Chapter 4 Four

Aurelia's POV

The hallway was almost empty now.

Lockers slammed somewhere in the distance, footsteps echoed across the polished floor and someone laughed outside like today was just another normal day.

Funny right because my day had been anything but normal.

I'd barely taken two steps toward the main entrance when someone called my name. "Lia."

I turned.

Ezra. He looked... awful. His tie hung loose around his neck, his hair was a complete mess and the dark circles under his eyes somehow looked darker than yesterday.

He kept looking over his shoulder like he expected someone to be standing there. "You shouldn't still be here," he said quietly.

I frowned. "I could literally say the same thing to you."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

For a second, neither of us spoke. He rubbed the back of his neck before letting out a frustrated sigh. "...Come on."

Then he turned around and started walking. I blinked. “Like seriously?No explanation? Just... come on?"

"If you keep talking that loud," he muttered, "people are going to notice."

I frowned. "Notice what?"

"...Us."

I almost laughed. "Ezra, we've spoken, like... twice."

"I know."

"So why are you acting like we're planning a bank robbery?"

He didn't answer. Of course he didn't, I simply just rolled my eyes and followed him anyway.

We walked through the science corridor before he pushed open the side door leading into one of the smaller courtyards.

The place was quiet just that few students were still on the football field, but nobody was close enough to hear us.

Ezra looked around again. Honestly, it was starting to get annoying. "What?" I asked.

"What?"

"You keep looking over your shoulder."

"I'm making sure we're alone."

"...Why?"

He didn't answer again. Like did this school hand out a manual called How To Avoid Answering Questions?

He finally turned to face me. "What do you want?"

I stared at him. "...Are you seriously asking me that?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I don't know." I laughed bitterly. "Maybe an explanation?"

His jaw tightened. "I can't."

"You can."

"I won't."

"Why is that?"

He looked away. The silence stretched between us. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. "...Because you'll die."

I actually blinked. "...Excuse me?"

"If you know too much..." He swallowed. "...they'll kill you."

I waited half expecting him to laugh or to say he was joking but didn't. He just looked terrified.

"You actually believe that," I said quietly.

"I know it."

Something about the way he said it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I don't think he wasn't trying to scare me when he was literally scared himself.

“Wait, are you trying to tell me you know who's been sending me those messages or the ones who wrote on my mirror and you know what this means."

I reached into my blazer pocket and unfolded the piece of paper I'd been carrying around since yesterday. Three overlapping circles.

The moment Ezra saw it every bit of colour drained from his face. He snatched the paper from my hand so fast that I jumped. "Where did you get this?"

"My locker."

"When?"

"Yesterday."

His breathing became uneven. His fingers tightened around the paper until it crumpled. "Lia..."

He looked around the courtyard again then back at me."...Did anyone else see this?"

"No."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

He closed his eyes. For a few seconds, he didn't speak. When he opened them again he looked even more frightened. "Burn it."

I frowned. "What?"

"I said burn it."

"It's just a piece of paper."

"No." His voice came out sharper than before. "It's not."

I stared at him. "...You're actually serious."

He nodded. "Burn it."

"But why?"

"I can't tell you."

"Oh, come on!"

"I'm serious!"

"So am I!" The words echoed around the empty courtyard.

We both froze. Ezra immediately looked around again as his breathing quickened then he looked back at me. "...Please."

That one word caught me off guard. Why is he begging me to burn it?

I looked from the paper in his hand... back to him. "...You're begging me."

He didn't answer. His eyes stayed on the paper like it was the worst thing he'd ever seen.

I let out a slow breath. "You know what?This is getting ridiculous."

He looked up.

"I've got anonymous messages showing up on my phone, somebody writing on my mirror, somebody breaking into my locker and now you're telling me to burn a piece of paper without giving me one good reason."

"I know."

"No, you don't."

"I do."

"Then explain it!"

"I can't."

I laughed not because anything was funny but because I was frustrated. "You keep saying that."

"It's the truth."

"No." I shook my head. "It's an excuse. What does this symbol mean? Who keeps sending me those messages? And why me?"

"What are you so scared of?" I asked quietly.

He stayed silent for so long that I thought he wasn't going to answer.

Then...

"I'm scared..." He swallowed."...that history is about to repeat itself."

I frowned. "What history?"

The second the words left my mouth. His expression changed to regret like he had said too much. "I have to go."

"What?"

He shoved the crumpled paper back into my hand. "Forget this conversation."

"You literally just said—"

"If anyone asks..." He hesitated. "...we never spoke." Then he turned around.

"Ezra!"

He didn't stop. I watched him disappear back into the school building. Fucking unbelievable, I looked down at the paper still clutched in my hand.

Three overlapping circles is just a stupid drawing. Slowly, I folded it and slipped it back into my pocket.

Burn it? Yeah that wasn't happening until I found out why he was so terrified of it.

And for the first time since transferring to Lincoln High… I had a feeling the answers weren't going to be found in textbooks.