tells herself, yet even the thought of it makes her ill.

Now that the sleep has vanished from her eyes, Ilya is more vehement than ever to get the truth out of her.

'I swear I saw someone in the shadows. Was I dreaming or the new transfer was sitting right behind you just a moment ago?' She persists with the interrogation, forgetting about her dad sleeping on the couch only a few feet away from them.

Too tired to deny it, and knowing Ilya can be a pain in the neck when she sets her mind to something, Nerissa replies defeated.

'Yes, it was him and, yes, I am wearing his clothes.'

A few hushed and simple words, were enough to feed her caramel-skinned friend's nosiness. With her eyes bulging dangerously out from her skull, Ilya grabs her hand and hurries upstairs to her bedroom. Grateful for the dim light coming from the sky, and through the windows, Nerissa struggles to follow her steps and not break her neck. She knows her best friend must be dying inside to find out what she has to say. Skipping school is forbidden and it might end one's future career. Not only she's missed an entire day of classes, but she appeared with a boy in the middle of the night at her friend's house. It sounds far worse now, that she thinks of it. She is still shaking her head, trying in vain to deny her illicit behavior, when Ilya closes the door behind them, eyes glistening hungrily in the dark.

'I knew you had it in you, sister! Start from the beginning and don't you dare miss anything out!' She threatens up excited and proud, hugging Nerissa in a weirdly tight grip.

Then, she walks to the nightstand only to dig out a solar lamp, so small it fits perfectly in her tiny hands. The golden light reveals her satisfied grin. Confused, Nerissa sits down on the messy bed, frowning at her friend's sneaking suspicion.

'What are you talking about?' She utters having no idea what she is alluding to.

'I thought you and what's-his-name partied a little longer, if you know what I mean.' Ilya responds, blinking one speculative eye at her.

Then, seeing Nerissa's puzzled expression, she adds slightly disappointed.

'I guess I was wrong.'

Intercourse before the Selection is banned, but as with all forbidden fruits, only the notion of it makes it more appealing. Mostly every teenager in the City has tried it before or is contemplating about doing it. As a side effect of the nanovaccine, the serotonergic chemicals secreted during the act, induces them a short-lived euphoric state, expanding their consciousness and causing visual and audible hallucinations. Although it may be a transcending experience, it still constitutes one of the top causes of recurrent infections. It's like walking on a rocky edge of a steep cliff and sometimes the ground caves in. Especially at this age, when the hormonal levels are at the highest and most active stage, feeding lust and driving them to risk their lives. However, such cases are kept secret from the public eye and handed over to the officials.