Chasing Shadows (Shadows 2)

I grasped Simon's arm and tried to stand up, using his weight as support. Simon immediately grabbed my arms and eased me up gently.

"I'm fine." I looked at Neal who still looked shell-shocked. "Neal," I called out, louder this time.

Neal blinked and then seemed to come to his senses, frantically looking around as if he expected a boogeyman to jump out.

"C-Caitlin, what the hell happened? The last thing I remember was finding my textbooks. The next thing I know, Simon is punching me and you're lying on the floor." Horror filled his face as he stared at me. "Did I...did I do something to you?"

Neal struggled to stand up, only succeeding in pushing himself up enough to sit on his bed. I walked closer to Neal, despite the resistance I felt in Simon's arm around me.

"No, you didn't do anything," I said gently. I didn't want Neal to be traumatized by something he couldn't even remember. "I lost my balance and fell. I grabbed onto you to stop myself from falling, but instead I made you fall too. That's probably why you don't remember. You hit your head on the floor pretty hard. You got up to see if I was okay and Simon got the wrong idea when he saw you standing over me." I turned to Simon. "Right, Simon?" I gave him a meaningful look.

Simon grimaced but he nodded his head. "Yeah, sorry about that."

I grabbed a towel draped over the headboard and handed it to Neal. "Your nose is bleeding a lot. I just hope it's not broken."

Neal took the towel from me and pressed it against his face. "No, it's fine." He still looked like he was in a daze. He tentatively pressed his hand against the back of his head, looking even more confused when it didn't seem to hurt.

I looked around the room, unsure as to what to do next now that I had destroyed his vardoger. I couldn't see the razor anywhere, which was strange. Even the black box was gone. I opened the desk drawer, not caring what Neal would think about the invasion of his privacy, but it was empty. Simon grabbed my arm.

"Let's go."

"Simon, we can't just leave him here after you gave him a bloody nose!"

"No...it's okay." Neal rubbed his eyes, wincing when he accidentally brushed against his nose. "I think I just need to lie down for a while. I'm...I'm feeling a little disoriented."

"Okay," I said with a frown. "Call me if you need anything."

Simon frowned at my words but I just shrugged the look off.

Neal nodded as he lay down on the bed, still holding the towel against his nose.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later." I felt uncertain whether to try and maintain a friendship with Neal, but there really was no reason to, now that his vardoger was gone. He was a nice guy but I didn't have much room in my life right now for new friends.

Simon propelled me towards the door and I saw that the lock had been smashed. I raised my eyebrows at Simon, not knowing how he had the strength to force the door open, but he just shrugged.

"Don't bother showing up for basketball today," Simon said over his shoulder as we were leaving. "And delete Caitlin's number from your phone."

"Simon!" I was furious at his parting words and tried to turn to tell Neal to ignore him, but Simon was too strong for me, pushing me towards the elevator.

"It's not his fault," I hissed as Simon pushed the button for the elevator. The doors opened immediately and we stepped inside.

"I don't care. You have no reason to see him again."

I wanted to explode but there was a fellow student in the elevator and I could tell by his expression that he was fascinated by our conversation. I bit my tongue until we exited the elevator and stepped outside.

"Simon, you can't act like this! This is my life and I have to spend it protecting people. I can't have you getting all jealous and protective every time!"

Simon didn't answer. Instead he pulled me into an embrace, holding me so tight that it was hard to take a full breath. I felt his body shudder and his heart beating so rapidly that I could feel it against my chest.

"Simon?" I said uncertainly, my anger melting away. "What's wrong?"

"I thought I lost you." Simon's voice was low and tortured. "I snuck into the building but then I couldn't figure out which floor you were on. I went to every damn floor to try and find you but every asshole I asked didn't know which room was Neal's until I finally got to his floor. I knew something was wrong. I could feel it. Then when I saw you lying on the floor...I thought you were dead."

Simon's body jerked and I wrapped my arms around him, my anger just a distant memory. I rubbed my hand up and down his back, trying to soothe him. "But I'm okay, Simon. I'm okay."

Simon didn't answer as he continued to hold me. After a while, he finally pulled back so he could look me in the face. "Don't ask me to apologize for what I did. For how I'm reacting. I've never been so scared to lose someone."

I sighed, caressing his jaw with my hand. "It'll get easier as time goes on. You'll see." Simon looked like he was going to argue so I gently pressed my finger against his mouth. "I'm not saying it was the best idea to go to Neal's dorm room. I was just convinced that nothing would happen during daylight since it was night in my vision. But I have to do this, Simon. This is what I'm meant to do. Please don't make it harder than it already is. I need your support."