The Missing Piece

34. Reunited

The food arrived. I made sure everyone ate to their full.

They were whining like kids.

"I'm done." Elonzo said.
"No, you're not." I said, an eyebrow raised.
"I'm not that hungry." He whined.

"I'm not going to tell you again. Finish.Your.Food." I gritted, glaring at him.

"I don't want to." He retored.
"Just one more bite, Elonzo." I said, moving the spoon closer to his mouth.

After arguing for five more minutes he finally ate it.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked Luciano, who had just got up after eating half of his food.

"For a walk?" He said sheepishly.

"Shut.Up.And.Finish.It.Right.Now." I gritted, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Max, stop playing with your food." I called out, startling him.

After many arguments and their whining, they finally finished it.

They started chatting again.

"Hey, Evvie." Max whispered.

I looked at him.

"You know Zack Smith?" He asked.

I nodded.

"He was worried about you all week. He thought you were ill and wanted to come meet you." He said.

I was confused.

'That pig-head cared about me?'

"He came to the funeral too. He came through the back door when everyone else was gone. I was still there. I overheard him saying something." Max said turning serious.

"What did he say?" I asked.

'Why was Max so serious about what he said?'

"He was crying and said that he was sorry, he should have been nicer towards you." He said raising an eyebrow at me accusingly.

"I'll beat that guy up if I find out he hurt you." Max muttered.

"You're not doing anything. He didn't hurt me." I said.

"Ok." He said, still looking suspicious.

"How did he even know about the death?" I asked, confused.

"He was bothering me and asked about you the whole day. He called when I didn't come to school, to ask about you. So, I told him some other version of the death." He said rubbing the back of his neck.

I facepalmed myself.

"Whatever you told him, sort everything out yourself. I don't want to explain anything to him." I said.

I laid down to get some sleep. His words ringed in my ears.

'He was crying.'
'He wanted to be nice to me?'

I'm not saying I hate fighting with him. I love it. Its fun teasing him.

I won't say I didn't miss him. I missed him a lot. I don't know why?

I shook my head to get rid of the thoughts and fell asleep.

I heard a scream.
I woke up gasping for breath. My eyes still closed.

I tried to breath but only gasps came out. I felt someone's hand squeeze mine. He started speaking. But I couldn't make out what they were saying. The voice was soothing.

I opened my eyes to see it was Will and Elonzo in the room.

Will put my hand on his chest.

"Follow my heartbeat, baby. Calm down. Take slow breaths."