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The calm, soft expression on his face melted away, hardening as his eyes narrowed. “Alright. Alright, yeah, I’m on my way.” The phone beeped as he hung up. “I’m sorry, I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you tomorrow though, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll be here tomorrow. I’ve got a couple classes. Not going anywhere, I promise.”
“I look forward to it, then.” He smiled and left.
A rush of emotions hit me, and I had to remember exactly how to breathe. Had today really happened? What were the chances that I’d run into him again?
Surely what Kat heard about Damien couldn’t be true. He’d been so kind to me. There was no way he could be the person Kat believed him to be. I’d have believed that about Barrett, but Damien was different.
Some part of me craved his companionship, and I wanted to get to know him, get closer to him. I wanted to know what made him smile the way he did when he looked at me, what made him laugh. I climbed into my car to head home, all the fear and reservations that Kat had instilled in me melting away.
Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough.
4
Morning came too fast.
I walked through the campus again. My eyes were heavy, and I’d made a poor attempt to hide the dark circles with copious amounts of concealer and foundation.
It wasn’t enough though.
I’d lost track of time working on my portrait of Kat. It wasn’t until close to four in the morning when I’d pulled myself from my easel to stretch, when I’d seen the clock. I needed to set a cut off alarm from now on; I always got too absorbed in drawing.
Then to make matters worse, I slept through my alarm. Needless to say, this morning had been a rush out the door, and my hair sat in a messy bun atop my head, stray curls hanging down against my cheeks and neck.
Kat and Cody were already sitting at our usual spot, chatting with one another. I glanced around to see if Damien and his group were at their spot from the day before. Sadly, there was no one there. Maybe he didn’t have classes until later in the day. I couldn’t fight the disappointment that swelled in my chest.
Wait, what was I doing?Chill out, Cas, you don’t even know him.
Why was I worried about whether he was there or not? It wasn’t like I had any ties to him or his group. Damien was just an acquaintance at this point. There was no way I was the kind of person Damien would call a friend, though part of me hoped I was.
I brushed it off and continued over toward Kat and Cody. If anyone had the ability to perk me up and give me a reason to keep going, it would be Kat.
Unfortunately, the sight of them together, did little for my mood.
“Good morning, Cas.” Kat’s voice was like the chirp of a canary. How she was so alive and awake this early was a mystery to me. If only I could bottle some of her energy for myself, I might not be so unsociable at this hour.
“Good morning,” I groaned. In all honesty, I’d been tempted to skip class today. However, I couldn’t bring myself to ditch on the second day, so I pushed through my exhaustion.
“Late night?” Cody asked, wrapping his arms around Kat’s waist as he peered over her shoulder.
“Yeah. I lost track of time working on that portrait of you, Kat.”
Her eyes lit up. “I can’t wait to see it finished!”
Piercing pain shot through me suddenly, stabbing through my ribs into my chest and I had to force myself to breathe. A terrifying realization crossed over me, and I paused for a moment at the creeping sensation sinking into my chest.
Oh God…
I’d left my meds on the counter in my bathroom, had forgotten to take them before I left. I must have been too tired to remember when I’d barely made it out of the house in time. My hand came to my chest instinctively as my heart pounded.
This is bad. Not now. Please not now.Without my meds in my system, I was at risk of another heart attack, and I couldn’t afford to let that happen, not here. Not in front of them.
“Cas, are you ok?” Kat asked, concern overtaking her cheerful expression. Her words made me aware of my involuntary movements.
“Oh, yeah. It’s just some heartburn.” I needed to get out of here. “Hey, I just realized I forgot something important for class at home. Can you cover for me?” I started toward my car before she could respond. “Tell the teacher I’ll be a little bit late!”
Kat hesitated but agreed, still confused. “Oh, ok. I’ll see you when you get back!”
