Chapter 66: #SIXTY-SIX

NICHOLAS’S POV

I shoved the package into my bag and left the restroom, still trying to decide what I was supposed to make of it. I didn’t have time to stand there studying it again.

The medication had taken the edge off the discomfort enough for me to think clearly, and the longer I remained in that hallway, the more likely someone was to notice that I’d been hiding in the restroom for so long.

I adjusted my bag over my shoulder and stepped into the corridor, immediately scanning the students around me. Elijah was the first person I thought of.

He had spent the entire morning following me, and considering how determined he’d been lately to get back into my good graces, leaving something I needed for me was exactly the sort of thing he might have done. It would have been irritating, but at least it would have been an explanation.

It had to be him.

I stopped a student walking past and asked if he’d seen Elijah. He pointed toward the other end of the building, saying he’d seen him around the stairs earlier, so I thanked him and headed in that direction. I had to ask another student before I finally spotted Elijah near one of the lecture halls.

He was talking to two other students, but the moment he noticed me approaching, he stopped paying attention to them.

I didn’t bother waiting for him to finish whatever conversation he was having. I caught his arm and pulled him away from the group, ignoring the confused looks that followed us until we were far enough away that nobody could hear what we were saying. "I need to ask you something."

Elijah looked at my hand around his arm before looking back at me. "You could have just asked me in front of them, you didn’t have to drag me all the way here."

I lowered my voice. "I didn’t want them listening."

His expression became more serious. "What happened?"

I opened my bag and showed him the edge of the package. "Did you leave this for me?"

He stared at it for a moment, then looked at me with genuine confusion. "What is it?"

A frown pulled at my lips. Was he playing dumb with me now? "You know exactly what I’m talking about."

"I don’t." He looked genuinely confused.

I pulled the package out and held it between us. "Someone left this outside the restroom. It’s the medication I told you about."

Elijah’s eyes widened slightly. "You didn’t buy it?"

This time, I paused, confusion clouding my features. "I went to the store this morning. They didn’t have it."

"Then who gave it to you?"

"That’s what I’m asking you."

He shook his head immediately. "It wasn’t me."

I watched him carefully, waiting for some sign that he was lying, but he looked more confused than defensive. He took the package from my hand and examined it, turning it over to check the sides before giving it back. "Where exactly did you find this?"

"Outside the restroom." I repeated.

"Did you see anyone leaving?" He asked.

"No."

Slowly, he looked at the package again. "Did anyone approach you after you found it?"

I shook my head. "No, I just used it."

He looked toward the hallway, thinking. "You should have told me immediately before you used it."

I laughed under my breath. "And why would I do that?"

He sighed. "Because someone gave you medication without telling you who they were."

"And?"

"And you have a stalker." He turned to me, a scowl on his face.

That silenced me.

Elijah continued before I could dismiss him. "You know that someone has been following you, sending you messages and taking pictures of you without your knowledge. Now, on the same day you discover that the medication you need is unavailable, someone leaves a supply for you in a place where they know you’ll find it. You can’t seriously think that’s something we should ignore."

I folded my arms, suddenly feeling more defensive. "I didn’t say I was going to ignore it."

"Then what are you going to do?"

I paused. "Figure out who left it."

"By yourself?"

I slid the package back into my bag. "Yes."

Elijah stared at me for a few seconds, then sighed. "You really don’t trust anyone."

I offered him a firm shake of my head. "Not enough to hand them everything I’m dealing with."

"But this is dangerous."

"So you’ve finally realized that?" I scoffed.

His face tightened, but he didn’t argue.

I looked away, my mind returning to what the storekeeper had said that morning. Someone had bought a large quantity of the medication shortly before the new stock ran out. At the time, I’d assumed it was probably unrelated, but now that I was standing there with the same medication in my bag, the detail bothered me more than before. "The storekeeper told me something this morning."

Elijah waited.

"He said someone bought a large quantity of the medication before the stock ran out. Not a normal amount. Enough that he remembered it."

Elijah’s expression changed. "Did he know who?"

"No. He couldn’t describe them properly."

"Then you need to go back and ask him more questions." Elijah suggested.

"I already asked." I sighed.

He looked confused on what to do. "Then find out who supplies the store. Maybe there’s a record of the purchase."

I looked at him. He was already thinking through possibilities.

"Or find out whether the person bought anything else," he continued. "If they bought enough medication to make the storekeeper remember them, there might be something else that identifies them."

I hadn’t considered that.

Elijah noticed my silence and gave me a questioning look. "What?"

"Nothing." I muttered.

"You were thinking about what I said."

I brushed him off without thinking. "I was thinking that you should stop trying to solve my problems."

"I’m not trying to solve them for you. I’m telling you what I’d do."

I rolled my eyes. "And I didn’t ask. I think we’re done here."

He sighed and stepped back. "You’re still angry."

"Of course I am."

His face fell slightly, but he didn’t try to argue this time. Instead, he nodded and looked toward the lecture hall. "I’ll leave you alone."

I expected him to say something else, but he didn’t. He simply walked away, leaving me standing there with my thoughts and the strange package sitting inside my bag.

I watched him disappear around the corner before checking my phone.

Nothing from Jayden.

I had expected him to message me by then, but I couldn’t see him anywhere either. I considered going to his classroom, then decided against it. If he was in class, I would only interrupt him, and I had already spent enough time wandering around school instead of attending mine.

I headed toward my next class but I didn’t make it far.

At first, I thought I was simply tired. I’d barely slept properly the night before, and the stress of everything happening lately had started catching up with me. I slowed down when my vision suddenly blurred, blinking several times until the hallway came back into focus.

Something felt wrong.

My vision blurred again, and this time, I reached for the wall.

What was happening?

My palm pressed against it, but my arm felt strangely weak.

I tried to stand upright and continue walking, telling myself that I only needed to sit down for a few minutes. I took one step, then another, but the weakness spread through me so quickly that I had to stop again.

A group of students passed by and one of them glanced at me. "Are you okay?"

I tried to answer, but my voice barely came out. "I’m fine."

The student continued walking and I groaned because I hated that answer. I wasn’t fine.

My head felt heavy, and the hallway seemed to blur strangely in front of me. I tightened my grip on the wall and lowered my head, waiting for the feeling to pass.

But it didn’t. Instead, my knees suddenly gave way and I reached out instinctively, but there was nothing close enough to grab.

My bag slipped from my shoulder, and the package inside hit against my side as I fell.

Someone shouted and I heard footsteps rushing toward me, followed by several voices calling for help, but everything around me became distant. I tried to lift my head and focus on the faces gathering above me, but my vision had already started fading.

Then I couldn’t hear anything at all.