The palace was unnaturally quiet. The eliminated girls had left, leaving the rest of us to adjust without them. It already felt lonely with only ten girls; Liana was the only one near my room, while the others were spread out elsewhere on the second floor. The fact that I barely knew any of the others only added to the loneliness.
After the announcement, we'd left the Great Room to find the eliminated girls packing their things. I was only sad to see Henley and January leave; they were the only ones leaving that I had grown fond of. Terrible as it was, I couldn't help but smile as I watched Teegan angrily pack up her things. The only thing I regretted was not seeing her reaction when Derek told them they were eliminated.
Now that they were gone, everything had really begun to sink in. Ten of us were left. Ten meant the Elite. Ten meant the last remaining girls to have a chance to win Derek's heart. Ten meant the Selection was even closer to being over. I didn't think the number ten had ever been this important to me before.
At the same time, my emotions were a jumbled mess. One second I was nearly shaking from excitement and the next my stomach was a pit of nerves. Liana had seemed happy after the announcement, but I still wasn't sure where her and Derek's relationship was. I didn't know how much she liked him and I didn't know how he felt about her. As far as I knew, they hadn't even kissed yet.
I had no idea how Genevieve felt either. Derek was her brother, her twin brother for that matter. I didn't know exactly what she would be mad about, but I still didn't want her angry at me. If it came down to it and I had to pick between her and Derek, what was I supposed to do?
In only a span of a few days, I felt like everything was changing and becoming even more complicated. Between the attack on the palace, the announcement of the Elite, and Genevieve's lack of communication, I didn't know what to do. Right now, all I wanted was to be able to talk to Annika, my sister. She knew how to handle things like this; she was the only one who ever went out to socialize with other people.
But Annika wasn't here and even if she was, she wouldn't have talked to me anyways. My mother and Amber had been my only other options growing up, but I had no way of talking to them since I didn't have a phone. Liana wasn't an option, considering I had no idea how to even bring this up into conversation. I hadn't even seen her since the announcement; she left before I did and she wasn't even in her room.
I sighed, leaning forward against the balcony railing. It was early evening, so the sun was still out, but the sky seemed to match my emotions. Puffy white clouds mixed with ones of varying grays, and the blue sky mixed with the ominous black side. The weather looked confused, exactly how I felt.
I felt a hand on my arm suddenly; I was so shocked that I nearly fell, only to be lifted quickly back up to my feet.
My heart started to race as I turned to look over at Derek. "First you make me hit my knee on the piano, and now I nearly fall off the balcony. You really have a knack for giving people heart attacks, Derek."
He laughed quietly, still holding me. "It's a gift."
I chuckled, letting my eyes glance at his hand on my arm. I could feel small butterflies raging in my stomach, but they weren't quite as violent as they had been when I'd first met him. I could feel myself getting used to his presence. I couldn't tell whether that was a good or bad thing.
"Walk with me?" He motioned down to the gardens. "I think we need to talk."
I nodded, slipping my arm through his. "Of course."
The halls were still quiet as we walked through them. Except for a few guards, we were the only ones out. Still, we were silent until we were alone in the gardens. Without even needing to tell each other, we both knew that what we had to say needed to be said in private.
Derek led us over to an empty corner of the garden, sitting down on a small bench. It was definitely a more private part than where we had been before.
"I'm sorry. I meant to do this sooner." Derek started slowly. "I just couldn't quite seem to find a good time."
I nodded, playing with the fabric of my dress. "I know. It's alright."
He sighed, rolling the sleeves of his white dress shirt up. It was only now that I realized his suit coat was missing. "It's been-well, a stressful few days."
I nodded slowly, turning slightly to face him. "Do you know more now? About whether it was rebels or not?"
He glanced at me, a strange expression on his face. "I really shouldn't be telling you any of that."
I sat up quickly. "I want to know. I won't tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about."
He sighed after a moment, and I could see the moment he gave in. "Alright. We don't have any concrete facts, but we have reason enough to be suspicious of rebels. There have been even more murders."
"Genevieve mentioned that." I interrupted quickly.
He nodded, acknowledging my outburst. "Even more since then. And they all follow a pattern."
"A pattern?" I frowned, becoming confused.
"They're targeting the upper class families. People who used to be twos, threes, and ones when the castes still existed. Every single person that has been killed had some tie to those castes." He sighed, rubbing his forehead.
My heart dropped as I imagined the innocent people being murdered only because they were more privileged than others. "Why? Why would someone kill them?"
Derek shook his head as he shrugged sadly. "We don't know for sure. My father and I have suspicions that it could be people who never recovered after the caste change, but still. We have no proof."
Growing up, I'd never exactly been jealous of the people who lived in big houses and had lots of money; I was perfectly content in the small farmhouse. But there were always times when I wished to be like them, to not have to worry about having enough money to last until the next growing season. But I still could never imagine killing someone all because they had more money than I did.
I had never been proud to be poor. But I couldn't help but be silently glad that my family had no ties to the upper castes. Still, I worried for their safety.
"My family..." I murmured quietly, not sure if I wanted Derek to hear or not.
He did.
"They'll be alright." He slowly took my hands in his. "Even though you have no connection to the upper castes, we sent guards there anyways. All of the Elite girls' families have people there to protect them."
I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I-I don't know what I'd do if something happened to them."
"Nothing will." He promised, squeezing my hand tightly. "I'll make sure of it."
"Thanks. You're too kind." I peered up at his face, looking into his bright blue eyes.
"It's in the job description." He smiled jokingly, before his face turned serious again. "Besides. I guess, someday, they might possibly be my family too."
I wasn't sure whose blush was brighter-mine or Derek's. Either way, both of our faces were a bright shade of tomato red.
"Sorry," He blushed. "That just-just sort of came out."
"No, no it's alright." I stammered, searching for the right words. "I guess that it is sort of true."
Derek smiled softly, still blushing, as he rubbed the back of his neck. His hands weren't holding mine anymore, and they felt strangely cold. I realized the only reason they had been warm was because of his.
"I'm sorry. For being distant." His hands grabbed mine again, and I had to stop myself from smiling at just his touch. "I wasn't quite ready to be open yet-quite frankly, I wasn't ready to be open with anyone yet. I was so worried about sharing things with so many girls still here."
I swallowed, holding his hands. "And now?"
Derek looked up, his eyes finding mine again, and he smiled softly. "Now? Well, I think I'm slightly stupid to not share stupid little things about myself. But I'm also glad that I waited until narrowing it down to the Elite."
"How so?" I tilted my head slightly.
He shrugged. "I wanted to wait for the right people. Now that it's down to the Elite, I know I can trust most of the girls here. Whoever is left is here because I want them here."
I smiled softly. "So you want me to be here?"
He chuckled lightly. "Of course I do. I've told you before Erika, I care about you. A lot."
I grinned and squeezed his hands. "I care about you too."
He smiled softly before tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear. "Like I said, I know I haven't been very open about myself. But I promise, that's going to change. I-I know I can trust you."
"You can. Trust me, I mean." I blushed.
"Good." He chuckled lightly, rubbing my hands with his thumbs. "I want to get to know you, Erika. Even more than I already do."
I smiled softly. "I want to get to know you more too, Derek."
His smile morphed into a teasing grin. "Well, you already know how wonderful a kisser I am."
I giggled, rolling my eyes at him. "Do I?"
"I think so. Maybe I should remind you though." He grinned, leaning in closer to me.
My eyes closed of their own accord. We hadn't kissed since our date on the rooftop, but I still remembered the feeling of his lips on mine. I felt myself eagerly awaiting that same feeling.
Instead I was met with the feeling of large raindrops on my skin. My eyes fluttered open, looking towards the sky. It seemed the weather had made up its mind, and soon we were engulfed in a downpour. I could hardly see anything through the sheets of rain pounding down to the ground.
I felt Derek's wet hand close around mine, quickly tugging me off of the bench. We raced out of the garden, trying to find shelter and trying to stop ourselves from laughing. By the time we found shelter under a small cover by a door, we were soaked to the bone. Derek's white dress shirt was plastered to his skin, while my dress was heavy, wet, and sticky.
The water didn't stop Derek from pulling me closer and pressing his lips to mine. My arms struggled to find somewhere to hold, finally deciding to wrap themselves around his neck. Even with our soaked clothes and sopping wet hair, the kiss was sweet and slow and undeniably perfect. And there, in Derek's wet arms, I found myself thinking that maybe I was meant to be here.
Because if I could make it to the Elite, I couldn't help but hope that maybe I could be the One.
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So this is the last chapter of Another Selected from Erika's POV, but there is still one more chapter. *gasp* Chapter 29 will be a little odd, but I think you guys will still enjoy it. It will definitely give some exciting hints to Another Elite! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, if you did, please comment and vote! I would love to hear what you guys think, and remember that you can always ask questions and I will be happy to answer them if I can! xoxo