"Please, come back to me."
"I never left."
***
Clara Carter, the troublemaker of Aerilon University. Someone who can make you fall for her looks and at the same time can make you reg...
The sound of my phone ringing beneath my stomach wakes me up. I go for the dismiss button, assuming it's my alarm that's bothering me until I notice a blurry face on the screen. As my other hand reaches for the green button, I rub my eye with the back of my hand.
"Hello?" It takes a second for me to realize I need water due to my hoarse voice when I ask. Mom and dad were worried about me after I ate in my room late at night. But I'm in no a position or condition to tell them what's wrong with me.
On the call, I hear rushing noises in the background. "Where are you, Clara?" Tyler's echoing voice causes my eyes to widen.
"In my room." I reply as I struggle to get back on my feet after sleeping on the cold floor all night. I gulp down the whole glass of water placed on the nightstand.
"You need to come here. Fast."
"Come where?"
"Nothing?" Tyler asks someone on his side. I wait for a clarification as to what's going on that he had to wake me up so urgently.
"Clara, you there?" he asks me once done with his muffled talk I couldn't hear with someone.
"Yes, Tyler, now speak up. What's wrong?"
A single ray of sunshine peers through the balcony doors. I acknowledge the humid breeze of dawn. The digital clock assures my guess as it strikes 6:15 a.m.
"I need you to come to the university right now."
I frown. "Why?"
What's so urgent that I'm being called to the university this early?
Tyler curses before answering me again, this time with a pale seriousness in his boyish voice.
"It's about Stefan."
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Tyler and Ray cast restless eyes at me after hearing my anxious footsteps. Due to the cold atmosphere and the burning fear in my friend's stare, I bury my hands deeper in my white sweatshirt pocket and shake my head to get the hood of it in the right place.
My two dearest friends have dressed appropriately for a winter day. Ray is clad in a grey top under a woolen shawl and dark jeans, while Tyler is wrapped in a cream-colored sweater and sweatpants.
Needless to say, I join Tyler and Ray beside a notice board where they were standing before turning for me.
I light the cigarette I'm holding between my lips, assuming no one will see. Although our campus opens for cleaning at 6:00 a.m., no students are wandering around like us.
