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"—I gave him my heart, and he took and pinched it to death; and flung it back to me. People feel with their hearts, Ellen, and since he has destroyed mine, I have not power to feel for him." Alice spoke up.

I looked at her and raised my brows. "You should go for theater arts, you know."

Her serene expression changed into a wide grin. "I know, right! Mom says that all the time."

I gave her a small smile and rubbed my face with my hands, trying to wipe off the exhaustion as well. The whole classroom was filled up with murmurs as Mr Davis walked around, motivating everyone for the assignment he had given us.

I looked down at my book.

"Am I the only one who hasn't actually read this book?" Alice asked in a hushed whisper, just so Mr Davis wouldn't hear her.

I shrugged in response. I had only read the first half of it, but I did know what happened throughout the book. I knew the start, I knew the end.

"How did your cheerleading practice go today?" I asked her, mainly trying to talk about something else other than the novel in our hands. I wasn't a fan of literature, but it had seemed appealing back when I was choosing my subjects.

"Oh, it went fine. Though there wasn't one second when Natalie wasn't chatting about her mysterious boyfriend." She told me with an eye roll. Alice rarely did eye rolls.

I smiled at that.

I had known that Natalie would be getting on her nerves sooner or later.

"She was constantly bragging on and on about how hot he is. And how amazing he is. And blah blah." She leaned back against her chair.

I saw Mr Davis walking over towards another pair, a boy and a girl on my right, reviewing the points they had jotted down on the paper. When I looked back at Alice, I noticed that she was giving me a weird look now; her eyes squinted and her brows furrowed together as she looked at me.

"What?"

"Nothing." She looked away. There was clearly something on her tongue that she wasn't spilling.

I frowned at that. Strangely, she remained silent, looking over at the board.

"As different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire." She murmured, repeating the words Mr Davis had written on the board. Then she looked at me again. "It was Lucius, wasn't it?"

I blinked, slightly taken aback. "What?"

"You went out of town with him." She said.

I inhaled slowly, not sure where she was getting at. I didn't even know how I'd explain this to her. I really didn't want to. Especially since Luca and I hadn't parted ways...in a nice way yesterday.

"Why did you stop being best friends?" She asked, straightening up and looking at me with questioning eyes.

"We...didn't." I scrunched up my nose lightly.

God, please don't ask more.

"Really?" She laughed at that. "Well, you both don't act like best friends if you ask me."

I didn't say anything.

Luca knew that my parents were dead—all thanks to Chase Denver and his stupid note back at that café. I hadn't meant to tell him. Not like this, not too soon. Not when he still despised me.

But he knew now. And the tense silence around us had been too much. He hadn't asked anything, not even a single thing, as if he hadn't even read that note in the first place.

I hadn't seen him after that car ride. I mean, I did see him in my classes. But he acted like I wasn't there, just like before.

And maybe I was fearing this reaction from him all along. Maybe that's why I never told him about any of this.

"Grace." Alice's voice made me break out from my crowded thoughts. "Natalie told me how inseparable you both were two years ago."

I looked away from her brown eyes. Alice knew about Luca and me. Alice knew how I had left this place two years ago. But still, she hasn't asked the reasons. Not yet.

I wasn't so sure about now.

"Did you two like break up or something?" She asked.

"Break up?" I looked at her in bewilderment.

"You know what I mean." She said. "You both stopped being friends just because you left?"

I pushed back my hair away from my face, not looking at her. I really didn't know what to say. "I...didn't tell any of them that I was leaving."

I saw her eyes widening a little. "Not even Lucius?"

I'd like to believe that I did tell him. But I had been drunk the night before I had left for Manhattan. I didn't remember any conversation that had happened between Luca and me. I didn't remember anything.

A slight ache grew in my chest. I wished I remembered but at the same time, I was glad that I didn't.

I was about to say something when a voice spoke up outside from the school speakers,

"Grace Collins, report to the Principal's Office please."

Mr Davis looked at me with raised brows, Alice too. And so did half of the class.

Geez.

"You may go, Grace." Mr Davis nodded. "Everyone, continue back with the work I've assigned you. Come on!"

I frowned slightly and stood up, picking up my bag as well since this class was about to end in the next few minutes anyway.

"I'll meet you in the parking lot." I told Alice before exiting the classroom.

I didn't know why they were calling me. I didn't know what this was even about.

Guess there was just one way to find out.

•••••

"This is Dr Blackwell." The Principal, Mr Holland, spoke. "She's from the New York Department of Science and Researches."

I looked at the auburn haired woman standing in front of me. Surprisingly, she kept the warm smile on her face. Dressed in skin tight blue jeans and a neatly pressed white shirt.

But there was this something about the way she was looking at me–

"Okay?" I asked, looking back at the Principal. Mr Holland was exactly the same as I had seen him two years ago, at the start of my high school. Though he looked a bit old.

"She's here to meet you, Ms Collins." He raised his brows, giving me a small smile.

Meet me?

"I know you must be confused, honey." The woman spoke up for the first time actually, apart from smiling at me for the past few minutes since I came here in this office. "But I came here to have a talk with you."

I looked at her then back at Mr Holland. He remained seated in his chair, nodding at me encouragingly.

"Um, I don't know you." I started. "And I actually have my classes right now."

She was nodding even before I finished that sentence. Her auburn hair were tied up in a long ponytail. She looked beautiful, except for the heavy rimmed black glasses on her face.

"Yes, I'm aware of that. Principal Holland told me about your classes." She smiled again. "But I have few stuff to talk to you about. It will hardly take a couple of minutes."

I frowned at that. I swear to God, I had no idea why she was even here in the first place.

"May we go over to the reception area and talk?" The way she said that last word made my stomach knot itself uneasily.

But her smile was polite, which confused me even more.

"All right, I guess." I said.

Once we were seated on one of the peach couches in the school reception area, I realized that she couldn't really mean any threat to me. The office lady's desk was few steps away from me. The school counsellor's office was on my right.

I was safe.

"So, Grace." She spoke up in her smooth voice. It was sickly sweet but professional at the same time. "I'm sure you do know what the New York Department of Sciences is all about?"

Dr Blackwell. New York Department.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, Dr Blackwell." I replied, pulling my hoodie sleeves over my wrists cautiously.

She smiled and I saw her perfect white teeth. "You can call me Cynthia, honey."

Her calling me honey was so not welcomed. I don't know why, something about her just didn't seem right to me.

"The Science Department is all about...well, science." She laughed lightly at that. I didn't even smile. "You must know a little bit about it. It's where the best of the scientists and biologists and even paramedics are appointed."

Biologist.

"How do you know my name?" I asked her, urging myself not to stand up and place some distance between us.

Maybe I was just imagining, or maybe I really did see her brown eyes darkening a bit at that.

"Your father, Marcus Collins, was quite popular in our department." She smiled.

I did stand up then. "I don't have anything to talk about my father. If you're one of his coworkers, I'm sure you know–"

"That he is dead." She finished, standing up as well and facing me. If it weren't for her black heels, she really wouldn't have towered over me.

I clenched my jaw, glaring at her. However, she seemed totally unfazed.

"Your father died mysteriously along with your mother in the woods of Manhattan, after his last mutation-research trip. Heart attack, they say." She raised her brow challenging at me. I could barely see anything polite about her anymore. "But Grace, do you really believe your parent's death was just an accident?"

I didn't say anything. Her mere presence was making my blood boil.

"I know you don't, honey."

"Stop calling me that." I finally spoke up, which was more of an angry hiss. "Why are you here? What do you want?"

She smiled at that, as if she had been waiting for that specific question. "Your father worked in our department. He was a really good man, and a biologist. So much devoted to his work." She said. "I can help you find out why he died. How he died."

I felt my gut clenching in response.

"Why would you do that?" I asked her.

She sighed at that. "Like I said, he was greatly respected among us. The least we could do is give him justice for his murder."

I realized how odd it must be looking to the office lady who was just few steps away from us, but she seemed busy in her work.

"Dad never talked about you." I crossed my arms.

"I know, Gracie." She smiled, emphasizing on my name. "But he talked a lot about you."

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Hey guys, I know how I accidentally published this chap before. I'm so sorry for that. I had published it without meaning to. But anyways, here it is ♥

Make sure to click the ★ below ↓ if you liked this chapter.

Xoxo,

Crystal 🌿