An extra long update tonight!
I hope you're all doing well and staying warm!
I've been getting a few questions about my update schedule, so I thought I'd write it out here for any new readers:
During the school semesters, I usually update at least twice a week. As it is the holidays and I'm home on break, my schedule will probably be a bit more random and there may be fewer updates than normal.
Basically, I try to update whenever I can.
I hope you enjoy this chapter!
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Air rushed from her lungs as she was slammed into the cushioned mat.
She struggled against him, pushing her hands against his shoulders as hard as she could.
Her hair fell into her eyes as she tried to fling her head forward toward his nose.
Thrashing against his tight hold, she tried and failed to roll out from beneath him.
Anxiety pulsed within her, but her adrenaline didn't seem to be enough.
"Think." He said through grit teeth, his body twisting to avoid her punch.
Sweat trickled down Enid's back as she tried to halt the vicious storm of thoughts swirling and tangling in her mind.
Suddenly, she went still beneath him, her breaths still coming out in harsh pants.
His emerald eyes met hers in confusion before they tightened with pain.
She had kneed him right between the legs.
"Cazzo!" Dante's Italian came out mangled as he rolled off her and clutched a certain area.
"I'm sorry!" Enid rushed to lean over him, concern flushed across her face.
"No, no, little bird. You did good. Best you've done all day. I'm proud of you." He patted her worried hands, his voice still tight with discomfort.
"I can go get you some ice..." She bit her lip, ready to stand up.
"I'll be fine, sweet girl. Come lay with me." He pulled her to lay beside him on the practice mat.
She tucked her head against his bare chest, uncaring of how sweaty they both were.
They had been practicing for hours in the underground training room and her body was incredibly sore.
Self-defense was much harder than she expected.
Enid hadn't ever considered herself physically fit, but she hadn't realized just how little strength she had to draw on.
Dante said that could be helpful, though.
She was tiny, so she was much quicker than most possible attackers would be.
And she could build up her strength over time.
He said she had potential.
And then he had attacked her.
Again.
And again.
Over and over her back met the black mat, over and over she failed to escape.
It was hard not to get discouraged.
Because Dante wasn't even fully trying.
She started watching his face around the fifth or sixth round.
It was taut with the concentration of holding back.
He was taking it easy on her and she still hadn't managed to escape until the very last round.
"What thoughts have you looking so pensive, little bird?" His fingers brushed a small curl from her cheek.
Her ponytail was in a state of disarray after all the movement.
"I'm terrible at this." Enid sighed, stretching her tired legs.
Dante shot her a look as he sat up and helped her stretch her sore limbs.
"You're a beginner. No one is perfect at anything right away." He smiled at her.
She sagged against him in relief as he began to message the tight knots in her shoulders.
"Well, I've got a great teacher, so I won't worry too much." Enid gave him an exhausted grin.
His lips curved into a satisfied, amatory smirk.
Enid returned to school two days later on a rather cold Wednesday.
The immortals had decided she needed some time away after last Thursday.
And with her Fridays free, the only school days she missed were Monday and Tuesday.
She could hardly believe it had been nearly a week since Thursday, time felt like it was both crawling and flying all at once.
Her days off had been quite busy, though.
Gun practice with Alexander and self-defense with Dante.
The time in between was spent with Alex in the music room, learning piano and practicing cello, or curling up in the library with one of their many books.
She hadn't seen much of Theodore apart from at dinner and in the evenings.
He had explained that a business-related issue had come up and was demanding much of his attention.
The expression on his face was enough to tell Enid she shouldn't question it further.
A curtain of mystery still surrounded these men that she was falling for.
But she trusted them.
Trusted them so deeply that she couldn't find it in herself to be worried.
However, Enid was quite worried about returning to classes.
It wasn't that she was behind on work, as the immortals had canceled their classes on Monday and Tuesday and retrieved the work she was missing from her other two.
It was the dark-haired girl she was walking toward that made her return feel so daunting.
Emilia was laying on their bench, headphones in her ears as she noiselessly sung along to whatever song was playing.
Enid approached her timidly, biting into the soft flesh of her lip.
She had received nearly a hundred texts from the girl over the past few days.
And she hadn't responded to a single one.
It wasn't that she had been trying to ignore her.
Enid had just shoved the entire situation into a box in the back of her mind and hadn't opened it since.
When Emilia's apologetic text messages had started flooding in, she had turned off her phone and shoved it into a drawer.
She felt terrible about it now, as she realized how she must have seemed angry to Emilia.
Now it was time to fix this.
And stop letting that god-awful night ruin her life.
"Hi." Enid tried to smile normally as she stepped into her friend's vision.
Emilia's eyes darted up to her face and her jaw dropped.
Yanking the headphones from her ears, she proceeded to nearly crush Enid in her arms.
She held in a wince, her body still sore from training with Dante.
"Hi? You disappear for a week and don't even let me know that you're okay and you have the audacity to come up and say 'hi'?! I swear, once I make sure you're alive and okay, I'm going to murder you. God, I think I'm getting grey hairs already with all the worrying I do over you." Emilia held the smaller girl at arm length as she looked over her for signs of injury or issue.
Enid giggled softly at her dramatic antics, her heart swelling with how much her friend cared about her.
"I'm so sorry, Emilia. It's been a really long week, but that's no excuse. I hope you're not too mad at me..." Her azure eyes dropped to the ground in remorse.
"Hey, none of that. I'm not mad at you, just worried sick. And I should be the one apologizing, I should have never dragged us into investigating this. I can be so pushy sometimes when I get excited about things and I completely bulldozed you and... I'm so, so incredibly sorry." Emilia pulled her in for another hug.
"It's not your fault! I told you I left the bonfire that night because someone spilled their drink on me. You didn't know that I had any connection to him. I should have told you; I just couldn't figure out how to." Enid assured her.
"I just can't believe how this all happened. He did that to you and now he's missing. Good riddance if you ask me." The two girls sat down on their bench, the tension extinguishing into the normal ease they found in each other's presence.
She tugged her beanie back down over her ears and tucked her gloved hands into the pockets of her coat.
Winter was coming and it was going to be a frigid one.
"I think we should still continue with our article." Enid spoke quietly.
"What? No! I'll tell Dr. Romano we bit off more than we could chew and that we're going to do an article on the Halloween festivities next week. Actually, you picked a really good day to miss on Monday because he wasn't here either." Emilia exclaimed.
"Yeah, it was a wonderful coincidence. But I just... I want to know what happened to Patrick. He did a terrible thing, but I feel like we must finish this. I want him to be found. For his family and friends. And that way I can file a report against him and he can learn from his actions." Enid fiddled with the ring on her pointer finger.
"Jesus, I think you might be the most wholesome and kind human ever born. Are you sure you want to do this?" Emilia glanced at her with concern.
"Yes." She replied confidently.
"Okay. But I'll do the majority of the fact digging, okay? I don't want this to take up much of your time. Promise me that at least." The brunette girl looked at her sternly.
She was struck with how much Emilia looked like Fiona in that moment.
Motherly concern was universal.
"We can meet up next Monday and divide up tasks." Enid nodded in consent.
"Well, with all of that aside, I have some news." Emilia bounced slightly in her seat.
"What is it?" She asked, grinning at the excited look on her friend's face.
"You know Jake from our lit class? Well, he may have asked me out on a date on Monday when class was canceled. And I may have said yes. And I may or may not have had the most fun I've ever had with a guy which is impressive because I am an absolute hoe and I've been on so many dates." She rambled happily.
Enid's mind flashed to the classic college boy she had met on her first day of classes.
He seemed nice enough, if not a little odd.
"Wow! That's fantastic. Do you have plans for another date?" She asked.
"Yeah, we're going to an arcade in the city tonight. And don't worry, Jessie and Sarah did a thorough stalk of his social medias and he seems like an actually decent guy." Emilia giggled.
Enid grinned at the mention of the kind girls Emilia had introduced her to the night of the bonfire.
"How are Jessie and Sarah?" She tucked her jacket more tightly around her as a large gust of wind sent the leaves at their feet flying down the sidewalk.
"They're good! They'd love to see you again. Sarah still talks about how cute you were. If Jessie weren't so confident in their relationship, I'd be worried that she'd get jealous." Emilia nudged her with her elbow.
"I'd love to see them again. Maybe we can all grab lunch one day." Enid suggested shyly with a soft smile.
"Yes! Or brunch. I love mimosas. I'll figure out a day for us to go and let you know." The taller girl pulled out her phone and sent a message to the couple.
"We should probably head inside; class starts in ten." Enid checked the watch on her wrist.
When they entered the classroom, Enid grinned as she saw her friend's face light up.
Jake jumped from his seat to pull out a chair for Emilia, a large smile stretched across his face.
Which would have been very lovely and chivalrous, if it weren't for the fact that the chairs were connected to the desks by a metal bar that kept them in a certain place.
Enid and Emilia giggled as he came to the realization and his cheeks darkened in embarrassment.
"M'lady," He played it off, giving her a dramatic bow, "You look simply divine today."
Emilia flushed as she glanced at the two students who were already in their seats.
Marcell, the boy with the afro and a fear of snakes, was hiding a laugh behind his fist.
Sophie, who still didn't seem to like Enid very much, was rolling her eyes.
A few minutes later Dante's long frame entered the room with his usual flourish.
"Hello, my dear disciples. I'm sure you missed me on Monday." His trademark smirk alight on his face.
Enid grinned as his eyes met her own.
It felt good to be back to normal.
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The girls are back on track.
I probably won't be on again until after Christmas, so happy holidays to all of you who are celebrating!
I wish you all a lovely week.
Comments fill my heart with joy.
All my love, Sappho ✿