Chapter 42: #FORTY-TWO

Nicholas’s POV

There’s only one way to find out.

Elijah’s words lingered in my mind long after the room became silent. I lay on my side, staring at the wall while my mind continued to run with different thoughts, refusing to let me rest.

Every time I convinced myself that Jayden couldn’t possibly be the one behind everything, another memory surfaced to prove me wrong. The hoodie, the scent that matched the intruder’s, the way he always seemed to appear exactly when I needed someone, the photograph of him and his brother.

Had I ignored every warning because I was desperate to have a friend who understood what it meant to be an omega? I hated that I couldn’t answer that question anymore because I desperately wanted to believe he wasn’t the one.

I didn’t realize how tense I had become until Elijah slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me back against him. "You’re still awake," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.

I simply nodded, unable to find the energy to pretend otherwise.

He hummed under his breath, adjusted the blanket over both of us and rested his chin lightly against my shoulder. "We’ll go tomorrow," he said after a while. "We’ll ask him ourselves."

Right.

I let out a slow breath. That was exactly what I needed to hear. Whether Jayden was innocent or guilty, I wanted the truth more than anything. Eventually, the exhaustion dragged me under and everything went dark as I slept off.

********

The sunlight filtering in through the curtains woke me up the next morning. My body still felt sore from everything that had happened the previous night, but at least the unbearable burning sensation from the previous day had disappeared completely.

I sat on the edge of Elijah’s bed while rubbing the sleep from my eyes, surprised that I could finally move without feeling like my skin was on fire.

Elijah had already changed into his uniform by the time I stood up, and he watched me carefully as if he expected me to collapse at any second. "You sure you’re alright?" he asked while tossing my folded uniform onto the bed.

"I don’t think I’d survive another day in this room if everyone keeps asking me that," I muttered, earning a small laugh from him.

"Humorous again. That’s a good sign." He muttered under his breath.

"It’s also a sign that I’m starving." I groaned.

"Then hurry up before breakfast disappears."

We headed downstairs together, only to find the dining room quiet. Roman, Adrian and Cassian had already left for work, leaving behind nothing but empty plates. One of the maids informed us that they’d been called away earlier than usual, though Roman had specifically reminded everyone to keep an eye on me before leaving.

How pleasant.

Breakfast didn’t take too long thankfully. I found that I didn’t want to eat much and Elijah just went through our plan again.

We weren’t going to accuse Jayden the moment we saw him no matter how Elijah was tempted by the idea. We were going to watch him, ask questions and see how he reacted. If there really was an explanation for everything, I wanted to hear it from him before believing the worst.

Since I still got carsick far too easily, we left the mansion on foot. The morning air was cool, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth from yesterday’s rain, and for a while neither of us spoke as we made our way through the streets leading to school.

It wasn’t until we crossed the intersection near the bakery that Elijah finally glanced at me with an expression that was between disbelief and concern. "I still can’t believe you followed him."

"Hm?"

"The first time you went to his place." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "You barely knew him, Nick."

I frowned. "He invited me over."

"And you just... went?" He sighed. "It still baffles me. Because I wouldn’t."

"I didn’t think it was a big deal."

"It wasn’t a big deal?" He stopped walking altogether, forcing me to stop with him. "His neighborhood is practically abandoned. Hardly anyone lives there, the buildings are old, and there aren’t even many shops nearby. You followed someone you’d met a few days earlier into a place like that without telling anyone where you were going."

"When you put it like that..." I sighed.

"I’m serious."

I sighed, looking away. "He was the first omega I’d met in a long time. He understood things other people didn’t. I guess... I felt comfortable around him."

Elijah’s expression softened, though only slightly. "I get that," he admitted. "I really do. But let’s be real, and for your safety, comfort is exactly what people like stalkers take advantage of."

I couldn’t say anything or think up a snarky remark. Because he was right.

For the rest of the walk, neither of us mentioned Jayden again.

The day dragged by painfully and I felt oddly uncomfortable and anxious. I spent half the morning glancing toward the classroom door whenever footsteps echoed through the hallway, expecting Jayden to stroll in late with one of his awkward apologies. But the universe seemed out to embarrass me today. His seat remained empty through every lesson, and even our teacher commented on his unexpected absence before continuing as though nothing was wrong.

By lunch break, I was already searching for him.

I checked the cafeteria first, the library and even the small courtyard where we’d spoken a few times after class, but everywhere stood completely empty.

The longer the day went on, the more I became more anxious.

When the final bell finally rang, I practically hurried toward the front gate where Elijah was already waiting for me. The moment he saw my face, he knew. "He wasn’t there?"

I shook my head. "You?"

"Nothing either."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone before I could overthink it. Elijah watched silently as I searched through my contacts and pressed Jayden’s name.

The call barely rang twice before he picked.

"Nicholas?" Jayden answered, his voice sounding unusually weak.

My shoulders relaxed without me realizing it. "Jayden? Where are you? You weren’t in school."

A cough interrupted him before he answered. "I’m home... Sorry. I wasn’t feeling well enough to come."

"You sound terrible." I pointed out, trying not to let my voice crack.

"I’ve had a fever since last night."

I exchanged a quick glance with Elijah before speaking again. "Do you want me to come check on you?"

There was a brief pause before he spoke. "...You’d do that?"

"Of course."

He gave another cough, then cleared his throat. "Alright." He gave me his address again to make sure I didn’t make a mistake, before ending the call.

"What did he say?" Elijah asked.

I put my phone back in my pocket. "He’s sick."

"Sick enough to miss school?" Elijah raised a brow.

"That’s what he said."

"And you’re going to his house?"

I nodded. "I’ll go by myself."

"No." He didn’t waste any time.

I blinked. "What?"

"I said no."

"Elijah—"

"There’s a stalker taking pictures of you. Someone broke into our house. Someone poisoned you yesterday. The maids disappeared. Are you insane?" His voice remained calm, but there wasn’t the slightest chance of changing his mind. "You’re not going anywhere alone."

"I wasn’t asking for permission." I scowled.

"And I’m not giving you the chance."

I stared at him for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh. "Goddess, you’re impossible."

Elijah smirked. "So I’ve been told."

We left school together, following the route Jayden had described. The further we walked, the quieter everything became.

Elijah looked around with growing disbelief. "You actually came here alone?"

"I already told you—"

"No, seriously." He looked at the nearly empty street ahead of us. "If something happened here, who would’ve even heard you?"

"I didn’t know it was this isolated." I wrapped my hands around myself.

"You didn’t notice?" He hissed, looking around in disbelief.

"I was focused on following Jayden."

He rubbed a hand over his face. "You’re either incredibly trusting..."

"Or incredibly stupid?" I offered.

"I was trying to be nice so no."

"I’ll say it for you." I rolled my eyes.

He sighed. "I just don’t want you getting hurt again."

Yeah, well, it wasn’t exactly fun for me either.

A few minutes later, we reached the familiar apartment building. It looked exactly as I remembered last time with old paint peeling from the walls, cracked concrete steps leading to the entrance and windows that sported webs.

I walked up the porch and knocked.

Several seconds passed before slow footsteps approached the door. When it finally opened, my heart sank.

Jayden looked awful. His cheeks were flushed bright red, his usually neat hair was a complete mess and dark circles were evident under his tired eyes that struggled to stay open. He was wrapped in a thick blanket, and another cough escaped him before he managed a weak smile. "You actually came..."

"Jayden..." I stepped inside immediately. "You’re burning up."

"I’m fine." He tried to choke back a cough.

"No, you’re not."

"I’ve been worse." He managed a small smile.

I placed the back of my hand against his forehead and immediately pulled it away again. "You’re seriously running a fever."

"I’m alright."

"You need a hospital."

The smile disappeared from his face. "No."

"Jayden—"

"I said no." He said firmly and the firmness in his voice surprised even Elijah.

Jayden lowered his gaze, clutching the blanket a little tighter around himself.

"They don’t treat omegas kindly there," he said quietly. "Especially ones like me who don’t have much money. They’ll make me wait for hours while everyone else goes first."

Oh.

Even Elijah had no response.

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat before changing the subject. "Can we sit down?"

Jayden nodded weakly. As we moved into the small living room, his eyes finally settled on Elijah. "I... wasn’t expecting you."

"I’m Elijah."

"I know who you are." Jayden offered a faint smile. "It’s just... I didn’t think an alpha would come all this way for someone like me."

"I’m here for Nicholas." Elijah deadpanned.

"I figured."

The atmosphere remained awkward for several moments before I finally gathered the courage to ask the question that had brought us here. "Jayden..."

"Hm?"

"I wanted to ask you something about your brother."

His expression changed almost immediately. "My brother?"

"Yeah." I slowly looked around the room as I searched for the photograph he’d proudly shown me during my first visit.

The small cabinet beneath the window was still there, the books were still stacked exactly the same, even the old clock was still ticking against the wall.

But the framed portrait? It was gone.