Genius (CENTURIES series: Book #2)

30

Mia was actually shaking uncontrollably as she paced the floor.

7pm. That's when they said he'd be dropped off. It was 6.58pm right now.

Caleb was sitting on the couch with Elana, talking invigoratingly with her in their ASL language while he made sure she ate her green beans. Zoe was there for moral support as well, sitting in one of the bar chairs with her laptop, typing something. Mia couldn't keep her mind focused long enough to figure out what it was.

6.59pm.

Her stomach was churning. Fiddling with the long sleeves of her black shirt, she managed to pull a thread out and tangle it around her finger. That's when she realized, even her hands were shaking.

Nobody spoke. They were all anxious to seeing Eli again, so none of them really knew what to say. Mia's mouth was too dry to speak anyway.

7pm.

Mia paced to her window and looked out, wanting to see a car or something pull up. But nothing; the street was deserted.

Summoning all her strength, Mia cleared her throat. "Shouldn't he be here by now?"

"Maybe there's traffic. I won't punish them for going one minute over time," Caleb replied, still looking at Elana. "Just try and relax, sit down. Have some water, maybe."

She couldn't even get a substance as easy flowing as water down. She was that nervous. What if they somehow managed to find a loophole in Caleb's contract? What if they'd relocated and taken him away for good? What if—

Plink!

"Who is writing?!" Mia jumped to Zoe's side, grabbing on to the table for support when her head started spinning.

"Jesus, M, chill," Zoe said, looking startled by her jumpiness. She then looked at her laptop. A black box popped up with the single letter A on it. "It's him again."

"What's he saying?"

Zoe opened the message and translated his weird slang. "Your friend is at Low Point. He went there after they dropped him off. – A."

Mia felt her heart sink.

He went straight to the club. No hello's, no 'good to see you again'. Not even as much as a simple text. She understood that he wasn't too pleased to see her, but you'd think he would at least be excited to see Caleb again. But no. He just went straight for the club.

"I'll go down there," Caleb sighed, setting Elana down after placing a kiss on top of her head. "See how he's doing. You alright with that?"

Mia nodded. She wanted to come, but... she couldn't. She was afraid of what she'd find him doing there. She didn't think she could handle walking in on him kissing or sleeping with a stranger.

That thought made her shudder and made tears press in the corner of her eye. What if that was in fact what he was doing?

"How about I take Elana for the night?" Zoe suggested when Mia sat down on her couch, feeling empty inside. "I think maybe, uh... Mia could use a little alone time."

Caleb who had been putting on his sneakers looked up and shot a look at Mia. "What? Oh, right! Sure. I'm sure Elana wouldn't mind, she loves smurfs."