Hidden

Chapter Twenty-eight: Cassidy

I looked at my best friend with pity in my eyes as she cried into David's shoulder. Every inch of me felt her sorrow because I knew. I knew how much her mother meant to her. What it was like for her when she'd just disappeared out of her life. There were little things that Rosie cried over, but this was one of them.

"Rosie," I touched the back of her shoulder. "It's okay. It'll be okay."

She looked at me, eyes wet with tears. "I thought it was her, Cass. I really did."

"I know," I said quietly. "I know you did."

I turned to David. "I---I don't think searching for Brandon is a good idea," I said. It'd surprised me when he'd suggested that we go look for him. Considering that he'd attacked him three times all in thirty minutes made me think that he would be the last person to suggest something like that.

He was about to reply but something stopped him. I followed his eyes as they stared to the side. It was the dark misty power that lingered along the hallway. It pasted us and continued down.

"I swear if---" Rosie started to speak at the sight of it but stopped when it suddenly vanished. It vanished as fast it had appeared and we were now staring at empty space. It scared me how I'd seen it so many times now and it still made an eerie feeling erupt in my chest.

"I guess it hasn't left us alone yet," said David.

"Will it ever?" I said. "Maybe we should go find him. The sun should be rising soon anyways, shouldn't it?"

David checked his phone. "Well, it's just after five, so yes it should be."

I almost couldn't believe we'd been here all night getting played with by a couple of insane but powerful hunters. Hunters. I thought for a moment as I suddenly realized how dangerous they really were. With their sneaky traps and sure-to-kill-you weapons they could have you in mere seconds. Even if you were a transforming werewolf. But if they could do all these things, why didn't they have us trapped by now? Or, maybe they already did.

"Okay, I said. "Let's go find him then."

I scrambled down the stairs so fast I almost tripped over the last three. If we wanted to get out of here we had to find him fast. The hallways were quiet, too quiet, and that made me anxious for a trap to suddenly just pop out of nowhere.

When I finally did find him I froze.

Maybe it was the position of his body, sat tight under the stairwell, back slightly hunched over with his head hanging low. Or maybe it was just the crusted spots of blood that stained his torn T-shirt and hands. Whatever it was, it was there; and it made the pit of my stomach tighten into a firm knot.

"Brandon?" His name was barely a whisper off my lips. I felt the silence around me start to close in when he never replied. "Brandon---"

"No," his voice came out sharp and sudden. "Don't say anything."

And I didn't. But I did sit next to him even though his eyes seemed to push me away.

"I'm glad you're okay," he spoke but his eyes never met mine. "Rosie and David, they're okay, right?" His voice sounded different when he spoke David's name.

"Yeah," I told him. "They're okay." I wanted ask if he was even though I already knew he wasn't, but fought back the urge.

"You should go," he said. "It's probably best that you do." The way the words fell out of his mouth told me that he was trying to hide his emotions. I wished he wouldn't.

With the force of a habit I was about to protest but he stopped me.

"Just---," his voice cracked. "Just go, Cassidy."

I couldn't even begin to imagine how he way feeling. Only what he was feeling: ashamed.

As I stood up slowly I felt my bare forearm lightly brush his elbow and though the touch was small, I felt him shiver at the contact.

After I found Rosie and David and told him I'd found him we decided that it was time to leave the school. I saw the sun threaten to peak out behind the trees as we walked out of the main doors, but the light was faint. Rosie seemed to be better now, though she still stuck close to David, his arm draped over her comfortingly.

I stopped when I unexpectedly saw Brandon down the street beside us. Then I felt the sharp vibration of my phone and pulled it out from the pocket of my jeans.

The words typed on the small screen made my eyes stare frantically. It was a message; and it was obvious who it was from. The words were bold in capital letters and that's somehow made them look scarier. The last letter of the last word was repeating down the screen.

"IT'S NOT OVERRRRRRRRR"