Chapter 4 The Painted Truth

Elias POV

He is really not giving her a breather, is he?

Ever since that moment I stole to return Elena's hair pin he has been glued to her at the hip and I mean that with little to no exaggeration.

If she was going to the bathroom then he was too. Same thing at the cafeteria and also in classes, she would have him so firmly attached to her and leave no cracks for me to approach her.

Worst of all I noticed that she started giving me funny looks after some days, like I was the one with the problem.

"Something is definitely wrong," I told my roommate one day after classes tossing my backpack on my bed, "she won't so much as even respond to a greeting for me, what do you think he told her?"

Henry just shrugged, flipping to the next page in his book.

"Does it really matter? Also, should you be so eager to talk to a girl who is already in a relationship?"

"She's not in a relationship with him!"Elias said with more energy than needed, is roommate drew an eyebrow at him.

"Relax it's not that deep, "he said with a chuckle, "Sometimes you take things too seriously, you need to learn to relax and let go. We are in high school right now if we don't let our hair down now when are we going to be able to?"

I gave my roommate a long, heartfelt look and then he said; "Henry do you know that sometimes I'm so jealous of you?"

"Is it because of my good looks?" he said without his expression changing.

"No you ogre," I responded then grabbed my pillow and chucked it at my roommate. "I'm going to the library, don't worry I'll be back before curfew,"

Hollow Creek High Private itself was distinguished by producing one of the highest scores in SATS and external exams in the country which was why extended studies were allowed beyond school hours leaving several classrooms, the library, and a few other facilities open 24/7.

Of course, many students didn't just study, and I was fully aware of that fact.

I carried myself to the library, hoping that I would be able to tire myself out to sleep but my mind kept going back to Elena.

For now, she was still coming to school.

But my mind was still going into a spiral, what if they still planned to get rid of her?

Just like what they did to Marne Cooper.

"Ugh" I groaned, I had meant it when he said I was jealous of my roommate. Henry's parents were wealthy enough that nobody dared to mess with him.

But he chose to remain blissfully ignorant of what happened in the walls of the school? Students that kept showing up to class with bruises? They must be clumsy, someone being isolated? Maybe they were just shy.

Henry had perfected the act of looking away but I was the opposite, I couldn't-

"Elias?"I nearly jumped right out of my skin when I heard someone call his name, then I steadied myself, spun my head to the side, and saw her the girl that had been overwhelming my thoughts for days now.

Elena Reed.

She sat next to him on the study table; "I didn't expect to see you here, I was told that the library was usually deserted," She was barely making eye contact with him when she spoke and it made him ponder again what Jude could have possibly fabricated about him.

"I've been meaning to properly thank you..." she said and then touched the bun In Her hair where the hairpin was just seeing it was enough to bring back some ghost pain on my thigh.

"You don't have to thank me about that, "I said honestly trying to push away the memory of the pain, then my eyes rested on her. "By the way... Elena... Remember that text? The one you sent to me to meet up at the auditorium we never really got to talk about that,"

She suddenly froze up, "Oh I...it was nothing"

The alarm started going off in my head and I grabbed her shoulders, "Is someone threatening you?"

She waited a second too long before saying, "No... No one is threatening me,"

But I couldn't help but think of Marne again.

At a time when I had held on to somebody I shouldn't have.

"They say you used to be friends with, Marne Cooper?" Mr Boone, a detective working on campus asked me when I called to report that she was missing.

"Yes, she's been missing for a while now and I thought I should report it,"

"Okay, kid tell me everything you know,"

Back then it had fanned the hope that was burning in my heart, I thought that Marne was going to be found, that's all that made her disappear to be punished.

I had no idea that I was in for a life lesson and a bitter one as well.

Only 2 days into his search and I was called into the guardian's counselor's office, there Mr Boone was waiting for me.

"Mr Boone did you find her?"I asked already smiling, he didn't say anything at first just threw a half-torn journal with red hearts over the guidance counselor's desk the guidance counselor herself was just sitting like a statue.

"Do you recognize this journal?"

I gave it a good look and shook my head.

"Some friend you are, "The detectives scoffed, "... This belongs to Marne Cooper, She wrote in it up to the days she went missing I was able to find this by breaking into her locker and it clears everything up,"

"Can I look at it?"I asked the detective.

"Why?" he said rather aggressively, "are you thinking of wiping away the evidence since you're the one behind it?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing in that moment I forced myself to believe that I was thoroughly mistaken but the detective said it again.

"All of the evidence points to you, boy, did you think I wouldn't find out?"He stood up and looked at me like I was the root of all evil, "I know you were the one that bullied Marne Cooper,"

"What I didn't…"

"Don't even bother denying it there are witnesses, all of your classmates saw you do it."

I was quite lost for words I had called him here to find the truth not to turn it against me.

Without thinking I darted over to the diary. Surprisingly, despite his anger earlier he didn't try to stop me, I went through the diary and I noticed something, three students' names written in reverse, Marne's, Jude’s, and finally the last person I expected.

Elena Reed.

I was dismissed from the guidance counselor's office, told that the investigation was ongoing, and as I was moving through the school feeling like a ghost I heard one guard casually say to another; "Did you hear about that poor girl in the Houston auditorium? The one who got injured and fell into a coma?”

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