When You Came

Chapter 13

        I jerk my hand out of the water and spin around. Deraci leans against a tree with his hands in his pockets. He's wearing one of his many suits, so he must have just finished up at his office. "I didn't mean to scare you, but you're supposed to be asleep."

"I couldn't sleep," I say standing. 

"That still doesn't explain why your out here and not in your dorm."

"I needed to walk and clear my head." A chill runs down my spine and I feel myself shaking. 

"Here," he says removing his jacket. I take a step away from him as he closes the gap between us. 

"Oh come on Alex, it's just a jacket.  I'm trying to be nice, just take it," he says pushing the jacket towards me. He doesn't give me time to reply and I reluctantly put it on. Warmth wraps around me, making me feel better. I still don’t want his jacket though. "Thank you."

"No problem, so why did you need to clear your head?" He asks stepping away. 

"Just thinking too much," I offer. 

"Walk with me," Deraci orders before starting back down the path. I watch him for a moment before jogging to catch up to him. 

        We walk in silence, but he clearly has a location in mind. I'm trying to figure out where we are going, when I trip and almost fall on my face. Deraci stops my fall by grabbing my arm and pulls me up and closer towards him. 

"Thanks," I whisper taking a step away. 

"No problem."

        I can tell he wants to say more, but I turn to keep going in the direction we were heading. I hear him sigh, but he follows. We continue walking until we approach some buildings. That's when I realize, we were heading for his office this entire time. I don't know how I didn't notice it before now.

"Want some tea?" He asks holding open the door for me. 

        I nod, I'm not ready to go back to the dorm yet. I walk in and sit down in a chair. I still don’t understand why he wasn’t asleep, but then I remember him talking before about how he’s up at all hours for his job. He enters the room a minute later with two cups. He hands one to me before sitting down next to me. 

"Have you made any progress with the Box?" 

"Not really, all the cases we've been through so far are just dead ends. They're all scattered, so no help there," I say taking a sip of the tea. 

"What are you looking for?" He asks. 

"Anything really. Something that is similar to another case or a clue about where it might be. What do you guys plan to do with it anyways?" 

"I don't even know, I was never told. They're keeping some information from us is all I know," Deraci says. 

        That's odd, why keep information from the people in charge of locating the Box? Nothing about it is adding up. They want it, but won't tell us everything they know about it. I know it can change time and create life, but what are they not telling us?

"I remember when you first arrived. You hated everything and everyone. Then you just had to go and punch your brother," he says laughing lightly. "That's when I first saw you. When a teacher dragged you into my office yelling and kicking."

"Didn't you have to tie me down to the chair?" I ask trying to remember this day. 

He smiles down at his cup of tea. "I did, didn't I? I had just gotten the job then too. You had been my first case and do you remember what you did?"