Chapter 34
Chapter 34 (Eleanor’s POV)
I didn’t sleep much that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the hospital hallway.
Heard the alarms.
Felt the heavy footsteps chasing me.
Even when I finally drifted off for a few minutes, my dreams were full of shadows and locked doors.
---
By morning, I felt like a ghost walking through the house.
Mom noticed, of course.
She kept glancing at me while she made breakfast.
"You feeling okay, baby?" she asked.
I forced a small smile, trying not to make her worry more.
"Just tired," I said, poking at my toast.
She didn’t push.
She just kissed my forehead and handed me a mug of coffee before rushing off to her shift.
---
Chris was already gone.
Soccer practice, probably.
The house felt too big.
Too empty.
Like even the walls knew I was carrying something heavy.
---
At school, the halls were packed as usual.
Students laughing, bumping shoulders, complaining about pop quizzes and cafeteria food.
Normal life.
I slid into the crowd, keeping my head down.
I just needed to get through the day.
Focus.
Lay low.
---
Lena caught up with me at my locker, breathless.
"Mike’s an idiot," she said without even saying hello.
I smiled weakly.
"Again?"
She rolled her eyes dramatically.
"He forgot my assignment. It's literallydue today. Now, I have to start seeing another Professor again."
I stared at her.
"You literally reminded him every day last week."
"I know," she huffed.
"And he still forgot."
I patted her arm gently.
"You deserve better."
She gave a small, sad smile.
"I know. Just... tired of fighting all the time."
I nodded, feeling the weight of everything settle deeper in my chest.
---
We walked to class together.
Lena talked nonstop about Mike, about school, about her mom’s new diet obsession.
I listened with half an ear, my mind somewhere else.
Still stuck in that cold, echoing hallway.
Still clutching that file with Alex’s name on it.
---
After second period, Lena had to rush off to a meeting with a professor about an overdue project.
I told her I’d grab lunch and meet her later.
I wandered to the cafeteria alone, feeling more out of place than ever.
---
That’s when she appeared.
A girl I didn’t recognize.
She was standing by the vending machines, struggling to pull a bag of chips free from the metal coil.
She looked up as I passed.
Offered a sheepish smile.
"Stupid thing ate my money," she said, kicking the machine lightly.
I gave a small laugh, mostly out of politeness.
"Yeah, they do that a lot."
She grinned and extended her hand.
"Claire," she said. "Transfer student. Just moved here last week."
I hesitated a second before shaking her hand.
"Nell."
"Cool name," Claire said easily.
"You eating alone?"
I shrugged.
"Guess so."
"Mind if I join?"
She smiled again, wide and friendly.
Too friendly.
But maybe I was just being paranoid.
Maybe after everything, my brain was wired to see threats where there weren’t any.
---
We sat at a table by the windows.
Claire chatted easily, talking about moving here from New York, how different London felt, how she missed her old coffee shop back home.
I nodded along, feeling myself relax just a little.
She was easy to talk to.
Almost too easy.
---
"So," Claire said after a while, picking at her fries, "what do you do for fun around here? Clubs? Sports?"
I shook my head.
"Mostly studying."
She laughed.
"Smart girl. I like it."
Her eyes sparkled, but there was something sharp behind them.
Something I couldn’t quite place.
---
She leaned forward slightly.
"So, Nell... you been around campus a lot lately?"
I stiffened before I could stop myself.
Claire noticed.
Her smile widened slightly.
"I mean," she said quickly, "everyone says there’s, like, a million secret tunnels and abandoned buildings around here. Total ghost town vibes."
She laughed again, light and casual.
But my stomach twisted.
Was she fishing?
Or just being friendly?
I forced a laugh.
"Maybe," I said.
"Wouldn’t know. I’m usually too busy failing math."
She laughed, tapping her notebook against the table.
"Same here."
---
When lunch ended, she waved cheerfully.
"See you around, Nell."
I nodded, watching her disappear into the crowd.
A weird feeling crawled up my spine.
Something was off.
I couldn’t prove it.
Couldn’t explain it.
But something about Claire’s questions stuck in my mind like a splinter.
---
When I met Lena later for chemistry class, she was too distracted ranting about Mike again to notice my weird mood.
Which was fine.
I didn’t want to talk about it.
Not yet.
Not until I knew for sure if I was being paranoid.
Or if I had just made my first mistake.
A big one.
---
After school, I walked home alone.
The air was cold.
The clouds were heavy.
I zipped my jacket up higher and shoved my hands into my pockets.
---
When I got home, the house was empty again.
Mom was still at work.
Chris at soccer practice.
I dropped my bag by the door and went straight to my room.
Locked the door behind me.
---
I pulled the file out from under my mattress and spread it across the bed.
Pages of data.
Photos.
Graphs.
Proof that Alex and I were connected.
Proof that someone had tried to erase it.
---
I flipped through the pages, heart heavy.
Everything felt bigger now.
More dangerous.
And I was still just one girl trying to fight against something massive and dark and hidden.
---
My phone buzzed.
A new text.
Blocked number.
"She’s too curious. Watch her."
I stared at the screen, my blood running cold.
This wasn’t a warning.
This was surveillance.
Someone was watching me.
Tracking me.
Maybe even here already.
---
I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to throw my phone across the room.
Instead, I turned it off completely and shoved it into a drawer.
I couldn’t afford to panic.
Not now.
---
I sat down on my bed, the papers spread out like a map of a broken world.
Claire’s face flashed through my mind again.
Her easy smiles.
Her too-casual questions.
Her sparkling eyes watching me too closely.
---
I didn’t know for sure.
Not yet.
But deep down, in the pit of my stomach, I knew I had made a mistake.
I had let someone get too close.
And now?
Now it was only a matter of time before everything I was fighting for slipped through my fingers.
---
But I wasn’t giving up.
Not yet.
Not ever.
Because Alex was out there.
Waiting.
Needing me.
And I wasn’t going to let anyone — not Mr. Reed, not fake friends, not even my own fear — stop me from finding him.
Not now.
Not ever.