Days of Revelations (Night of Secrets #2)

Chapter 24 - Unknown Pressures

Jax

I wanted to be the one to walk Adeline out of school from her last class, but it makes more sense to have Santos do it since his class is the closest to Adeline's. Plus I have my meetings with Evren during the last period sometimes, and they usually run late. Today included.

"Is there anything else you want to talk about?" Evren asks.

I shake my head, glancing at the clock. Three minutes over. "No. I think I'm okay."

He nods, sitting back in his chair. "Well, let me just say I'm really proud of you for managing to keep your anger in check."

Only because Dean hasn't gotten anywhere near Adeline lately. "Thank you."

Evren slides a tupperware of cookies over to me, and I don't hesitate to take one. "Can I ask you something?" I nod, taking a bite. "How is Adeline doing?" I stop chewing. Evren smiles, resting his forearms on his thighs. "I know it may not be my business since she hasn't asked to talk or anything, but I'm a little worried about her. Especially after seeing you guys leave Homecoming so early. You all looked really upset. Especially Adeline."

I swallow the cookie in my mouth. "She could be doing better, but I think she's been generally okay lately."

Evren nods, raising his eyebrows. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"So there's nothing I need to know?"

Well, there's definitely nothing Adeline would want him to know, and I want to respect that. But a certain pressure sets itself on my chest like someone is methodically placing stones on me. I try to brush the feeling aside with another bite of the cookie, but that adds another stone.

When I manage to swallow, I say, "Not that I can tell you."

Evren sighs, sitting back. "Well, do you mind asking her if she'd be willing to talk to me at least once? I really do want to check in on her."

I nod, shoving the rest of the cookie in my mouth. I should leave before I say something that Adeline wouldn't want me to. It's getting harder and harder to ignore the pressure on my chest, too, and if I stay too long, Evren will notice and make me stay and talk.

"I'll mention it to her," I promise, grabbing my backpack. "Thanks, Mr. Evren."

"No problem, Jax," he smiles. "See you in a couple of days."

I wave at him before walking out of his office. Once I shut the door behind me, I breathe a little easier. But at the same time, the weird pressure doesn't go away. And the farther I walk away from Evren's office, the worse it gets like whoever's setting stones on me doesn't want me to leave yet.

I rub my chest as I walk down the halls, but it still won't go away. The only reason why I forget about it is because I see Santos standing outside the girls' bathroom, pacing back and forth. Everything in me shuts down for a split second. Once it all starts up, the stones topple off my chest as my heart pounds. I call out to Santos as I walk toward him.

"What's going on?" I ask. "I thought you were walking Adeline out."

"I was," he says. He gestures to the girls' bathroom. "But she randomly paused and bolted inside. I don't know what's wrong, but I thought she looked a little pale when she walked out of her last class."

The pressure settles on my chest again. "How long has she been in there?"

"Like five minutes." He checks his watch. "Six." I place my hand on the door, but Santos bats it down. "Are you stupid? You're already being watched closely. I don't think you should be going into the girls' bathroom. You're gonna catch hell for that."