The Halo Effect

48 | halo effect

I jolted upright in bed, my heart careening into my throat.

For a split second, I wondered if I'd imagined the sound of the door closing, but then I registered the empty space next to me. I touched the fitted sheet, and found it warm.

But that didn't change the fact that Trip was gone.

Knowing I couldn't have been asleep for long, I lifted my phone off the nightstand and blinked a few times at the bright screen before reading the time. It was almost midnight. I had to assume Macallan and Kelsey were still celebrating downstairs as they'd never returned to the room, and I didn't have any messages from them.

As the stillness started to settle around me, I ran my hands down my bare arms to confirm I wasn't invisible or in a dreamlike state. To confirm that Trip leaving wasn't some glitch in the system.

Reality tore my mind right open.

I catapulted myself out of bed, nearly tripping over my discarded trainers on the floor. I didn't care if I was about to chase down answers I wasn't prepared to accept—I'd do anything to see this through.

I got dressed as quickly as I could manage, and fastened my brace over the fresh pair of leggings I'd slid into. The trek to the elevator felt longer and more strenuous than it had earlier, my heartbeat deafening in my ears.

Thankfully, the elevator doors slid open as soon as I used the FOB and hit the call button. Once inside, I stood with my fists clenched at my sides, and I could feel my pulse beating fiercely inside my palms.

Noise enveloped me the instant the doors slid open, a strong indicator that Macallan's celebration was still carrying on. There would most definitely be a noise complaint lodged as evening hours were very much underway, but tonight seemed to transcend the normal rules.

It was the end of the school year. Macallan Blake was victorious. Things were changing and unraveling before my very eyes.

Delaney and Shay stood chatting in the entrance to the common room, and I knew it would be impossible to blitz by unnoticed. Sure enough, my eyes met Delaney's almost instantaneously, and whatever emotion painted my features drew her brows inward.

"Hey, Chan," Delaney greeted, pushing herself off the wall to essentially block my path. "Is everything alright? I think Mac was just about to go look for you."

"I'm—it's just," I stammered as I stopped in front of my captain, embarrassingly out of breath. As I held her concerned gaze, I risked cutting to the chase. "Have you seen Trip? I need to talk to him."

Delaney nodded before tilting her head towards the front of the building. "I just talked to him–"

Shay interrupted, "And he literally just left."

Trip left.

My good knee nearly buckled as I abruptly sidestepped Delaney.  "Sorry, I need to go!"

I remembered that it'd been raining just as I shoved the front door open, and the cold misty air lodged itself in my lungs like a spear. While it was no longer a downpour, it certainly wasn't a simple spring drizzle.

I inadvertently stepped into a puddle at the base of the stone steps, the water soaking through my sneaker and into my sock, but I didn't stop for a second.

The streetlamps cast pockets of light on the slick brick walkways, illuminating the few students who still milled about. My eyes landed on Trip almost immediately. He hadn't bothered to pull up the hood of his rain jacket, and his curls made him easy to spot.

I called out to him, and he froze within a faded golden pool cast of light by the nearest street lamp. It illuminated the sheen of rain and Trip's features as he turned around to face me.To look at me like I was a demon sent to terrorize him in his sleep.