Chapter 2
Mildred
Ivanish in a flash the moment the girl with glasses glances back.
I notice her brows knit together, a touch of confusion playing on her face.
I draw a shaky breath, my hand clasping my chest where my heart had once beat.
The familiar sting of longing rang through me…
It’s been an eternity since I’ve felt my own heart beating.
I could swear it’s her, or perhaps I imagined her. No, this is different. Different altogether. Time just stops, as if time itself is holding its breath too. Her brown doe eyes feel as though they are staring right through me, into a soul I have long left behind.
She gives a soft shake of her head and continues on, Warren Brown close on her heels.
I float after them, keeping her in sight as she ascends the staircase, a restless urge gnawing at me to see her safely returned to her quarters.
He suddenly glances back sharply; he cannot see me, but I am certain he feels me.
His harsh stare lingers on the hallway, and for a moment, it feels as though his eyes meet mine before he swiftly lowers them to the stairs ahead of him. I clench my jaw before pivoting back into the classroom, where I had been rummaging.
Giving the place a once-over, I try to remember what I was after, but every thought drifts back to her… warm, soft, and consuming. Why was she down here at all? How did Warren happen upon her so precisely? Most of all, why did I allow myself to be seen?
I pinch the bridge of my nose with a soft groan.
Smart move, very clever, utterly idiotic if I do say so myself.
She saw me. I was invisible, completely unseen, all the while watching her wander the halls and into that tunnel.
I caught her slipping that old photograph of me into her hand, the one I had nearly forgotten existed.
It feels like another lifetime, another face altogether.
Yet as I watched her, it was as if life had stirred awake within me once more.
I inhale deeply as a faint tremor runs through me and a tear slips down my cheek. She never said a thing, but for the first time in what feels like forever, I felt seen. How can that be? It can’t be.
I begin to drift backward, drawn to follow her, but I pause once more. I’d only make things dreadfully complicated. Warren has his sights on her; that much is clear. But what if he knew she’d glimpsed me?
I swallow against the lump rising in my throat as a flicker of that day passes through my mind. My hands shake a touch as I lift my chin, forcing composure while a dull ache blooms in my stomach at the thought of keeping away from that brown-eyed girl. It’s for the best. It must be.