By lunchtime on Monday, word had spread about the Seeker attack and there was no doubt it would turn into town gossip within a matter of days. After all, Fairwyn was a very small town and everybody knew everybody.
“I’m sorry about Oliver on Friday,” I apologised to Terrance as I sat with him outside, chewing on a grape thoughtfully, wondering what could have been keeping Rosemarie so busy throughout the weekend.
Ever since the attack, Rosemarie was barely at home and it was eerily quiet at my house. I didn’t like it one bit, especially considering the Seekers could possibly attack the town while the Keepers were still out.
It didn’t help that whatever she was keeping from me, I just knew it would concern me deeply – whatever it was.
“It’s all right – he’s just looking out for you and I respect that,” he replied with a nonchalant shrug though his tone hinted a bit of regret. “I just hope the town isn’t attacked by Seekers again.”
I shuddered, feeling Goosebumps arise along my arms. “How do you think they got in?”
“I’m wondering the same thing too,” he told me with a sigh, leaning against the tree with me. Today was surprisingly a nice day for the end of winter and now that it was entering spring, I was hoping the situation would brighten as well.
The hairs on the back of my neck started to rise as a thought occurred to me. Didn’t Oliver say he thought it was Terrance’s fault Fairwyn was attacked? How he could have had something to do with it, I wasn’t sure. But what if he knew something?
Suspicions arose within my chest, causing me to turn to Terrance with a questioning look while I tried to keep the suspicion from my expression.
“Terrance do you think you know anything about what happened?” I asked in the lightest tone possible, popping another grape into my mouth and wrinkled my nose at the sourness of it.
Terrance suddenly disappeared from my side and stood up, blocking the cold sunlight completely from my view and stared down at me. “Are you implying something, Sage?”
“No,” I blurted. “I just – well I was just wondering if – if you could possibly know what’s going on with the Seekers.” I cringed; that sounded accusatory and I knew he would take it badly.
“You’re implying something, I know it.” Hurt flashed across his face followed by anger in his eyes. “Did Oliver put you up to this?”
“What? No!” I exclaimed hastily and scrambled to my feet. “What are you talking about?”
He turned around and groaned angrily, grabbing fistfuls of hair in his hands. He spun back around and gave me a ferocious glare. “You think it was my fault they’re here, don’t you? You think I’m a mole, spying for the Seekers even though I’m not even a fully-fledged Seeker myself? You’re just like everybody else.”
“No! Terrance that’s not what –”
“Just forget it Sage,” he sighed, picking up his bag and crumpled the bag of chips in his hands before he had even finished it. “You know, maybe Oliver’s rubbing off on you or something.”
“He isn’t!” I insisted, feeling my facial expression mirror the hurt on his face. “Terrance, I’m not implying anything and –”
“Everybody has been pointing fingers at me ever since I could remember,” he cut me off and started walking away.
“Wait, Terrance where are you going?” I yelped, running after him and ditched my box of grapes and my bag. “Terrance –”
“Everybody thought it was my fault people got injured because of that attack and here I was, thinking you believed me all this time.” He laughed bitterly and gave me a harsh stare. “Turns out I was wrong.”
A lump rose in my throat and I urged myself to chase after him speeding pace. “Terrance, you’ve got it all wrong! I’m not like them –”
“You pretty must implied that I would know something about it,” he snapped, ignoring me and turned the other way. “Just go away, Sage.”
“But –”
“Leave. Me. Alone.” His words dripped with rage and his tone was crisp – a clear sign that he truly wanted me to bugger off.
I remained standing there, staring after him with regret pounding in my chest.
I shouldn’t have asked. I shouldn’t have even suspected him. I should have trusted him, like I did when nobody else did but I had to ask.
But it had been a harmless question, right?
Not the way you worded it, Lexi. The annoying voice at the back of my mind only heightened the guilt and regret I felt building in my conscience. This is your fault, not his.
I let out a groan of frustration and fell to my knees, tears welling in my eyes. As much as I hated to admit it, the stupid voice was right. This was my fault, definitely not Terrance’s and I just had to open my mouth and ask and be all suspicious.
It had been three days. Three days without talking so easily with Terrance and it was absolutely killing me. I hadn’t realised how much I valued his company, how talking to him always made me feel better. He was the only normal person who rooted me to sanity amidst of all the Keeper work and the furious worry of more Seeker attacks on Fairwyn, now that it seemed we were vulnerable.
I watched Terrance walk across the field to where we usually sat. I watched him settle down with a book and lose himself in reading, not even sparing me one single glance even though I made it obvious I was watching him, as creepy as it was.
By the time it got round to Friday lunchtime, I was prepared to make a stand for it.
The telltale sign of rain was already forming above me and I was sure that it would pelt before I even made it to the tree but I didn’t care: Terrance was already there and absorbed into a book.
Huh. It had taken a fight between us to find out that he was really into books, Historical Fiction to be exact.
I tightened my grip on my bag and held the peace offering of a perfect red apple in my hand. The weather had suddenly turned unusually cold but I had gotten used to it in Fairwyn: the weather wouldn’t always act accordingly to the current season, especially considering we were just slipping out of winter.
Terrance always ate healthy and apples were his favourite fruit. I figured he’d go easier on me if I used it as a peace offering.
Rain started falling from the skies, turning into a light drizzle. I walked quickly across the field, holding an arm up to shield my face from the water until I reached the tree. That was when the rain started to pick up. Luckily for me, the tree was large, wide and thick enough to shelter us from the rain but not for long.
“Terrance,” I called over the loud rainfall and held the apple behind my back, rubbing the smooth skin absently. “Terrance?”
He glanced up from his book then continued reading, acting completely oblivious to the rainfall around him. “May I help you?”
I was upset and annoyed at his ignorance but still sat down, finding the urge to mend what I had started. “Nice weather, right?”
Terrance didn’t even crack a smile on those lips that would form a cute dimple.
“Terrance please talk to me!” I begged, letting my bag drop on a dry patch against the base of the trunk. I held the apple in cupped hands and turned to face him properly. “Terrance?”
“Go away, Sage, I told you before: I want to be alone.” He didn’t even spare me a glance.
My chest was aching by this point and I was so desperate to be rid of the hurt and guilt. “Look Terrance, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not trusting you like everybody else. I’m sorry for asking a stupid question which obviously was silly considering you’d never even be a part of something that would hurt innocent people. I’m sorry that I hurt your feelings and I’m sorry that I’m apologising so much but it’s killing me not talking to you again! I like talking to you Terrance: we have a lot of fun talking about random things and I can tell you what’s on my mind without even feeling weird about it.”
He didn’t reply but he at least dog-eared the page and shut the book. “Go on.”
I cocked an eyebrow but didn’t complain and continued with the speech I had prepared beforehand. “I love how you listen to me and you help me solve some internal conflicts I have in my head. I love how you know exactly what to say and how to cheer me up when sometimes I feel frustrated with the Keeper in training work. I love how –”
The smooth surface of my apple blocked my mouth, stunning me for a moment. My teeth dug into the apple and took a big bite out of it, falling into my hands while spilling a bit of apple juice over my fingers. He was quick to have shut me up like that without me noticing the apple’s absence in my hands.
“You forgive me?” I asked in a small voice and held the apple so my fingers wouldn’t get sticky.
Thunder roared across the sky yet we paid no attention to it.
“How can I say no to an apple?” He swiped it form my hands and took a big crunchy bite out of it, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and swallowed quickly. “I forgive you, Sage.”
I couldn’t help myself. I tackled Terrance into a hug, the guilt from the past four days lifting off my chest and giving me a sense of pride and accomplishment. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Terrance’s soft laugh resounded in my ear as he pulled me into a hug, apple still in one hand. “You are very welcome, Sage Weston.”
I pulled back with a beam and glanced down at his grinning face, spotting the cute round crease in his cheek. My gaze darted to his eyes and for a moment, I forgot that I had acted like a little kid and forgot the proximity between us.
He turned away and cleared his throat awkwardly. A brilliant heat flared in my cheeks, creeping across my neck as well. “We should get inside before we get soaked.”
“Huh?” Droplets of water stung my cold, numb skin. I soon realised that my hair was drenched, my clothes were soaking with rainwater and the two of us were both still under the shelter of the tree, yet the rain was peeking through the shafts of leaves and branches. “Oh.” I smiled sheepishly, securing my bag tightly t prevent water seeping through and pulled myself up. “Let’s go then.”
“Go then, we shall!” he declared playfully, holding up his drenched library book and made a face. “Looks like I’m paying for this thing.”
I gave him an apologetic look. “My fault. I’ll pay for it.”
Terrance gave me a curious look as we jogged out onto the muddy field and back under shelter by the cafeteria. “Since when would I ever let you pay for anything of mine?”
“Since it’s a way I can apologise to you.”
“No way, Sage. You’re not paying for me ever, as long as I shall live.”
“So Mary . . .” I trailed off mysteriously as a way to get her attention.
She glanced up from stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce. “Yeah, kiddo?”
“Are the rumours true?” I asked in a casual tone and poked the tip of my fork into my index finger lightly. My gaze slid along my finger and the ring I adorned.
Tucker. I missed him so much no doubt but there was no use in dwelling on the past. I was tempted to rip the ring off, knowing it would remind me of him each time I looked at it. Then I told myself that I didn’t want to forget him even if it did hurt. A lot. I didn’t want to forget the memories I’d vowed to cherish forever and the person he was to me.
It was impossible to ignore the outstanding figures in your life.
“. . . don’t know.”
“Huh? Wait, what?” I smiled sheepishly at her while she poured the rich meaty sauce onto a steaming bowl of plain spaghetti noodles.
“What rumours? I’m sure I don’t know,” she repeated with a sigh and finished up my plate of spaghetti, handing it over to me. Mary plucked the car keys off the table.
“Where are you going?” I demanded, sticking my fork into the pasta and twisted while shooting Rosemarie a frown.
“Specialist business all day.”
“So the rumours are true,” I declared, catching her attention again.
“What rumours?”
“All the Specialists are doing something together in the Council Hall and it’s got something to do with the Seeker attack last Friday.”
“You saw some of the unconscious Seekers we took, nine days ago,” she pointed out and glanced at the door longingly, as if she wanted to escape my prodding questions. “I don’t want any more rumours spreading but you have a right to know because you were there: the Protectors and I are working with the Keepers all day to experiment on the Seekers. We want to find out how and why they’re here.”
“When did the Keepers come back?” As far as I knew, they were out on an emergency Seeker attack several towns away, if not all the way across the country.
“Late last night,” she replied casually and slung a jacket over her shoulder, strolling to the door. “Feel free to visit the Council Hall with only Jocelyn and Katherine. For now, only the most advanced Chromas are allowed to visit.”
“Awesome! Well you better expect me in fifteen minutes, Mary.”