The Eleventh Hour

Chapter 50

I couldn’t shift the feeling of nausea that engulfed me.

After finding out about Tanya and Keely’s death, time seemed to fly by in a haze. I hadn’t even noticed that my parents had left with Roxy until a few hours later. I think I’d had a nap within these last few hours, though I honestly wasn’t sure. My brain was so muddled – I’d definitely gone into shock.

I was currently alone in my room, sat up in bed with my bedside lamp being the only dim source of light. I had no idea where Nate, Melody and Joey were, but I didn’t have the energy to get up and check.

Tanya and Keely... dead?

They’d been killed in the Caribbean, that’s all I knew. Or rather, that’s all I remembered before I’d gone for a lie down. But how could this be?

I huffed out a long, deep breath as I put the back of my hands over my eyes. I felt so dazed and weird.

There was a quiet tap on the door, and I expected it to be Joey or Melody. “Come in.” I croaked quietly.

The door opened, and I was surprised to see Nate carefully stepping in, closing the door quietly behind him. He never knocked. Ever.

He looked sullen and serious, his eyes betraying a hint of wariness. He approached me slowly, which made me frown. “What’s the matter?” I asked.

He gave me a quizzical look. “Are you okay?”

My frown deepened. “Yeah, why?”

He shook his head and sat on the edge of the bed beside me. “You went really pale before, you weren’t speaking. The sleep seems to have done you good.”

“So I did go to sleep,” I said, looking down at the covers I was wrapped in. “I can’t even remember.” I sighed loudly. “What time is it?”

He answered without looking at his watch. “It’s just after nine. Melody and Joey have gone out.” He added in a quiet voice.

I nodded and looked away from his wide, tanzanite eyes. I cleared my throat to speak, keeping my eyes down. “So... Tanya and Keely,” I almost whispered.

I heard him let out a long, quiet breath. “I rang Manda for more information, just to be sure. It was a mugging gone horribly wrong. They were both at the wrong place at the wrong time. As unfortunate as it is, it’s not uncommon.”

I nodded again. “I know. I just... can’t believe it.” I frowned deeply at my lap as I continued to process the news.

After a moment’s silence, Nate spoke. “Here, I think I have something that’ll cheer you up.”

I looked up to see him fishing into the front right side pocket of his trousers with a small smile appearing on his face. He brought out a small silver box and grabbed my left hand, before placing the box in it and wrapping my fingers over it. I looked at him quizzically before tightening my hold on it. “What’s this?”

His sweet smile widened a fraction, momentarily distracting me. “Open it and see.”

I did as he asked and opened it up, before a wide smile spread across my face in return. “The necklace,” I breathed, softly caressing my fingers over the delicate gem. “I thought I’d never see this again. Wait....”

I took it out of the box and studied it in more detail. I hadn’t seen this for a while, but it looked different to what I remembered. In fact, it looked completely different.

“Is this...?” I began, but he shook his head.

“It’s not a different pendant, it’s just been altered. It had been damaged more than I first thought...” he trailed off, frowning, keeping his eyes on the pendant in my hand. “I thought about replacing it, but I didn’t have the heart to – the fact it had lay around your neck held a lot of sentimental value.” His eyes trailed back up to mine. His tone and words held so much sincerity I felt like I was about to explode with emotion. It was weird hearing him say such heartfelt words. Nice, but weird.