Chapter 21
The thought of seeing Killian was like an overwhelming pressure inside of Kiara's chest that stopped her heart every time and it wasn't in the good way either. It made her stomach drop and her knees grow weak. She didn't have the strength in her to put up a face that she was unbothered when in reality it felt as if her entire world had been flipped upside down and flushed down the toilet. So when her alarm went off in the morning to remind her of combat training, she switched it off and spent the two hours sitting in bed. Once her mind was more awake and her body was fueled by coffee, she dressed for the day and headed out for the rest of her classes.
However, as soon as she arrived at second period, the same hollow feeling that had been swimming in her heart for days like an abandoned boat came crashing against the shores. Kiara stopped in the doorway of the classroom and looked inside, her eyes instantly landing on Killian. He looked up and caught her gaze, holding his breath and waiting for her to walk inside.
"Kiara," Hayden said from where he scribbled down the date on the board. "Let's go. Take a seat."
Automatically, Kiara's feet took a step out of the classroom. Hayden stopped and raised a brow as she turned on her heels and walked out of class for the second time in a week.
Every instinct in Killian's body told him to go after her. It was his second nature to be worried about Kiara. His chest tightened and his head began to spin as he listened to the clicks of her heels marching away outside in the halls.
"I thought the student handbook says we can't miss more than two days of unexcused absences," Shelby raised her hand high in the hair. "This puts Kiara at like seven."
"The student handbook also says to mind your own fuckin' business, Shelby," Killian's eyes darkened.
The girl flipped her hair over her shoulder and glared at Killian before Hayden snapped his fingers and called back their attention.
Do you want to go check on her, Hayden asked as he created a temporary mind-link to Killian.
Ah, Killian shook his head and shivered. I hate it when you people do this. Get out of my head.
Hayden capped the marker in his hand and tossed it aside. He shot Killian a quick glance only to find the guy rubbing his temples as if he had a massive headache. Deciding to leave him alone, Hayden picked up the packet for the day and moved on to the lesson.
The 45 minutes of class blew by for some while it dragged like torture for others. Kiara roamed the gardens outside the dome in the cool autumn morning taking comfort in the sunlight for the first time in her life. She wrapped her arms around herself and counted the leaves she crushed under her feet. After a while, when she had made it far away from the place to avoid any students, she sat down on a bench and pulled out her phone.
Where are you? Read the first text from Killian. Are you okay?
She scrolled down from the start of the day to the last text he had sent just a few minutes ago.
Kia, I know I upset you. But please just talk to me.
Kiara felt her eyes begin to water. She switched off her phone and tossed it into her purse. There was nothing she wanted to talk to him about. She wasn't angry or upset or mad.....she was simply empty. She didn't know what she felt. The only thing that was constant was the dull ache that came whenever she thought about Killian. And along with that came an overwhelming sense of tiredness that made her want to lay down and never leave her bed.
Sitting under the fall sun, Kiara filled her lungs with the fresh air and stretched her legs. She had ditched her heels for a comfortable pair of brown riding boots. The white knee high socks she wore ruffled around her knees as she leaned back on the bench. After several more silent minutes when the bell inside the dome rang, Kiara gathered herself up and stood. She didn't have class with Killian for the rest of the day. It was time for her to go back.
