N Has Fallen

XXVI - Phthartic

XXVI - Phthartic

Phthartic
adjective
/THOR tik/
rare : deadly, destructive

🍁

She woke up to find herself in Via's room. Her eyes felt like it was stung by a bee. She just knew she looked horrible. Groggily, she sat up but regretted it as soon as she did. Her head felt like being pounded by a hammer.

"You're awake." She searched for the voice and found its owner sitting by Via's chair beside her desk.

"Nathan?" Why is she here? She couldn't remember much but she remembered calling Via last night although it only went to voicemail. She messaged her the address though. She didn't know who to call and Via was the only person she was close with. If she called Nathan last night, she was sure things would get awkward just like what's happening to them now. He couldn't seem to look at her in the eyes. "Why am I here?"

Venus was dog tired when she got home. She slumped on the sofa and talked about how tiring her day was to Nathan who was lazing around the couch watching documentaries about penguins. He ignored her though and asked about Jessica. If she was okay. If she was mad at him. He haven't seen her in a long time. She only told him Jessica was happy with Noah. He didn't miss her sarcasm. She knew about his feelings for her friend but he was too much of a coward to say it out loud and Jess was too dense to actually see what Nathan sees her as. When she decided she needed to take a shower she forgot to take her bag with her.

A loud blaring from her bag stole his attention from the penguins. He ignored it at first but when it rang for the third time he can't help but feel annoyed with Baby Shark's RnB version. What the heck is with his sister's taste in music?

Grumbling and rolling his eyes, he fetched the annoying phone from Via's bag and it got louder than before when he took it out. He was about to end the call when he saw the caller I.D. He pressed the answer button but the ringing ended. What did Jessica want? Dialing her number using Via's phone, he waited for her to answer but then cursed when he realized his retartded sister doesn't have mobile balance. He was about to go and get his cellphone to call her when he realized she left a voicemail. Pressing play, he listened to her.

"Hey V." He didn't miss how her voice was quivering. He immediately knew something was wrong. "C-can you pick me up please? I'll text you the address. T-thanks."

True to what she said, not even a minute later, he opened her text message. What was she doing in some company? Without waiting for Via to know about Jess' whereabouts he fetched his car keys and went out of the house.

He drove for 20 minutes, thinking about what happened to her. When he got there, there was no one and made it made him wonder if Jess was pranking Via. But a sniff from his left side caught his attention. There, sitting in the cold bench was Jessica and he never saw her looked so....ruined.

He hurriedly went to her side. "Hey. Jess what happened?" He gently shook her shoulders. There was no answer, she only stared blankly at her feet. "Jess. Are you okay? What happened?" He lifted her chin up to make her look at him. Only then did he noticed how she looked so broken. He was alarmed for a second and even more when she spoke, her tears falling, her whole body shaking. It was the most fragile of voices, the most vulnerable state he saw her in.

"H-he left me." It was as if that statement itself was his answer. The bastard left her. He didn't know if he wanted to be happy or if he wanted to just cry with her. He never saw her looked so broken before, not even when she was always bullied. She was always a happy girl. She would light up the room the moment she comes in, the people who doesn't realize that only meant they didn't know how beautiful she is inside and out. Staring at her looked so defeated, her face contorted into a pain that couldn't be treated even by the most brightest of doctors, it tugs painfully in his heart. His sweet Jess.