Odessa’s POV
The first thing I did when I woke up the next morning was smell my pillow, it had my familiar rose shampoo scent.
Then I immediately buried my face in it.
“Oh my God.” I groaned
Why was I acting like this?
I groaned into the pillow before throwing it over my head.
“Odessa!” Havana called from downstairs.
“Coming!” I shouted
I quickly got dressed for school in a red short polka dot sundress, packed my hair in a bun, grabbed my bag and hurried downstairs.
Dean looked up from his coffee as I entered the kitchen.
“Morning.” I greeted him
“Morning sunshine.”
Havana turned around with a plate of pancakes.
“Someone looks happier today.”
“I always look happy.”
Dean snorted.
“No, you don’t.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Whose side are you on?”
“My own.”
I rolled my eyes and sat down.
Havana placed breakfast in front of me before smiling mischievously.
“So” she said
“So?”
“How was the party?” She asked
Dean looked at me and I snorted
“It was… okay, just boring freshman party.”
“Just okay?” Havana asked
“Yes.”
Dean glanced up from his phone.
“I thought a guy called Landon took you home.”
I nearly choked on my orange juice.
“How do you know that?”
“Maya texted Havana so she could know in case there was any trouble.”
I slowly turned to look at Havana and she smiled sweetly.
How did they even get Havana’s number.
“They’re very informative.” She said sheepishly
I groaned.
“I need new friends.”
“You definitely do,” Dean agreed.
“They’re exposing me.” I groaned
“They’re entertaining us.”
I pointed my fork at both of them.
“I refuse to discuss this.”
Dean smirked.
“That means something happened between you and this Landon guy?.”
“Nothing happened Dean.” I snapped
“You sound defensive.”
“I am not defensive!”
Havana giggled.
“You absolutely are.”
I finished my breakfast as quickly as I could before escaping the house and ignoring their whispers.
The fresh morning air hit my face as I stepped outside, much better, I took a cab to school, letting Dean drive me meant more questions.
The moment I walked through Blackridge University’s gates, Maya spotted me.
“There she is!”
Oh no.
Naomi turned around immediately.
“Our little biker girl.”
I sighed dramatically.
“I’m leaving.”
“You literally just got here,” Maya laughed, grabbing my arm before I could walk away.
Naomi wiggled her eyebrows.
“So how was it”
“How was what?”
“What happened after you left?”
“Nothing.”
“Little Liar.”
“I am not lying.”
“You spent almost an hour alone with Landon.”
“We rode around the city.”
“Oooooo.”
I covered my face.
“Can you not make everything sound suspicious?”
Naomi grinned.
“We’re trying.”
“It isn’t working.”
“It is.”
Maya leaned closer.
“Did he hold your hand?”
“No.”
“Did he hug you?”
“No.”
“Did he kiss you?”
“What?!”
The two of them burst into laughter.
“You should’ve seen your face!” Naomi managed between laughs.
“You two are impossible.”
“We know.”
I shook my head.
“I’m never telling you anything again.”
“Because I mean it every time.”
Still laughing, the three of us walked toward our classroom.
As soon as we stepped inside, my eyes instinctively drifted toward the back row.
Towards Landon’s seat and it was empty.
I frowned, that was strange, he was usually early since we had tutor sessions immediately after the class.
“Looking for someone?” Naomi whispered.
“No.”
“You looked at his seat.”
“I was looking at… the window.”
“The window is on the other side of the room.”
“I don’t need the details.”
She laughed quietly.
The professor arrived a few minutes later and the class began.
I found myself glancing toward the door every few minutes.
Each time it opened, I looked up expectantly and each time it wasn’t him.
By the end of the lecture, his seat was still empty.
My pencil tapped restlessly against my notebook.
Maybe he overslept or maybe he was sick.
Maybe…
No.
Why was I even thinking about him this much?
I shook my head, get a grip, Odessa.
As students filed out of the classroom, I packed my books into my bag.
“He didn’t come,” I murmured without thinking.
Naomi heard me.
“You noticed?” She said in a teasing tone
“I… only because we have tutoring today.”
“Mhm.”
“That’s the only reason.”
“Mhm.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Stop saying ‘Mhm’ like that.”
She laughed.
“You like him.”
“I do not.”
“You’ve checked the door twelve times.”
I playfully elbowed her
Maya joined us.
“What’s going on?”
Naomi pointed at me.
“Our girl is worried.”
“I am not worried.”
“A little worried then?.” She asked
“Not even slightly.”
Naomi pulled out her phone.
“If you’re so concerned…”
“I’m not.”
“why don’t you text him?” She said
I blinked.
“I don’t have his number.”
She looked at me like I’d said the sky was green.
“You don’t?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
She scrolled through her contacts before turning the screen toward me.
“I do.”
I stared at her.
“Why do you have Landon’s number?”
Naomi shrugged.
“We worked on a group assignment last semester.”
“Really?”
“No.” She grinned.
“I got it from the class group chat which you would know about that, if you weren’t such a nerd.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t start.”
“Do you want it or not?”
I hesitated.
“Maybe I want it a little.”
Naomi’s grin grew even wider.
“I knew it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I told her
“You want his number.” Naomi repeated
“I said maybe.”
“Which means yes.”
Maya leaned over Naomi’s shoulder.
“Just send it to her already before she explodes.”
Naomi laughed and tapped her screen they enjoyed teasing me too much.
A second later, my phone vibrated.
Naomi: Landon Harlway.
Attached was a phone number.
I stared at it.
“So” Naomi nudged me.
“Text him.”
“I am not texting him.”
“You absolutely are.”
“I am not.”
“You’ve been worried about him all morning.”
“I have not.”
Maya folded her arms.
“Odessa.”
“What?” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
“Text him.”
I sighed dramatically.
“Fine but only because you asked.”
I opened my messages.
Unknown Number
My fingers hovered over the keyboard.
What was I even supposed to say?
Hi?
Too awkward.
Where are you?
Too clingy.
Why didn’t you come to school?
Way too clingy.
Naomi peeked over my shoulder.
“Oh my God, you’ve typed and deleted three different messages.”
“Stop looking at my phone!”
“I can’t help it.”
I sighed and quickly typed.
Odessa: Hey.
It’s Odessa.
Are you okay?
You missed school today.
I stared at the message.
“Send it,” Maya urged.
I took a deep breath and then pressed send.
The three of us immediately stared at my phone.
One second.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Nothing.
Naomi frowned.
“Maybe he’s busy.”
“Maybe.”
I slipped my phone back into my pocket.
“I wasn’t expecting a reply anyway.”
“Sure you weren’t.”
“I wasn’t.”
The rest of the morning dragged by.
Every few minutes my phone buzzed, I checked it immediately but every single time it wasn’t him.
One was an announcement from the university.
Another was a message from Havana reminding me to buy milk on my way home.
Maya sent me a ridiculous cat video.
Still nothing from Landon.
By lunchtime, I was getting annoyed.
“He could at least say he’s alive,” I muttered.
Naomi looked up from her food.
“Still no reply?”
I shook my head.
“He left me on delivered.”
Maya gasped dramatically.
“The audacity.”
“I know.”
Naomi smirked.
“Maybe he’s ignoring you.”
“He wouldn’t.”
The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
The two of them slowly looked at me.
“What?” I asked.
“You sound very confident.”
“I just mean” I sighed.
“He doesn’t seem like the type to play games.”
“He also doesn’t seem like the type to answer messages.”
“Fair.”
I looked down at my untouched lunch.
Something felt strange about this.
Landon wasn’t the kind of person to skip our sessions no matter how he loathed them for no reason.
He barely spoke, but he’d never struck me as irresponsible.
An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach.
I pulled out my phone again.
Naomi noticed.
“You’re going to wear a hole through your screen.”
“I just…”
I hesitated.
“What if something happened?”
The teasing disappeared from Maya’s face.
“Do you know where he’d be?”
I thought for a moment then I remembered the underground arena.
Could he be fighting again?
I stood up so suddenly my chair scraped loudly across the cafeteria floor.
“I think I know where he is.” I said
Naomi frowned.
“Odessa?”
I grabbed my bag.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Wait!” Maya called after me.
“Where are you going?”
I paused for only a second.
“To find someone.”
Without waiting for another question, I hurried out of the cafeteria.
My heart pounded with every step.
Maybe I was overreacting and he was just asleep.
Maybe his phone had died but if I was wrong and he was really at that place again then I needed to see for myself.