Journey
There was blood at the scene.
Blood. Blood. Blood. The last thing I remembered was glancing down to my covered arms, seeing the blood of my cut skin as if I had been transferred back in time, but then somehow, I was standing in the middle of Headmaster Ellison’s office with two police officers staring at me with stunned expressions.
“Journey?” Headmaster Ellison flew from his chair, but I was too blinded by my impulsiveness to say anything. Why did I run in here?! There were two tall, warm figures beside me, and I knew that Cade and Isaiah had followed me through the door.
Isaiah cleared his throat as Cade moved in closer to me. “I went and fetched Journey for you, Headmaster Ellison.” He looked at the officers, and then he sighed impatiently, as if they were stupid. “I have student duty tonight—being head boy and all.” Head boy? What the hell does that mean? Isaiah lazily took a seat in one of the empty chairs that neither officer sat in.
Headmaster Ellison slowly sank down in his old, creaky chair and smoothed out his features. “Oh, yes. Thank you, Isaiah.” Then, he waved his hand out to the officers. “Here is Journey. Ask her what you need so she can get back to bed.” My cheeks flamed as all three men took in my appearance and then moved to Cade’s.
What? Maybe I like to sleep in black skinny jeans and a black hoodie. Whatever.
As soon as the taller of the two flipped open his little spiral notebook, I was suddenly back to what I’d just heard come from his mouth a second ago. Blood. “When was the last time you have seen or spoken to Sister Mary, Journey?”
I swallowed, crossing my arms over my chest in an unconscious way to protect myself.
“The last day I spoke to her was the day I came here. I don’t have a cell phone, so I can’t call her or anything.” What happened to her? Where is she?
I knew, deep down, it had something to do with me.
My throat began to close, and the room started to dance in front of my eyes. A hefty breath squeezed past the tightening of my neck, and I felt Cade’s shoulder brush over mine. I’m here. That was his way of telling me I wasn’t alone.
“I heard what you said a few minutes ago,” I started, not caring that they were supposed to be asking me questions and not the other way around. “Where did you find blood? Do you have any leads at all?”
The other officer leaned forward with a crease in between his wrinkled brows. “Are you sure you haven’t spoken to her? I find it strange that the other nuns told us to talk to you. Do you know about something that Sister Mary was involved in?”
Only to keep me safe. My stomach was heavy, like I’d swallowed an anchor. My hair fell forward, and I had to keep my attention plastered to my boots so I didn’t let the tears slip over my cheeks. There was blood. I pictured Sister Mary’s warm smile and rosy cheeks. Would she have given up her life to protect me? My wobbling chin slowly raised. I looked at Headmaster Ellison, and as my mouth opened, his eyes widened. It wasn’t that noticeable, but I saw the most subtle shake of his head, and I paused.
That was when Isaiah stepped forward, and Cade pulled me back by my hand.
“She knows nothing. She’s been at a psych ward for months, and now she’s here without a way to even communicate with Sister Mary. Sister Mary, as far as Journey or any of us know, wasn’t involved in anything suspicious.”
“Are you her spokesperson now?” the officer asked, crossing his arms. My eyes flew down to his black pistol, and the room was beginning to close in on us. My guard had dropped slightly since coming back to St. Mary’s. Cade was like a fine layer of protection, and my jaded trust had been slightly repaired with his warm touches and comforting words. But standing here, looking at two men who weren’t believing a word we said, pushed me right back into my untrusting self as if I were back at the Covenant Psych Hospital.
Headmaster Ellison stood up from his desk, causing the attention to shift to him. “Listen, if we hear of anything or Sister Mary contacts Journey, we will give you guys a call. Yes? Does that work?”
Silence filled the room, and all I could hear was the repetition of the word blood in my head. What if they cut her wrists, too? What if they killed her? And who the hell were they?
“Breathe,” Cade whispered as he turned his head. He pulled me farther to the door, and the last thing I saw was the officer putting his notebook away, and then I somehow ended up in my room with Cade peeling my clothes off me and pulling my purple sleep shirt over my head.
His lips gracefully touched the tip of my nose, and he pulled me over to my bed. “Come on, let’s get some rest.”
Cade’s boots were kicked off, and the next thing I knew, I was wrapped up in his warm embrace with my head resting over his steady heartbeat. Goosebumps rushed to the surface as the pad of his finger brushed over the long scar on my arm.
“Just breathe,” he whispered, and I did. I took several gulps of air, trying to allow my throat to open for oxygen.
“Cade?” I asked, several minutes later.
“Yeah?” His voice was hoarse, like he had been sleeping.
“Why did you and Isaiah step forward when they asked if I knew anything? Does Isaiah know that someone attacked me?” I paused, replaying the whole thing over in my head. “Does the headmaster?”
His tight chest expanded, and I turned my head and looked up at him. His full lips were flattened, and I had my answer.
“Do you guys know something that I don’t?”
I was almost too afraid to know the answer, but Cade’s stormy gaze flew down to mine.